(CNN) -- Those who knew Maya Angelou and others inspired by her life, wisdom and words were remembering her Wednesday. 

"Phenomenal Woman" -- the title of Angelou's poem celebrating the strength of women -- quickly trended worldwide on Twitter. Celebrity tweets also included "true inspiration," "hero" and "national treasure." 

Others needed more than Twitter's 140 characters to express their personal loss. 

Legendary author Maya Angelou dies at age 86 

-- Oprah Winfrey called Angelou her "mentor, mother/sister, and friend since my 20's." 

"She was there for me always, guiding me through some of the most important years of my life," Winfrey said. "The world knows her as a poet but at the heart of her, she was a teacher.  'When you learn, teach.  When you get, give' is one of my best lessons from her." 

"She won three Grammys, spoke six languages and was the second poet in history to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration. But what stands out to me most about Maya Angelou is not what she has done or written or spoken, it's how she lived her life. She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace  I loved her and I know she loved me. I will profoundly miss her.  She will always be the rainbow in my clouds."  

-- President Barack Obama called Angelou "one of the brightest lights of our time -- a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman." 

"Over the course of her remarkable life, Maya was many things -- an author, poet, civil rights activist, playwright, actress, director, composer, singer and dancer," Obama said.  "But above all, she was a storyteller -- and her greatest stories were true.  A childhood of suffering and abuse actually drove her to stop speaking -- but the voice she found helped generations of Americans find their rainbow amidst the clouds, and inspired the rest of us to be our best selves.  In fact, she inspired my own mother to name my sister Maya." 
At what age did they become friends?
 20's