Oprah Made Gabourey Sidibe's Mom Cry

Oprah Made Gabourey Sidibe's Mom Cry

Oprah Winfrey asked to introduce Gabourey Sidibe at the Oscars because she sees the young actress as a kindred spirit.

"I saw myself in her," Winfrey told PEOPLE at the Governors Ball after Sunday's Academy Awards. "This whole roller coaster that happens to you when you're passionate about something--she wasn't even thinking of being an actress; she just auditioned. And now here she is, being nominated alongside Meryl Streep, who is the greatest actress in the world, with Sean Penn reading her name. Only in America."

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