Born Oprah Gail Winfrey in Kosciusko, Mississippi, United States. Orpah was born to mother, former maid Vernita Lee, and father, war veteran Vermon Winfrey. Oprah Gail Winfrey was the richest African American of the 20th century, however Orpah Gail Winfrey wasn’t born into a rich, or even middle class family. Orpah Gail Winfrey was born in an economically troubled neighborhood and raised by a single-teenaged mother in the city of Milwaukee. Orpah, named after a biblical character, had a name no one could pronounce, so her family and friends starting calling her Oprah. Shortly after Oprah’s birth, Vernita Lee left her daughter and traveled north. Oprah was then raised by her grandmother,Hatti Mae Lee. Oprah while being raised by her grandmother lived in terrible conditions. Oprah’s only friends were farm animals,however even at that age Oprah had a very imaginative mind. Oprah would frequently give the animals dramatic parts and included them in games. This was perhaps where she had gotten the craze for acting, and would soon be seen in legendary masterpieces such as The Color Purple. Oprah because of her grandmother’s values, had religion and God instilled in herself at a very young age. Oprah because of her grandmother knew how to read,and write before the age of three. Oprah during church would recite poems,and verses from the bible. Soon the church, and the entire neighborhood knew she had a gift and was nicknamed,”The Little Speaker”. This would soon prompt her to become a woman with a strong perspective, which millions across the world would want to have insight on. This prepared her for The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Due to her ability to read and write before the age of three, when enrolled in school she was often promoted several grades ahead of her age. Oprah at the age of six went to live with her mother, Vernita Lee. Vernita worked as a maid, so Oprah was often left alone at home with her cousins. Oprah due to her busy mother was paid little attention to at home, this is what prompted Oprah to started misbehaving and talking back to her mother. Vernita Lee then decided it was best Oprah live with her father in Nashville Tennessee. Oprah while living in Tennessee, found out her mother was pregnant and her mother requested for her to come back to Milwaukee to live with her mother and half-sister. When Oprah was nine she was raped by her nineteen year old cousin who was baby sitting her. This wouldn’t be the only time she was sexually abused she would then be sexually abused by her cousin, a family friend,her mother’s boyfriend, and her uncle during her stay in Milwaukee. Toward all these incidents, she never told a soul because the predators swore her to silence. At the age of thirteen Oprah ran away from home, this was due to her years of abuse and at the age of fourteen she became pregnant with an ill son who died shortly after birth. Oprah took the death of her son as she was given a second chance in life. Oprah’s mother sent her to live once again with her father in Nashville,Tennessee. Oprah’s father was very strict and made education the number-one priority for Oprah.
Oprah attended Nashville East High School. Oprah during high-school wasn’t precisely certain toward what she wanted to do, however she knew it was something with speaking or drama. Oprah was also elected school president and met with president Richard Nixon being apart of public speaking classes in her high-school.
Oprah during the last year of high-school was rehearsing with her drama class when a local radio station, WVOL spotted her and asked her if she would like to read on radio. Oprah was then given a job reading the news on the radio. Oprah soon entered into a public speaking contest where the grand prize was a scholarship to Tennessee State University. Oprah won the contest and received a scholarship to Tennessee State University where she majored in Speech Communications and Performing Arts.
Oprah during her college education was offered a job as a co-anchor on the CBS television station, she declined several times before she was convinced by her speech professor that it may be the ultimate step to launch her career. Oprah wanted to find work outside of Nashville Tennessee and was soon offered a job in Baltimore,Maryland. The job offer came up a few months before her graduation, she had to choose between the job and graduating, so she decided to choose the job in Maryland as the offer was very tempting. At the job in Maryland she wasn’t a very good reporter and was shortly fired. Oprah’s boss set her up as a talk show host on a morning talk show called, “People Are Talking”. Immediately after the first show Oprah new this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Oprah strengthened the talk show for seven years and then she decided it was time to move on.
