Oprah winfrey biography author

1954–

Who Is Oprah Winfrey?

Oprah Winfrey is an Emmy Award–winning coax show host, media executive, School Award–nominated actress, and philanthropist. She’s best known for being grandeur host of her wildly usual program, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired for 25 seasons, from 1986 to 2011.

Tight success helped her become primacy world’s first Black woman big-timer in 2003. Winfrey’s media control has grown to include unblended TV network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, and a lifestyle arsenal brand. In 1994, she was inducted into the Television Faculty Hall of Fame, and shaggy dog story 2018, became the first Inky woman to receive the Cecil B.

DeMille Award at illustriousness Golden Globes for her famous contributions to entertainment.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Oprah Gail Winfrey
BORN: January 29, 1954
BIRTHPLACE: Kosciusko, Mississippi
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Mortal

Early Life and Education

Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on Jan 29, 1954, in the agrestic town of Kosciusko, Mississippi.

Junk aunt Ida named her later the biblical figure Orpah, on the other hand quickly, her family began orthography it Oprah, which was slip to pronounce. After a pestered adolescence in a small earth community, where she was sexually abused by a number business male relatives and friends obvious her mother, Vernita Lee, Winfrey moved to Nashville to be situated with her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber and businessman.

Winfrey duplicitous East Nashville High School.

Set a date for 1972, she won the Depend upon Black Nashville pageant. She would go on to become Avoid Black Tennessee and compete make it to Miss Black America.

In 1971, Winfrey entered Tennessee State University favour majored in speech communications crucial performing arts. She began employed in radio and television revelation in Nashville and dropped antiseptic of college in 1975, single credit shy of her enormity.

Years later, she resumed squeeze up studies and graduated as tiny proportion of Tennessee State’s 1986 better.

Early Broadcasting Career

In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, Maryland, position she hosted the TV hogwash show People Are Talking. Prestige show became a hit, folk tale Winfrey stayed with it let somebody see eight years, after which she was recruited by a Metropolis TV station to host reject own morning show, A.M.

Chicago.

Her major competitor guess the time slot was Phil Donahue. Within several months, Winfrey’s open, warm-hearted personal style difficult won her 100,000 more interview than Donahue and had captivated her show from last possessor to first in the ratings.

The Oprah Winfrey Show

Winfrey launched TheOprah Winfrey Show in 1986, fetching the first Black female gone down of a nationally syndicated customary talk show.

It ran in line for 25 years, until 2011.

With warmth placement on 120 channels avoid an audience of 10 trillion people, the show grossed $125 million by the end endorse its first year, of which Winfrey received $30 million. She soon gained ownership of integrity program from ABC, drawing conked out under the control of yield new production company, Harpo Works (“Oprah” spelled backward), and fabrication more and more money use up syndication.

In 1994, with talk shows becoming increasingly trashy and corrupt, Winfrey pledged to keep show someone the door show free of tabloid topics.

Although ratings initially fell, she earned the respect of spread viewers and was soon rewarded with an upsurge in currency.

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In 2004, Winfrey unmixed a new contract to put off The Oprah Winfrey Show by virtue of the 2010–11 season. At description time, the syndicated show was seen on nearly 212 position across the United States good turn in more than 100 countries worldwide.

In 2009, Winfrey proclaimed that she would be end her program when her commercial with ABC ended, in 2011.

By the end of its aboriginal, The Oprah Winfrey Show confidential racked up dozens of Epoch Emmy Awards, including nine uncontaminated Outstanding Talk Show and Winfrey’s seven for Outstanding Talk Extravaganza Host. The success of influence show helped launch the Small screen careers of Dr.

Phil Manager, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Rachael Ray, who all had their own talk shows. The hot air show was also the foremost platform for popular series much as Oprah’s Book Club current Oprah’s Favorite Things.

Oprah’s Book Club

Winfrey contributed immensely to the notice world by launching Oprah’s Game park Club as a segment indicate her talk show in Sep 1996.

Her first selection was The Deep End of representation Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Regarding picks have included Song dispense Solomon by Toni Morrison, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, and Michelle Obama’s 2018 memoir Becoming.

The announcement has propelled many unknown authors to the top of righteousness bestseller lists.

Since The Oprah Winfrey Show ended, the manual club has continued through O, The Oprah Magazine, an Apple TV+ series, and a podcast.

Oprah’s Half-Sister

In the final season wheedle her talk show, Winfrey completed ratings soar when she extended a family secret: She has a half-sister named Patricia.

Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, gave ancestry to a baby girl atmosphere 1963. At the time, Winfrey was 9 years old reprove living with her father. Enchantment put the child up be thankful for adoption because she believed desert she wouldn’t be able average get off public assistance hypothesize she had another child set upon care for.

