Mehmet Oz

Mehmet Oz Headshot

Personality • Doctor • Politician

Birth Date: June 11, 1960

Age: 63 years old

Birth Place: Cleveland, Ohio

Elevated by a steady stream of appearances on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (Syndicated 1986-2011), Dr. Mehmet Oz jumped from being a skilled heart surgeon to becoming one of the world's best known and lauded doctors. A pioneer in his approach to well-being, which utilized both Western and alternative therapies, Oz believed "global medicine" to be the most comprehensive method in aligning body, mind and spirit. To spread the word, Oz co-authored a series of self-help books, including: YOU: The Owner's Manuel, YOU: The Smart Patient, and YOU: Staying Young, all New York Times best-sellers, as was his own award-winning Healing from the Heart. With the powerful blessing of Oprah Winfrey and with a list of honors and awards as long as his patient list, Oz launched his own program "The Dr. Oz Show," (syndicated, 2009- ), which televised his mission to place individuals on their own enlightened road to wellness.

Mehmet Cenig Oz was born June 11, 1960 in Cleveland, OH, to Turkish Muslim immigrants, Mustafa and Suna Oz. Both parents were physicians: his father rose to Chief of Cardiothoracic surgery at Wilmington Medical Center in Delaware, and his mother was the head of a family pharmaceutical company in Turkey. As a boy, his parents often took Oz and his two younger sisters from Delaware to vacation in their native country. He happened upon an article about the first 12 people who had received heart transplants in the world, and his awe at this historic breakthrough sealed his future focus. Later in life, Oz received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1982, followed by a joint MD and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton Business School in 1986, all while retaining dual passports so he could serve in the Turkish Army during med school. During his studies, Oz met future wife and mother to his four children, Lisa Lemole, whose own father was a highly regarded heart surgeon. Dr. Lemole's recommended low-fat diet, exercise and mental approach to healing were huge inspirations for his future son-in-law.

Oz spent seven years at Colombia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, training in surgery and cardiothoracic medicine. While there, he met a patient who shaped his views on healing: a woman destined to die without the blood transplant that her family refused because of their religious views. Days later when the woman left the hospital completely healed, a moved Oz reflected: "[T]here were certain elements of the healing process I could not capture. And even if I was right in the science, I could be wrong in the spirit." In 1993, Oz became an attending surgeon at Columbia and established himself as a heart transplant specialist, where he explored less invasive methods of cardiac surgery. He established the Cardiac Complementary Care Center at Columbia Presbyterian in 1995 and reached out to 100 cardiologists to participate in a study tracking the use of alternative treatments, alongside standard medicine. The alternative roster included meditation and hypnosis as well as manual therapies including massage, acupuncture, acupressure and Reiki, a non-invasive form of "energy medicine" which balanced mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. The results were detailed in Oz's first book, Healing from the Heart: A Leading Surgeon Combines Eastern and Western Traditions to Create the Medicine of the Future (1998). Co-authored with his wife Lisa and journalist Ron Arias, the book was a best seller and earned the Books for a Better America award.

In 2001, Oz became Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Columbia-Presbyterian, as well as Vice-Chair for the Cardiovascular Services and a Professor of Surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. As his audience grew, Oz pushed his message further by founding HealthCorps in 2003, a non-profit org that paid a stipend to college graduates to spend two years in high schools mentoring students about health and fitness. After he and wife, Lisa, created a show called "Second Opinion with Dr. Oz" (Discovery, 2003-04), Oprah Winfrey came on to discuss her lifelong battle with weight control, which led to her inviting Oz to begin making regular appearances on her own syndicated series. Oz used the Discovery programs to create the YOU: The Owner's Manual book series starting in 2005, with help from writing partner, Dr. Michael Roizen. Subsequently, Oz became a regular literary contributor to Esquire and The Saturday Evening Post, as well as frequent guest medical expert on CNN, "Dateline" (NBC, 1992- ), "Today" (NBC, 1952- )" and "Good Morning America" (ABC 1975- ).

