Little Geniuses on The Oprah Show

Akrit Jaswal

Akrit Jaswal was just 7 years old when he performed surgery for the first time, operating on the hands of a young burn victim. Akrit was not a doctor but was considered a medical genius by his native India.

At 13 years old, Akrit had an IQ of 146 and was considered the smartest person his age in India???a country of more than a billion people.

Akrit is now 17 years old and working on a master's degree in applied chemistry.

Lilly Gaskin

Lilly Gaskin made her first appearance on The Oprah Show when she was just 26 months old. She wasn't potty-trained, but she had already mastered world geography.

Lilly's parents, James and Nikki, said they discovered her map skills by accident when she was just 16 months old. "Her Uncle Brady went away to Taiwan for two years, and she was very close to Brady, so she wanted to know where he went," James said. "We pointed to Taiwan [on a map], and the next time she saw the map, she pointed to Taiwan."

After a few lessons, Lilly was able to locate countries around the world—from Madagascar to Mexico!

These days, Lilly's parents say the precocious kindergartener is more into reading books than reading maps.

Greg Smith

Oprah first met Greg Smith in 1999, when he had an IQ so high, it couldn't even be measured.

Today, 21-year-old Greg has two masters degrees and is currently studying for his PhD at Carnegie Mellon University.

Abby Julo

Abby Julo was the little girl with a big memory. At age 4, she could recite Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech from start to finish.

Abby is now a sixth grader who still loves politics and is a huge fan of the History Channel.

Nancy Yi Fan

When Nancy Yi Fan moved to the United States from Beijing, she was 7 years old and didn't speak a word of English. Determined to master the language, Nancy said she learned English by reading lots of books.

Nancy began writing her first fantasy novel, Swordbird, when she was 11 years old. In search of advice, Nancy emailed her manuscript to publishers she found online. A few weeks later, she said she received a surprising response—her book was accepted for publication.

After hitting bookstore shelves, Swordbird flew to the top of the New York Times best-seller list. At age 13, she became the youngest best-selling author in Harper Collins history. Her book is sold all over the world.

"For all the other kids out there who want to pursue their dreams, follow your dreams," Nancy said. "Truly nothing is impossible."

Corinna Draschl

Reigning Junior World Memory Champion Corinna Draschl came all the way from Austria in 2007 to take Oprah's memory challenge. Given the photos and names of 50 random audience members, the 17-year-old only had 20 minutes to learn them all. Adding to the pressure, Corinna wasn't familiar with American names.

"I memorize it, go through it, repeat," she said. "Sometimes I take something really special for the person, like your hair. If she has braids or something, and link it with the name."

When put to the test, Corinna aced every question!

More from the show
Mini musicians who will take your breath away
The Oprah Show's most memorable dancers
Child singers with the talent of those twice their ages