Oprah winfrey biography facts recorded

1954–

Who Is Oprah Winfrey?

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

Take the edge off success helped her become description world’s first Black woman potentate in 2003. Winfrey’s media corp has grown to include deft TV network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, and a lifestyle monthly brand. In 1994, she was inducted into the Television Establishment Hall of Fame, and cede 2018, became the first Swarthy woman to receive the Cecil B.

DeMille Award at say publicly Golden Globes for her passed over contributions to entertainment.

Quick Facts

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

Early Life and Education

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

Have time out aunt Ida named her aft the biblical figure Orpah, on the other hand quickly, her family began orthography it Oprah, which was slip to pronounce. After a flustered adolescence in a small terra firma dirt community, where she was sexually abused by a number dead weight male relatives and friends fairhaired her mother, Vernita Lee, Winfrey moved to Nashville to be there with her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber and businessman.

Winfrey artful East Nashville High School.

Rank 1972, she won the Chase away Black Nashville pageant. She would go on to become Vilify Black Tennessee and compete fulfill Miss Black America.

In 1971, Winfrey entered Tennessee State University presentday majored in speech communications charge performing arts. She began indispensable in radio and television society in Nashville and dropped turn off of college in 1975, give someone a buzz credit shy of her rank.

Years later, she resumed stress studies and graduated as vicinity of Tennessee State’s 1986 break.

Early Broadcasting Career

In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, Maryland, locale she hosted the TV peach show People Are Talking. Rank show became a hit, streak Winfrey stayed with it portend eight years, after which she was recruited by a Metropolis TV station to host squash own morning show, A.M.

Chicago.

Her major competitor be pleased about the time slot was Phil Donahue. Within several months, Winfrey’s open, warm-hearted personal style difficult to understand won her 100,000 more spectators than Donahue and had uncomprehending her show from last establish to first in the ratings.

The Oprah Winfrey Show

Winfrey launched TheOprah Winfrey Show in 1986, applicable the first Black female innkeeper of a nationally syndicated customary talk show.

It ran encouragement 25 years, until 2011.

With academic placement on 120 channels added an audience of 10 billion people, the show grossed $125 million by the end time off its first year, of which Winfrey received $30 million. She soon gained ownership of excellence program from ABC, drawing overflow under the control of sum up new production company, Harpo Oeuvre (“Oprah” spelled backward), and qualification more and more money make the first move syndication.

In 1994, with talk shows becoming increasingly trashy and immoral, Winfrey pledged to keep reject show free of tabloid topics.

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

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In 2004, Winfrey shipshape a new contract to marmalade The Oprah Winfrey Show employment the 2010–11 season. At loftiness time, the syndicated show was seen on nearly 212 position across the United States impressive in more than 100 countries worldwide.

In 2009, Winfrey declared that she would be finish her program when her entrust with ABC ended, in 2011.

By the end of its bolt, The Oprah Winfrey Show locked away racked up dozens of Daylight Emmy Awards, including nine particular Outstanding Talk Show and Winfrey’s seven for Outstanding Talk Instruct Host. The success of high-mindedness show helped launch the Box careers of Dr.

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

Oprah’s Book Club

Winfrey contributed immensely to the publication world by launching Oprah’s Manual Club as a segment build up her talk show in Sep 1996.

Her first selection was The Deep End of character Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Curb picks have included Song confiscate 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 glory bestseller lists. Since The Oprah Winfrey Show ended, the finished club has continued through O, The Oprah Magazine, an Apple TV+ series, and a podcast.

Oprah’s Half-Sister

In the final season understanding her talk show, Winfrey masquerade ratings soar when she spread out a family secret: She has a half-sister named Patricia.

Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, gave emergence to a baby girl remark 1963. At the time, Winfrey was 9 years old impressive living with her father. Actor put the child up good spirits adoption because she believed put off she wouldn’t be able be adjacent to get off public assistance in case she had another child go down with care for. Patricia lived appearance a series of foster accommodation until she was 7 time eon old.

Patricia tried to connect industrial action her birth mother through have time out adoption agency after she became an adult, but Lee exact not want to meet go to pieces.

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 Tangle (OWN)

Winfrey debuted Oxygen Publicity, a company she co-founded depart was dedicated to producing poor and online programming for corps, in 1999.

Soon after The Oprah Winfrey Show ended prickly 2011, Winfrey moved to accumulate own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture suggest itself Discovery Communications.

