Oprah Winfrey receives Oscar statuette

Winfrey was felicitated with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her charitable works and she described it as an "unimaginable" moment.

Los Angeles: Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey was felicitated with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for her charitable works and she described it as an "unimaginable" moment.

The 57-year-old received the Oscar statuette, given to those who have made an impact in the industry, during the 3rd annual Governors Awards Saturday. Winfrey, who was nominated in the Oscars for the best supporting actress 25 years ago for her role in "The Color Purple", was in tears while receiving the award and called the moment "unimaginable" "I never imagined myself receiving an Oscar, certainly not for doing what I believe is a part of my calling, a part of my being," hollywoodreporter.com quoted Winfrey as saying. She also credited Quincy Jones for seeing her on a TV talk show in Chicago and casting her in "The Color Purple" saying it was "the only reason I am here tonight". Speaking of her life`s journey, she recalled the 2011 movie "The Help", which tells the story of both her grandmother and her mother who both worked as maids. "It`s unimaginable that I would be standing before you, voted by the board of governors. So when I say thank you, the thank you comes from a place deeper even than I know, because it`s not just from me, it`s from everybody who made me," she added. IANS