2/19/15
Oprah Winfrey When you hear the name Oprah Winfrey you immediately think of rich, producer, award winning actress and talk show host. She is the “Queen of all media”, that is the Oprah we know today. But Oprah hasn’t always been so privileged. One quote of hers is “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength”. And she definitely went through her own share of struggles!
Early Years
Oprah was born January 29th in the rural town of Kosciusko, Mississippi to a single teen mom.
She spent the first six years of her life living in poverty with her grandmother.
After that she moved in with her mother where things got even more difficult for Oprah. From the age of 9-13 she was physically and sexually abused by relatives and friends of her mother. She became pregnant at the age of 14 by one of her abusers but lost the child due to a premature birth.
Soon after, her mother sent her to live with her father in Nashville.
Television Career
Working at a local radio station in Nashville, she was both the youngest and first black female news anchor.
In 1983, Winfrey relocated again to Chicago to host the morning talk show “AM Chicago”.
Within months of the episodes first airing the show went from last place in ratings to being the highest rated talk show in Chicago.
That show was later renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show”.
She has coauthored 5 books and has her own magazine “O Magazine”.
Personal Life
Today Oprah is considered to be the most influential woman in the industry,