Biographical Chart: Oprah Winfrey

● Full Name: ​Oprah Gail Winfrey

● Lifespan: ​January 29, 1954 to present (65 years old)

● Early Family Background and Created Family

Structure/education:
- Born in a rural town in Kosciusko, Mississippi
- Born in an ethnic group
- Her name came from the book of ruth
- Primarily raised by her grandmother
- She made her clothes of potato sacks
- had a younger brother who was born with aids
- Was first sexually abused at age 9 by many male
relatives and family friends
- Was pregnant at the age of 14, lost the child
- Moved to Nashville with her father
- Was able to read and right at age 3 and was boosted
grades ahead
- elected class president in highschool
- Nicolet High School

● Personality Characteristics and Areas of Aptitude, Talent,

and Interest:
- Fearless
- outgoing personality
- great communicated
- advocated for himan and gay rights
- attributed herself to others
- driven and hard working
- entered into pageants and was crowned ms. fire
prevention
- Fell in love with reading at a very young age
- Majored in Speech Communications and Performing
Arts
 - given a job to read the news on the radio
- Had a talent for public speaking

● Major Career/Professional Events and Accomplishments

- Honors student in highschool
- first black billionaire
- became a TV actress in many movies and was apart of
many magazines
- known for a famous interview with Michael Jackson
- Worked at her local radio station WVOL where CBS had
then reached out to her and offered her a job
- She was then recognized as one of the first African
American female newscaster in Nashville
- Known as the first female African American to host a
television show to inspire millions
- Launched ​The Oprah Winfrey Show ​ in 1986
- In 1991, she testified in support for the ​National Child
Protection Act a​ nd was later named the “Oprah Bill”
- Made her debut as an actress in ​The Color Purple ​in
1985 and was a part of many more films afterwards
- Hosted a T.V. chat show ​People Are Talking

● Personal Life Themes/Beliefs

- Raised as a Baptist
- Was very active in her church at an early age by
performing there frequently
- would speak with similar themes such as evangelical
Protostantosm, the Black Church, and being born again
- believes that every child should receive an education
- Her grandmother played a large role in her education

● Selected Quotations (at least two)

- “My philosophy is that doing your best at this moment
puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
 - “Lots of people want to ride with you in the Limo, but
what you want is someone who will take the bus with
you when the Limo breaks down.”
- “Reaching your true potential is more than an ideal. It's
the ultimate goal.”
- “Be thankful for what you have; you will end up having
more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you
will never, ever have enough.”
- “Do the thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try
again. Do better the second time. The only people who
never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.
This is your moment. Own it.”

● Awards and Recognition

- Received an award from the National Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences in 1998
- Recieved a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the
Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 2011
- Received the ​Presidential Medal of Freedom, which​ was
given by Barack Obama in honor of providing the nation
with security and showing public interest.
- Presidential Medal of Freedom
- First woman in history to produce her own talk show
and was most successful talk show host
- her tv show received multiple daytime emmy awards

Cites
- https://stmuhistorymedia.org/from-rags-to-riches-the-story-
of-oprah-winfrey/
- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001856/bio
- https://www.biography.com/media-figure/oprah-winfrey
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey#Publishing_a
nd_writing