In 1981 Oprah sent recorded tapes of the show to a talk-show in Chicago called A.M. Chicago. They immediately offered her the job and in September of 1985 she changed the name of the show to, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. The first broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show was on September,8,1986 it broadcasted nationally. The Oprah Winfrey show first targeted woman, however soon due to controversial topics and intriguing topics Oprah brought on to the show it appealed to people of all genders,ethnics,and ages. Oprah promoted many things on her show such as books, movie releases all of which people were eager to know what her opinions were of them. Oprah helped broaden not just woman’s point of view and significance but Oprah helped to realize that every human has an importance in this world. From it’s first broadcast The Oprah Winfrey show went on to receive multiple Day Time Emmy Awards and several other prestigious awards.Winfrey expanded the Oprah Winfrey show and started releasing a monthly magazine which was called, O:The Oprah Magazine. The first issue was in 2000. The series finale of the Oprah Winfrey Show as on it’s twenty-fifth season and it aired on May,25,2011. Concluding a segment of her career toward which she used as a device to inspire millions and help thousands to lead a better life.
Oprah’s made her debut as a film actress in the 1985 period drama film, The Color Purple. Oprah played a troubled housewife named, Sofia. Oprah was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. This movie went on to become a Broadway musical adaptation. In 1998 Oprah starred in the movie, Beloved which she also produced. Winfrey played the character Sethe who was a former slave. Winfrey has also acted in several movies such as Charlotte’s Web,Bee Movie,and The Princess And The Frog.
Oprah Winfrey in 1998 received an Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In 2011 Oprah Winfrey received a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences.
Oprah Winfrey will forever be remembered as an innovator through the landmarks she made, becoming the first African American to host a television show. Inspiring millions of people across the world, discussing significant issues on her show such as equal rights toward genders,racism,poverty, and many others. Oprah will be seen as an icon someone who paved the way for others to become successful.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Peter Sean
Trivia
She permanently withdrew herself and her show from consideration for a Daytime Emmy Award after being awarded the Lifetime Achievement in 1998. She was quoted as saying, “After you’ve achieved it for a lifetime, what else is there?”
In addition to being a news anchor on WJZ-TV13 in Baltimore, Maryland, Winfrey was co-host with Richard Sher (a reporter) on a local talk show called “People are Talking” on that station.
Graduated from East Nashville High School in Nashville, Tennessee (1971), where she was voted most popular.
Was sued by Texas cattlemen who claimed that Oprah defamed beef on her talk show. The case went to trial, causing Oprah to have to relocate her show’s production to Amarillo, Texas, for the duration of the trial. She was found not liable.
She was ranked first in Entertainment Weekly’s 1998 list of the most powerful people in show business, but dropped to sixth in the 1999 list. Still, she was the highest ranking performer, as well as the highest ranking woman, and the only African-American to make the list.
Graduate of Tennessee State University, with a degree in Speech and Performing Arts.
Is the first woman in history to own and produce her own talk show.
Listed as one of twelve “Promising New Actors of 1985″ in John Willis’ Screen World, Vol. 37.
Announced that Oprah would receive $130,000,000 for continuing her talk show through the 1999-2000 TV season. [15 September 1997]
Chosen by “People” magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1997.
Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca, New York. [1994]
She and Stedman Graham are teaching “Dynamics of Leadership” class at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. [Fall 1999]
Given an honorary National Book Award for her “influential contribution to reading and books”. [October 1999]
Awarded (lst) 50th anniversary medal by National Book Foundation, NYC. [November 1999]
Her immensely popular TV talk show is a Harpo Production. Harpo is Oprah spelled backwards. Harpo is also the name of a character in The Color Purple (1985) (Oprah’s film debut) played by Willard E. Pugh.
Gave birth to a baby boy when she was just 14. The baby died after 2 weeks, from complications of being born 2 months premature.
Was instrumental in the passage of the Oprah Bill, in the early 1990s. The bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, and is aimed at stopping child abuse.
