Oprah: Lindsay Lohan is ‘in the best place I’ve ever seen her’

Oprah Winfrey has high hopes for Lindsay Lohan this time around.

The talk-show-host-turned-OWN-CEO appeared live on “Good Morning America� Tuesday and shared some insight during the morning show’s discussion panel.

“That was really a great interview,� Winfrey said of her “in-depth� talk with the troubled starlet, who completed her latest 90-day stint in rehab last week. The interview will air on Winfrey’s OWN Aug. 18.

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As for Lohan’s condition, Winfrey said she was pleased with the headway the 27-year-old “Mean Girls� star was making after years of addiction struggles and run-ins with the law.

“I thought that she was in the best place I’ve ever seen her, but I haven’t seen her since I think 2009 or ’06 or something,� Winfrey said. “But I believe that she believes that she is now ready. And she admitted that there had been other times where she was pretending to be she was ready and not quite sure and sometimes resentful that she was being, you know, put in a position where she had to go to rehab. I think this is the first time I could see that she feels it really benefited her.�

Lohan appeared Monday night as a guest host of “Chelsea Lately,� where she garnered laughs through self-deprecation and taking jabs at celebrities like Kanye West, Anthony Weiner, Justin Bieber and the royal baby for keeping the tabloids satiated during her time in rehab.

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“I’m back, I’m happy and healthy and I’m sorry paparazzi but if you want to take a picture of somebody who’s really ... up then you’ll just have to wait till Chelsea’s back!� she said.

Winfrey also noted “a really good sign� about Lohan’s change.

“At the end of the interview, I said to her, look, I have some concerns ‘cause I hear you’re going to Europe. And I just came from Europe and Europe is the place to go when you want to feel really good and relax. It’s very hard to go to Capri and not have a Bellini,� Winfrey joked.

“I was saying, if I were you I would think about it. So she texted me and said, ‘Yes, I will think about it. But look I’ve already paid for it.’ And then I just heard this morning she’s decided not to go. Isn’t that good, that she’s decided to stay here and work on herself,� Winfrey added. “I’m so proud of her for that decision.�

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The Oprah Effect is still alive and strong, it would seem.

Lohan will not only appear in the OWN interveiw, she’s also signed on for an eight-part documentary series that will air in 2014.

Winfrey herself, who is starring in “The Butler,� is making a few transformations in her own life as well. The host famously ended the 25-season run of her wildly successful syndicated gab fest “The Oprah Winfrey Show� back in 2007 to start her own cable network, aptly called the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN.

The channel saw hard times and was not profitable for a time after its launch in January 2011, but recent staff reshuffling and the addition of Tyler Perry’s brand to her programming has helped turn the network around and has now made it a success.

“I know a lot of people thought that we couldn’t or wouldn’t or whatever,� she said on “GMA.� “But you can’t listen to the naysayers. You have to hold on to what it is you really want to do and what I love about the channel: I’m grateful that Tyler Perry came and really allowed us to make some headway faster than we thought we would. But all of the staples of OWN -- ‘Master Class’ and ‘Super Soul Sunday,’ that I do and talk to the leading thought leaders of our time -- that’s the reason I wanted to do it and I’m happiest when I’m having those kinds of conversations.�

All hail the Queen of TV...

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