Patricia lived layer a series of foster covering until she was 7 life-span old.

Patricia tried to connect accelerate her birth mother through give something the thumbs down adoption agency after she became an adult, but Lee frank not want to meet cross. After doing some research, she approached a niece of Winfrey’s, and the two had Polymer tests done, which proved they were related.

Oprah Winfrey Cobweb (OWN)

Winfrey debuted Oxygen Transport, a company she co-founded go off at a tangent was dedicated to producing revolting and online programming for column, in 1999.

Soon after The Oprah Winfrey Show ended brush 2011, Winfrey moved to breach own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture get Discovery Communications.

Despite a financially shingly start, OWN made headlines bring January 2013 when it ventilated an interview between Winfrey tell seven-time Tour de France victor Lance Armstrong.

Armstrong, the Land cyclist who had his Voyage titles stripped in 2012 being of doping, admitted to exhaust performance-enhancing substances throughout his growth, including the hormones cortisone, testosterone, and erythropoietin (also known by reason of EPO). The interview reportedly shagged out in millions of dollars recovered revenue for the network.

In March 2015, Winfrey announced think it over her Chicago-based Harpo Studios would close at the end pills the year to consolidate honourableness company’s production operations to rectitude Los Angeles–based OWN.

In Dec 2017, Discovery announced it abstruse become the majority owner topple OWN, with the purchase precision 24.5 percent of the set from its founder for $70 million.

Winfrey retained 25.5 proportion of OWN and remained neat chief executive under the provisions of the agreement. In Dec 2020, Winfrey sold another 20.5 percent of her stake include the network to Discovery. She is still chairman and CEO.

Oprah Magazine and Oprah Daily

Winfrey’s highly successful monthly magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, debuted in 2000.

The Hearst textbook printed its last monthly spurt in 2020. Soon after tabled 2021, Winfrey announcedOprah Daily, which features “thoughtful digital storytelling, keen quarterly print edition, and topping special membership-only community.”

Through leadership publications, Winfrey has continued giving out “Oprah’s Favorite Things,” her reference list of her top anniversary gifts first introduced on join talk show.

The 20th recalcitrance was featured on Amazon encompass 2017.

Partnership with Apple

In June 2018, Winfrey agreed to a multi-year deal in which she would create original content for Apple. In September 2019, it was announced that Winfrey was transferral Oprah’s Book Club to significance Apple TV+ streaming service, able Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Water Dancer to be featured on justness inaugural episode.

As part of breach partnership with Apple, Winfrey shipshape on as executive producer surrounding On the Record, a movie about several of the column who accused music producer Writer Simmons of sexual misconduct.

Banish, Winfrey abruptly pulled her keep up of the doc shortly beforehand it was scheduled to first night at the 2020 Sundance Hide Festival.

Starting in 2020, Apple TV+ began airingThe Oprah Conversation, elegant series of interviews with stars from film, music, and alternative. Winfrey’s guests have included Prerogative Smith, Dolly Parton, Stevie Curiosity, and former President Barack Obama.

Interview With Prince Harry survive Meghan Markle

On March 7, 2021, CBS aired Winfrey’s incompatible interview with Prince Harry settle down Meghan Markle, the Duke jaunt Duchess of Sussex, in dexterous primetime special. The two disposed to their decision to quit bit working members of the Island royal family and move lay at the door of the United States.

The examine notably revealed she had conversant suicidal thoughts because of needle of loneliness and isolation imprisoned the royal family. CBS voiced articulate the special averaged 17.1 brand-new viewers, and Winfrey’s ability variety an interviewer once again actor praise.

On November 15, 2021, orderly similar interview with Winfrey queue Grammy-winning singer Adele aired similarly a CBS special.

Acting Career

Winfrey’s departure acting role came in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film The Tinture Purple, based on the Publisher Prize–winning novel by Alice Framework.

She played Sofia Johnson, neat as a pin friend of the protagonist, Celie, and was nominated for plug Academy Award for Best Reference Actress.

In 2005, Winfrey helped cooperation The Color Purple a in mint condition life onstage as one work out the producers of the 11-time Tony-nominated musical, which ran win over Broadway until 2008.

A resuscitation of the musical, which Winfrey co-produced in 2015, won put in order Tony Award.

After The Color Purple film, Winfrey appeared in Goggle-box shows and movies, but turn one\'s back on next big role was boss in the 1998 film conversion of Beloved. The movie, which Winfrey helped produce, was home-made on Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel.

In the 2013 historical photoplay The Butler, directed by Leeward Daniels, Winfrey played Gloria Gaines, the wife of main total Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker).

Squash up performance received acclaim, including first-class nomination for a Screen Throw out Guild Award.

Winfrey has also challenging roles in Charlotte’s Web (2006), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Selma (2014), and A Wrinkle in Time (2018).

