Sherri Shepherd's career was inspired by Oprah Winfrey

She told US TV show 'Extra': "I looked at her and I was like, 'That's me. She's me, like, we look alike. She's got the same kind of hair'!

The former 'View' panellist got the chance to make an appearance on 'Oprah' - which is still the highest-rated chat show in US television history - some years ago and recalled being overwhelmed that someone had believed in her at last.

She said: " I just was like, 'Wow, I wonder if I could do that.' When she came over to me to talk to me, it just was a dream that I always had. I got so many nos... The fact that somebody, one, believed in me was all I needed!"

Sherri added that she found a "great training ground" in working on 'The View' alongside industry legends but even when she became frustrated that her own dreams weren't coming true, she just "held onto" them until they did.

"I knew that I had something to offer, so I did 'The View' for seven years and that was such a good training ground between Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg. I didn't know what to do, so many people were just saying no. No matter what, I just held onto that dream. I had to put it on a shelf with fine china for a minute but it came back around again. Every day I feel so grateful, I feel like a little girl living her dream."