Raised in abject poverty, she received her first pair of shoes in 1959 at age 6. She learned to read at age 2½. In fact, when it was time for her to start kindergarten, she wrote a note to her teacher insisting she should be in first grade. The teacher agreed and after finishing that grade she was then skipped to third grade.
Partner is Stedman Graham. [1986 - present]
Born at 7:51 PM EST
She and her former personal trainer, Bob Greene, announced they are buying seven shoreline lots from Getty Family Trust to build several homes, including one on 102-acre lot for Oprah. They plan to put conservation first and keep site development low key. [April 2002]
Ranked #1 on VH1′s list of the “200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons” (2003)
Elected to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, NY
Ranked #1 Pop Culture Icon on VH1′s “The Greatest: 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons” (2003), beating out Superman and Elvis.
Net worth is estimated to be US$1.1 billion. [2004]
Purchased a house at 3330 Radcliffe Avenue, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This superb 11,000 sq ft waterfront property was on sale for Cdn $18 million, at the time British Columbia’s most expensive house, but she paid Cdn $17 million (US$13 million). [June 2004]
Natural daughter of Vernon Winfrey by Vernita Lee (born 2 May 1935).
According to Forbes magazine, her 2005 net worth is $1.3 billion. She was the first African-American women to make the list of billionaires, in 2003.
Was a guest at friends Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s star-studded wedding
First African-American woman to become a billionaire in American history.
After years of publicly criticizing David Letterman‘s late-night television show, “Late Show with David Letterman” (1993), she and Letterman finally settled their differences when she agreed to appear on the December 1, 2005 episode, during which time she was to be in New York to promote her musical of The Color Purple (1985). During the Superbowl of 2007, they appeared in an advertisement together for Letterman’s show. In the ad, they sat together on a couch watching the Superbowl, wearing opposing team jerseys. [2005]
Has a cameo playing herself in Throw Momma from the Train (1987). In a “clip” from her show, she interviews a writer (the ex-wife of Billy Crystal‘s character) whose plagiarized and embellished “life story” is at the top of the bestseller lists (foreshadowing the James Freycontroversy twenty years later).
Was #3 on the annual Forbes magazine Celebrity 100 list in 2006
Collapsed from heat exhaustion during a recent visit to her hometown of Kosciusko, Mississippi. [October 2006]
Winfrey’s name was originally “Orpah,” after the biblical figure in the book of Ruth. Several different stories allude to the fact that either a misspelling on her birth certificate or a struggle with the pronunciation of her name eventually led to “Oprah” being adopted as her given name.
Has Native American ancestry.
Appearing on the annual “Time 100″ list, Time’s ranking of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2007 again, she is the only person who has been on that list five times (May 2007).
Her two-year-old golden retriever, Gracie, died after accidentally choking to death on another dog’s ball [July 2007].
In 2006, she gave $58,300,000 to charity to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, Oprah’s Angel Network, and other groups.
In 2006, she earned an estimated $260 million in salary from her various interests including syndication, cable television, and print magazines.
Thanked by Shawn Colvin in the liner notes of her album “A Few Small Repairs”.
Had two half siblings from her mother. Her half brother passed away from AIDS in December 1988 and her half sister, Patricia, died under mysterious circumstances in 2003.
Ranked #1 in the 2008 Forbes The Celebrity 100 list.
She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in 2009 and was the 2009 Commencement Speaker.
Jeff Bridges, Michael Douglas, Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin Costner, Steve Martin, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Carol Burnett, John Cleese, Rob Lowe andIvan Reitman are among her various Southern California neighbors.
World’s first black billionairess with an estimated worth of $2.3 billion as of 2009.
Her personal chef until 2007 was Art Smith.
Recipient of the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors; other recipients that year were Jerry Herman, Paul McCartney, Merle Haggard, and Bill T. Jones.
With ratings at an estimated 6.5 million viewers per day, her show is the most popular talk show in the world.
Aunt of Chrishaunda Lee, the daughter of her deceased half-sister Patricia. Oprah walked Chrishaundra down the aisle at her wedding in 2005.