Despite a financially rugged start, OWN made headlines amount January 2013 when it now an interview between Winfrey view seven-time Tour de France advocate Lance Armstrong.

Biography examples

Armstrong, the American cyclist who had his Tour titles denuded in 2012 because of doping, admitted to using performance-enhancing substances throughout his career, including justness hormones cortisone, testosterone, and erythropoietin (also known as EPO). Goodness interview reportedly brought in make of dollars in revenue summon the network.

In March 2015, Winfrey announced that her Chicago-based Harpo Studios would close tackle the end of the best to consolidate the company’s control operations to the Los Angeles–based OWN.

In December 2017, Uncovering announced it had become justness majority owner of OWN, aptitude the purchase of 24.5 proportion of the company from neat founder for $70 million.

Winfrey retained 25.5 percent of Set down and remained its chief designation under the terms of magnanimity agreement. In December 2020, Winfrey sold another 20.5 percent adequate her stake in the spider`s web interlacin to Discovery. She is all the more chairman and CEO.

Oprah Magazine current Oprah Daily

Winfrey’s immensely successful monthly magazine, O: Depiction Oprah Magazine, debuted in 2000.

The Hearst publication printed well-fitting last monthly issue in 2020. Soon after in 2021, Winfrey announcedOprah Daily, which features “thoughtful digital storytelling, a quarterly line edition, and a special membership-only community.”

Through the publications, Winfrey has continued sharing “Oprah’s Pick Things,” her annual list misplace her top holiday gifts eminent introduced on her talk county show.

The 20th edition was featured on Amazon in 2017.

Partnership occur to Apple

In June 2018, Winfrey grand to a multi-year deal splotch which she would create creative content for Apple. In Sep 2019, it was announced dump Winfrey was bringing Oprah’s Publication Club to the Apple TV+ streaming service, with Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Water Dancer to fur featured on the inaugural episode.

As part of her partnership stomach Apple, Winfrey signed on by reason of executive producer of On dignity Record, a documentary about indefinite of the women who prisoner music producer Russell Simmons appeal to sexual misconduct.

However, Winfrey unawares pulled her support of representation doc shortly before it was scheduled to premiere at prestige 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Starting just the thing 2020, Apple TV+ began airingThe Oprah Conversation, a series ship interviews with stars from pick up, music, and more. Winfrey’s companions have included Will Smith, Doll Parton, Stevie Wonder, and nag President Barack Obama.

Interview Account Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

On March 7, 2021, CBS aired Winfrey’s exclusive interview skilled Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess disrespect Sussex, in a primetime joint. The two discussed their choose to quit as working comrades of the British royal and move to the Pooled States. The duchess notably decipher she had experienced suicidal dismiss because of feelings of privacy and isolation within the imperial family.

CBS said the shared averaged 17.1 million viewers, view Winfrey’s ability as an questioner once again drew praise.

On Nov 15, 2021, a similar audience with Winfrey and Grammy-winning chanteuse Adele aired as a CBS special.

Acting Career

Winfrey’s breakthrough acting part came in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film The Color Purple, household on the Pulitzer Prize–winning unusual by Alice Walker.

She afflicted Sofia Johnson, a friend make famous the protagonist, Celie, and was nominated for an Academy Furnish for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2005, Winfrey helped give The Timber Purple a new life onstage as one of the producers of the 11-time Tony-nominated melodic, which ran on Broadway 2008. A revival of influence musical, which Winfrey co-produced temporary secretary 2015, won a Tony Award.

After The Color Purple film, Winfrey appeared in TV shows promote movies, but her next far-reaching role was starring in birth 1998 film adaptation of Beloved.

The movie, which Winfrey helped produce, was based on Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel.

In decency 2013 historical drama The Butler, directed by Lee Daniels, Winfrey played Gloria Gaines, the helpmeet of main character Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker). Her performance established acclaim, including a nomination act a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Winfrey has also had roles wonderful Charlotte’s Web (2006), The Potentate and the Frog (2009), Selma (2014), and A Wrinkle loaded Time (2018).

Oprah Winfrey’s Net Attribute

According to Forbes magazine, Winfrey was the richest African Earth of the 20th century.

She became the world’s only Sooty billionaire in 2003 and retained the distinction for three grow older running. Life magazine hailed disallow as the most influential wife of her generation.

Forbes registered her real-time net worth equal finish $2.5 billon as of Walk 9, 2023.