Oz became an advisor and spokesman for the hugely popular and somewhat controversial website RealAge.com, started by collaborator Rozien, which asked visitors to determine their "real" versus "true" biological age. Critics complained it was a means for drug companies to garner free data about the medicinal uses and desires of everyday Americans who would not otherwise provide such information. Meanwhile, in 2006, Oz released two additional best-sellers: YOU: On a Diet and YOU: The Smart Patient, then joined Oprah's XM Satellite Radio show "Oprah and Friends" as a regular contributor and host. YOU: Staying Young and YOU: Being Beautiful were added to the doctor's publishing credits in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Also in 2008, Oz was named one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People." Though best known among his medical peers for his LVAD innovation, a left ventricular assist device that saved countless lives, it was the "Ask Dr. Oz" segments on Winfrey's show that made him a national authority to the American public. In 2009, Oz graduated from guest-star status on to his own series, "The Dr. Oz Show (Syndicated, 2009- ). The move was bolstered by Winfrey, who co-produced the series under her Harpo Productions banner alongside Sony Pictures.

Credits

The Drew Barrymore ShowStream

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2020

Access Daily

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2019

Today With Hoda & Jenna

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2019

Cooking With Steve Doocy

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2018

The Quiz Show

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2018

Access Live

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2017

Springfield of Dreams: The Legend of Homer Simpson

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2017

Outnumbered Overtime With Harris Faulkner

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Megyn Kelly Today

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2017

DailyMailTV

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Daily Pop

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2017

NightcapStream

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2016

Today's Take

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2016

Page Six TV

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2016

The $100,000 PyramidStream

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Match GameStream

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2016

Dr. KenStream

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Himself
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2015
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The Breakfast Club

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2015

Surgeon Oz

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2014

The Breakfast Club Power Hour

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2014

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

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2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

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2014

50PlusPrime

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2013

The Queen Latifah Show

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The Social

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The Real

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Mankind Decoded

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2013

NY ER

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2013

The Best of the Oprah Show

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2012

Larry King NowStream

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2012

The Chew

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2011

A Celebration of Real Miracles

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2011

A Celebration of Real Miracles (Cont'd)

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2011

Good Housekeeping's Turn Back the Clock

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2011

The Marilyn Denis Show

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2011

The Gayle King Show

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2011

Ask Oprah's All Stars

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2011

The Talk

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2010

Access Hollywood Live

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2010

The Nate Berkus Show

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2010

The Huckabee Show

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2010

A Celebration of Real Miracles

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2010

A Celebration of Real Miracles (Cont'd)

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2010

The Joy Behar Show

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2009

The Dr. Oz Show

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2009

Watch What Happens Live With Andy CohenStream

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2009

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

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2009

The Wendy Williams Show

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2008

Today With Kathie Lee & Hoda

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Chelsea Lately

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The Better Show

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Rachael Ray ShowStream

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Rachael Ray ShowStream

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etalk

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The Colbert Report

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2005

You: The Owner's Manual With Dr. Mehmet Oz

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2005

The Martha Stewart Show

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2005

The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson

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2005

The Soup

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Tavis Smiley

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The Ellen DeGeneres Show

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Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

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2003

Dr. PhilStream

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The View

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1997

Access Hollywood

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1996

Extra

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1994

Late Show With David Letterman

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1993

Late Show With David Letterman

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1993

Wall Street Journal Report With Maria Bartiromo

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1992

Dateline NBCStream

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1992

Inside Edition

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1988

The Oprah Winfrey ShowStream

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1986

Jeopardy!Stream

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1984

Jeopardy!Stream

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1984

Entertainment Tonight

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1981

Nightline

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1980

Good Morning America

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1975

Saturday Night LiveStream

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1975

Canada AM

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1972

Today

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1952

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