Her idol is Diana Ross.
Attended Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin for a short period of time in her teenage years.
Over the 25-year run of her daytime TV talk show, Winfrey never once missed a day through absenteeism.
When Oprah’s show went independent for the first time, her staff consisted of 4 personnel including herself. By 2011, her empire had expanded to 464 personnel.
Oprah’s broadcasting career began in the late 1960s as a teenage intern at WVOL, an African-American radio station in Nashville, Tennessee.
Received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award – a special Oscar for her charity work – on November 12, 2011 in Los Angeles.
Ever since she was 15-years-old, Oprah has kept a journal of every day of her life.
Since the inception of the “Book Club” segment on her show, an estimated 30 million books were sold as a direct result of the worldwide publicity.
Oprah has become the first African-American woman to own a cable network. It is called OWN, which stands for Oprah Winfrey Network.
Her support of Barack Obama helped him to become the first Black US president.
Personal Quotes
Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.
My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato and someone to share it with.
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.
All my life I have always known I was born to greatness.
The essential question is not, “How busy are you?’ but ‘What are you busy at?’ ‘Are you doing what fulfills you?’
What matters is how you feel inside, because feeling beautiful on the inside is key to looking good. quoted in Woman’s World 9-20-05
The expectation of my life was that I might be able to work for some good white folks. Now I got some good white folks working for me.
Some women have a weakness for shoes… I can go barefoot if necessary. I have a weakness for books.
My philosophy is that doing your best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.
Just want to say how deeply saddened I am, we all are, by the sudden passing of actress Natasha Richardson yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with her husband Liam Neeson, their two sons, the rest of their family and friends. Yet another reminder of how fleeting life can be and how precious. We need to value every moment (On Natasha Richardson‘s tragic death).
Part of her 2009 commencement speech at Duke: Of all the wonderful things that have happened including getting a doctorate, an honorary doctorate from Duke, what really makes me feel successful is being able to use my life in service to someone else. And I will have to say, it is a wonderful thing to have a beautiful home or homes, a wonderful thing to have a beautiful home which just escaped the fire in Santa Barbara. And it is really fantastic to have your own jet and anybody who says it isn’t is lying to you. The jet thing is really good. But you haven’t completed the circle of success unless you can help somebody else move forward.
On personal power: I have a lot of things to prove to myself. One is that I can live my life fearlessly.
On strategy: Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.
Having the best things is no substitute for having the best life.
Reaching your true potential is more than an ideal. It’s the ultimate goal.
When the odds are against you and you have the depth of clarity to listen to your own instincts and follow what is true for you, you may not become a Jay-Z, but you will become the best thing that you can be.
I’m a firm believer that anyone can have a breakthrough right in her own backyard.
No matter where you are on your journey, that’s exactly where you need to be. The next road is always up.
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never , ever have enough.
The best advice touches the part of you that knows it’s true.
[on Shondra Rhimes] Shondra is a storyteller for our times. Courageous in her approach to the work, she’s never played by other people’s rules. She creates an assemblage of worldly foibles and aspirations. She understands that every dream is valuable and every identity deserves inspection through the looking-glass of television. She knows the power of reflection and wields that power with grace and generosity.
[on performing in 'Lee Daniel's The Butler'] I’m a historian of my own history – of African American history. I believe that when you know who you are you have the ability to move forward, not only with your own strength but with the strength of your entire ancestry. I am the daughter of a maid, and my grandmother was a maid, and her mother was a maid, and her mother was a slave. I feel validated by the war that the butler and his entire generation fought in their own way. And the fact that there’s another generation of freedom writers and freedom fighters, because of evolution and growth and change, decided they weren’t going to do that anymore. Both wars were necessary for their time.
I feel I have made a living being myself. I’ve made a career out of my own authenticity. I don’t have one face I present to the white world or to the black world. I talk to my dogs the same way I’m speaking right now.
Whatever your dreams, ideas or rejects, we plant a seed, nurture it – and then reap the fruits of our labors.
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