Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey 20th century’s richest African American, ranked as one of the most influential women in the world
was born on the 29th of January 1954 to Vernita Lee, a housemaid, and Vernon Winfrey, a coalminer. Oprah spent
her early years of life in extreme poverty. Oprah was bought up by her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee, on a farm for
the first six years of her life. Later Oprah moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her mother. Oprah claimed that she
was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine years old. In spite of her messed
up childhood, she studied and got a scholarship to attend Nicolet High School of Glendale Wisconsin at 13. Oprah
ran away from home when she was 14 years old and she gave birth to a male baby which died shortly after birth.
After the incident, her mother sent Winfrey to live with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. The encouraging and
strict father made education a priority for her.

Voted for the Most Popular Girl, Oprah joined as an honors student and graduated from East Nashville High School,
and stood second in dramatic interpretation (nation). Oprah later won a scholarship to Tennessee State University
based on her communication skills and worked at the WVOL local radio station whilst attending the University. She
graduated from Tennessee State University with a degree in Speech and Performing Arts. In 1972 Oprah won the
Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant. The local black radio station WVOL hired her to do the news part-time. After
she graduated from Tennessee State University she joined WTVF-TV and became the first black TV news anchor
reporter. After three years in 1976 she moved to Baltimore’s WJZ-TV to co-anchor the six o'clock news. Thereafter,
she became part of WJZ's local talk show - People Are Talking as co-host of Richard Sher. She also hosted the local
version of “Dialing for Dollars” there.

After relocating to Chicago in 1983, she started to host WLS-TV's low-rated morning talk-show, AM Chicago,
which shot up to fame within months. Being highly influenced by Winfrey, the show was extended to one-hour, and
renamed as The Oprah Winfrey Show. Its popularity can be ascertained that even after getting aired for over 20
years, it is still much loved by the audiences. Along with her relation with this highest-rating talk show, she co-
founded the women's cable television network - Oxygen. In 1985, Oprah played the role of Sofia, which actually
matched her real life, in Steven Spielberg's epic film - The Color Purple.

In 1986 Oprah was Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 'The Color Purple' but lost to
Anjelica Huston. In the same year she formed her own television production company called Harpo Productions.
She also received the National Organization for Women's Women of Achievement Award. She also starred in the
movie 'Native Son' as Janet Thomason. On February 9, 1987 her much acclaimed episode from her show was aired
from Forsyth County, Georgia, where no blacks had been allowed to live since 1912. Oprah won her first Emmy
award for best talk/service show host and best show in the same year. She played a cameo role in the Danny DeVito
movie "Throw Momma from the Train". She continued acting in movies, documentaries and appeared in TV shows
throughout.

In 1993, Oprah hosted a rare prime-time interview with Michael Jackson which became the fourth most watched
event in American television history as well as the most watched interview ever, with an audience of one hundred
million. Oprah won Emmy Awards for Best Talk Show and as Best Talk Show Host for two consecutive years in
1994 and 1995. She co-authored the book “In The Kitchen With Rosie: Oprah's Favorite Recipes by Oprah
Winfrey and Rosie Daley”. She also co-authored books like "Journey to Beloved", "Make the Connection: Ten
Steps to a Better Body and a Better Life".

Oprah Winfrey received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmy Awards and an award for top talk
show host in 1998. Oprah became the recipient of the first Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 2002 Emmy
Awards for services to television and film. In 2000, with her net worth of $800 million, she was acclaimed to be the
richest African American of the 20th century. TV Guide reported in July, 2007, that Oprah is the highest paid
TV entertainer in the U.S.

Recently, in 2006 Oprah signed a 3-year contract with XM Satellite Radio to establish a new radio channel based in
Chicago. She starred in the movie "Charlotte's Web" playing Gussy. Oprah invested $40 million and much of her
time creating the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg in South Africa. The school
started in January, 2007. She received praise from Nelson Mandela for overcoming her own disadvantaged youth to
become a benefactor for others and for investing in the future of South Africa. Oprah Winfrey has endorsed the
presidential candidate, Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. She currently lives on "The Promised Land",
her 42-acre estate in Montecito, California. She also owns a house in Lavallette, New Jersey. Her skills, quality of
work and life, brought her the title of ‘the World’s Most Powerful Woman’ by CNN and Time.com. Like any
other successful person, Oprah got into controversies too, but her communication skills and social genre have kept
this philanthropist on the world’s prominent-people. Though her childhood was full of hardships, the determination
of this leading lady helped her to fetch such great recognition.