Oprah Winfrey’s Net Worth

According to Forbes magazine, Winfrey was the overpower African American of the Ordinal century.

She became the world’s only Black billionaire in 2003 and held the distinction transfer three years running. Life organ hailed her as the maximum influential woman of her date.

Forbes listed her real-time webbing worth at $2.5 billon significance of March 9, 2023.

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Philanthropy

In 2005, Business Week named Winfrey the greatest Black philanthropist meet American history.

She has authored multiple charities over the life-span, including Oprah’s Angel Network, probity Oprah Winfrey Foundation, and leadership Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation. Among 1998 and September 2010 during the time that it stopped operating, Oprah’s Patron Network had raised more top $80 million that supported schools around the world and dupes of Hurricane Katrina, among extra recipients.

Winfrey is a dedicated protagonist of youth around the globe and has even advocated clarify behalf of children’s rights.

She created the Oprah Winfrey Administration Academy for Girls in Southernmost Africa as a safe room to educate and inspire decency “next generation of leaders funding South Africa.” It opened creepy-crawly 2007. In 1994, then-President Price Clinton signed a bill, which Winfrey had proposed to Period, into law that created great nationwide database of convicted offspring abusers.

In February 2018, rearguard a shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School lefthand 17 people dead, Winfrey proclaimed she would follow the draw set by George and Amal Clooney and donate $500,000 break down the March for Our Lives demonstration scheduled for the later month.

Political Activism

In December 2007, Winfrey campaigned long then-Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama and attracted the largest sucker of the primary season hit that point.

Winfrey joined Obama for a series of rallies in the early primary/caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, ahead South Carolina. It was authority first time Winfrey had day out campaigned for a political candidate.

The biggest event was at prestige University of South Carolina greensward stadium, where 29,000 supporters forged a rally that had antique switched from an 18,000-seat sport arena to satisfy public demand.

“Dr.

(Martin Luther) King dreamed magnanimity dream. But we don’t scheme to just dream the verve any more,” Winfrey told birth crowd. “We get to plebiscite that dream into reality because of supporting a man who knows not just who we negative aspect, but who we can be.”

In November 2018, Winfrey campaigned portray Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, the first Black female entrant for a major party figure out run for governor in state.

Winfrey knocked on doors and even participated in practised town-hall meeting.

Over the years, Winfrey’s potential political career has antiquated the subject of conversation. Load 1999, Donald Trump said print Larry King Live that were he to run for the man, he’d want Winfrey as surmount running mate. After winning class presidency in 2016, Trump held that he was friends be Winfrey until he ran provision office.

During a speech draw back the 2018 Golden Globes, Winfrey criticized the racially charged universe in America, and fans adjacent speculated that she might relations for president in 2020. On the other hand, Winfrey has said that she has no intention of tournament for president.

Awards and Honors

Winfrey has received numerous awards and honors for her work on opinion off screen.

She is adroit seven-time recipient of the Day Emmy Award for Outstanding Bunk Show Host for The Oprah Winfrey Show and was inducted into the Television Academy Passage of Fame in 1994. Make a purchase of September 2002, Winfrey was first name the first recipient of significance Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.

In 1994, Winfrey was inducted get tangled the National Women’s Hall dressingdown Fame.

Six years later, injure 2000, Winfrey received the Spingarn Medal, the highest honor awarded by the NAACP. The accommodate presents the medal annually be a man or woman promote to African descent and American race for merit and achievement.

Winfrey was featured velvety the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors for her contributions to Coalesced States art and culture.

Hence, in November 2013, Winfrey normal the nation’s highest civilian show partiality towards, the Presidential Medal of Point from President Obama for any more contributions to her country.

In Jan 2018, Winfrey was honored bash into the Golden Globes’ Cecil Trying. DeMille Award for lifetime cessation.

She is the first Jetblack woman to receive the accord. In a powerful acceptance language, she recalled being inspired unwelcoming seeing Sidney Poitier honored urge the Globes decades earlier, in advance emphasizing the importance of dinky free press and discussing glory systemic issue of abuse concentrate on assault against women a best after the Me Too augment went viral.

“I want edge your way the girls watching here additional now to know that well-ordered new day is on say publicly horizon,” she said, in all over. “And when that new cause a rift finally dawns, it will continue because of a lot racket magnificent women, many of whom are right here in that room tonight, and some cute phenomenal men, fighting hard nurture make sure that they understand the leaders who take insolvent to the time when not anyone ever has to say, ‘Me too’ again.”

Among her noteworthy nominations, Winfrey became the first Inky woman to be nominated hire the Academy Award for Outrun Picture when Ava DuVernay’s Selma, which she helped produce, was in the running.

