Who

Oz isn't the best cardiothoracic surgeon in the city, but he's the most famous thanks to obsessive self-promotion and near-constant appearances on Oprah, the Discovery Health network, and various morning talk shows.

Backstory

Cleveland native Oz (he's of Turkish descent) picked up a joint MD and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania before moving to New York in the late '80s to become a resident at Columbia. He's been affiliated with Columbia ever since—he's a professor of surgery and a member of New York-Presbyterian's cardiovascular services team—although arguably it's his MBA and not his MD that has proved most useful to his present career. A savvy self-marketer, Oz is best known to the public as the hunky heart surgeon who pops up constantly in the media as a regular on Oprah. After years as a frequent guest on just about every morning news show in the country, from the Today Show to Good Morning America to Live with Regis and Kelly, he launched his own syndicated talk show, The Dr. Oz Show, in 2009.

Of note

Columbia features one of the very best cardiac teams in the city. Oz, however, isn't the best surgeon at the hospital. Given that these days he spends more time in a makeup chair as opposed to keeping up with the latest surgical techniques, you'd be better off leaving your lifesaving operation in the hands of Dr. Craig Smith—the chief of the department—or Dr. Eric Rose, both of whom spend more time operating and less time mugging for the cameras. Of course neither have made-for-TV looks (nor will your cousin in Iowa have heard of them), but at least there's little chance they'll leave you on the operating table while they go off and tape a stand-up with Katie Couric.

In print

Oz is the author of such books such as Healing from the Heart, You: The Owner's Manual, and You: Staying Young, which was released in 2007. (In case you're wondering, Oz is a big proponent of yoga and flax-seed oil.) He also pens a bi-monthly column in Esquire, and wrote the foreword to a David Kirsch diet book.

Personal

Oz lives in Cliffside Park, NJ with his wife Lisa and their four kids: Daphne, Arabella, Zoe, and Oliver. Their eldest child, Daphne Oz, is the author of The Dorm Room Diet and of The Dorm Room Diet Planner, which both featured forwards from her daddy.