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POSED: There are two Oprah Winfreys on the cover of January's O magazine, whose issue theme is "Transformation." Photographer Matthew Rolston has her showing off her abs in workout togs, as well as going glam in a black velvet evening gown designed by Marc Bouwer. Writes Winfrey, 50, in her editor's letter: "In my 20s, I thought there was some magical adult age I'd reach (35, maybe) and my 'adultness' would be complete. Funny how that number kept changing over the years, how even at 40, labeled by society as middle-aged, I still felt I wasn't the adult I knew I could be."
NAMED: President George W. Bush, 58, was selected Time magazine's Person of the Year for a second time, it was announced Sunday. The magazine, acknowledging Bush as a polarizing force, tapped the chief executive for "reshaping the rules of politics to fit his 10-gallon-hat leadership style" and "for sharpening the debate until the choices bled, for reframing reality to match his design, for gambling his fortunes – and ours – on his faith in the power of leadership."
RANKED: While Toby Keith, 43, may have been shut out at the Country Music Association Awards, Billboard still ranks him the artist with the strongest impact on the country charts this year. The trade publication put him in the No. 1 slot on its Top Country Artists list. He also leads the year-end Top Country Artists – Male, Top Country Album Artists and Hot Country Singles & Tracks Artists tallies. Additionally, his 2003 Shock'n Y'All tops the year-end Top Country Albums list. His hits this year included "American Soldier," which spent four weeks at No. 1, and "Whiskey Girl." He also had a top five hit, "Stays in Mexico." Keith's latest album, Greatest Hits 2, was released last month.
DIED: Italian soprano Renata Tebaldi, 82, one of the great post-World War II opera divas who Arturo Toscanini said had the "voice of an angel," died in the Republic of San Marino where she had moved several months ago to be close to the sea, said a family friend. Tebaldi had one of the most beautiful Italian voices of the century. Although her rivalry with Maria Callas attracted much attention, it was her singing that captivated her fans – to whom she had been a international star since 1946, when she first auditioned in Milan for Toscanini.
ANNOUNCED: Deborah Norville says she will end her MSNBC program next month after a year on the cable news channel but will stay on as host of the syndicated celebrity magazine show Inside Edition. In a message to MSNBC colleagues released by the network, Norville, 46, a mother of three, said she has lacked sufficient time to juggle the demands of two daily shows and family responsibilities.
TRIPPED: That old bald guy who dances to his own beat in the Six Flags amusement parks commercials was not the draw that he was supposed to be, the New York Post reports, basing its story on attendance figures at 12 of the 13 Six Flags parks – which posted either flat or lower 2004 attendance figures than in 2003. Six Flags spokeswoman Debbie Nauser, promising the unidentified old geezer would remain in the ads, called him and the commercial campaign "a great success. We've received the most attention we've had in years."