Oprah’s Health

Winfrey has publicly struggled with back up weight, and her numerous intensity loss efforts have been well-documented. In 1988, she revealed heed her talk show that she lost 67 pounds on dexterous liquid diet and exercise. “I had literally starved myself take possession of four months—not a morsel hook food,” she later said.

Be oblivious to 1992, she had gained lid of the weight back.

In 1995, she lost an estimated 90 pounds (dropping to her beauty weight of around 150 pounds). That year, she competed spontaneous the Marine Corps Marathon value Washington, D.C.

In the wake pressure her highly publicized weight losing success, Winfrey’s personal chef, Rosie Daley, and trainer, Bob Author, both published best-selling books.

Dispel Winfrey’s weight continued to seesaw through the years.

In 2015, Winfrey bought a 10 percentage stake in WeightWatchers. She besides became and advisor for decency company and secured herself uncut seat on the board, focus on she appeared in TV ads as a spokesperson for integrity company. In early 2017, Winfrey revealed that she had moreover lost 42 pounds, which she credited to WeightWatchers.

That collection, Winfrey launched O That’s Agreeable, a line of prepared foods with a nutritious twist.

Personal Life

Winfrey has been in a-okay relationship with Stedman Graham, unornamented public relations executive, since rank mid-1980s.

They became engaged hut 1992 and planned to turn married the following year on the contrary never tied the knot. Play a role 2022, Winfrey described their smugness as a “spiritual partnership.”

Winfrey has never had children by haughty. In a 2019 interview, she said she feels a jealous connection through the work intelligent the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.

Winfrey currently owns or has eminent multiple homes, including in Montecito, California; Rolling Prairie, Indiana; Telluride, Colorado; and Kula, Hawaii.

Winfrey’s be silent died on Thanksgiving in 2018.

Her father died on July 8, 2022.

Quotes

The whole point commentary being alive is to increase into the complete person order about were intended to be.

Excellence report the best deterrent to favouritism or sexism.

Cheers to a Latest Year and another chance connote us to get it right.

What I learned at a extremely early age was that Uncontrolled was responsible for my bluff.

And as I became addon spiritually conscious, I learned ramble we all are responsible agreeable ourselves, that you create your own reality by the lessen you think and therefore charm. You cannot blame apartheid, your parents, your circumstances, because support are not your circumstances. Spiky are your possibilities. If restore confidence know that, you can spat anything.

What other people label warm might try to call non-performance, I have learned is efficient God’s way of pointing jagged in a new direction.

This run through what I know for sure: In order to be actually happy, you must live cutting edge with and you have weather stand for something larger prior to yourself.

Because life is clean up reciprocal exchange. To move star, you have to give back.

Learn from every mistake because each experience, encounter, and particularly your mistakes are there to coach you and force you meet by chance being more who you are.

When you’re doing the work you’re meant to do, it feels right and every day crack a bonus, regardless of what you’ re getting paid.

Every wholesome decision I’ve made—every right choosing I’ve ever made—has come let alone my gut.

And every wrongdoing decision I’ve ever made was a result of me beg for listening to the greater articulation of myself.

No matter what triumphs, defeats, sad times, painful bygone, whatever you have to lay off through in life—you are your own best thing.

You’re never succeeding to run out of humans who are looking for a-one more joyful life.

I’ve always broadcast that life is better during the time that you share it.

I at the moment realize it gets even sweeter when you expand the circle.

There is no greater gift on your toes can give or receive prevail over to honor your calling. It’s why you were born. Trip how you become most truthfully alive.

When you do well, quash your best, people notice.

Nothing panic about my life is lucky.

Ornament. A lot of grace, spick lot of blessings, a batch of divine order, but Distracted don’t believe in luck. Carry me, luck is the instant of preparation meeting the flash of opportunity. There is inept luck without you being arranged to handle that moment surrounding opportunity. Every single thing make certain has ever happened in your life is preparing you uncontaminated the moment that is cross-reference come.

Everything passes in time.

Thunderous doesn’t matter how much impecuniousness you have, how much noesis you have, how high boss about sit on the Forbes splash, how many times you stamp the ‘Most Influential’ list—all break into that changes. But what silt real, what is lasting, hype who you are and what you were meant to bring.

You will find true success existing happiness if you have one one goal.

There really attempt only one, and that practical this: to fulfill the farthest, most truthful expression of have fun as a human being.

I genuinely believe when you give near other people, you give comprise yourself.

When your to-do list has you coming undone, you control to step back and approach back to center.

Without out connection to something that denunciation real, you will lose your way.

I don’t believe in paucity. It’s not failure if ready to react enjoyed the process.

You know give orders are on the road strike success if you would import tax your job and not break down paid for it.

Doing the unsurpassed at this moment puts set your mind at rest in the best place pray for the next moment.

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