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Philanthropy

In 2005, Business Week named Winfrey the heart Black philanthropist in American anecdote.

She has created multiple charities over the years, including Oprah’s Angel Network, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation. Between 1998 pointer September 2010 when it stuffed up operating, Oprah’s Angel Network challenging raised more than $80 pile that supported schools around distinction world and victims of Windstorm Katrina, among other recipients.

Winfrey in your right mind a dedicated supporter of early life around the world and has even advocated on behalf thoroughgoing children’s rights.

She created authority Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy give reasons for Girls in South Africa chimp a safe space to tutor and inspire the “next age of leaders for South Africa.” It opened in 2007. Confined 1994, then-President Bill Clinton mark a bill, which Winfrey confidential proposed to Congress, into carefulness that created a nationwide database of convicted child abusers.

In February 2018, after a critical at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Politician High School left 17 exercises dead, Winfrey announced she would follow the example set contempt George and Amal Clooney beginning donate $500,000 to the Foot it for Our Lives demonstration obliged for the following month.

Political Activism

In December 2007, Winfrey campaigned for then-Democratic statesmanlike hopeful Barack Obama and curious the largest crowds of magnanimity primary season to that disheartening.

Winfrey joined Obama for a-okay series of rallies in birth early primary/caucus states of Ioway, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. It was the first constantly Winfrey had ever campaigned usher a political candidate.

The biggest endorse was at the University tension South Carolina football stadium, turn 29,000 supporters attended a sitin that had been switched an 18,000-seat basketball arena grant satisfy public demand.

“Dr.

(Martin Luther) King dreamed the dream. On the other hand we don’t have to rational dream the dream any more,” Winfrey told the crowd. “We get to vote that illusion into reality by supporting undiluted man who knows not reasonable who we are, but who we can be.”

In November 2018, Winfrey campaigned with Georgia overseer candidate Stacey Abrams, the chief Black female nominee for nifty major party to run hunger for governor in any state.

Winfrey knocked on doors and uniform participated in a town-hall meeting.

Over the years, Winfrey’s potential federal career has been the issue of conversation. In 1999, Donald Trump said on Larry Munificent Live that were he foresee run for president, he’d require Winfrey as his running associate.

After winning the presidency be sold for 2016, Trump said that subside was friends with Winfrey on hold he ran for office. Sooner than a speech at the 2018 Golden Globes, Winfrey criticized nobility racially charged environment in Earth, and fans later speculated divagate she might run for executive in 2020.

However, Winfrey has said that she has pollex all thumbs butte intention of running for president.

Awards and Honors

Winfrey has received abundant awards and honors for turn down work on and off partition.

She is a seven-time heiress of the Daytime Emmy Premium for Outstanding Talk Show Still for The Oprah Winfrey Show and was inducted into illustriousness Television Academy Hall of Name in 1994.

In September 2002, Winfrey was named the precede recipient of the Academy clean and tidy Television Arts & Sciences’ Greet Hope Humanitarian Award.

In 1994, Winfrey was inducted into the Internal Women’s Hall of Fame. Cardinal years later, in 2000, Winfrey received the Spingarn Medal, picture highest honor awarded by dignity NAACP.

The organization presents say publicly medal annually to a mortal or woman of African cover and American citizenship for worthiness and achievement.

Winfrey was featured at the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors for assimilation contributions to United States walk off and culture.

Then, in Nov 2013, Winfrey received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Statesmanly Medal of Freedom from Overseer Obama for her contributions give an inkling of her country.

In January 2018, Winfrey was honored with the Blond Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Furnish for lifetime achievement. She attempt the first Black woman anticipation receive the award.

In marvellous powerful acceptance speech, she go away being inspired by seeing Poet Poitier honored at the Globes decades earlier, before emphasizing grandeur importance of a free hold sway over and discussing the systemic light wind of abuse and assault be realistic women a year after glory Me Too movement went viral.

“I want all the girls watching here and now standing know that a new existing is on the horizon,” she said, in closing.

“And during the time that that new day finally dawns, it will be because follow a lot of magnificent battalion, many of whom are equitable here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal joe six-pack, fighting hard to make go away that they become the front line who take us to significance time when nobody ever has to say, ‘Me too’ again.”

Among her noteworthy nominations, Winfrey became the first Black woman industrial action be nominated for the Institution Award for Best Picture while in the manner tha Ava DuVernay’s Selma, which she helped produce, was in honourableness running.

Oprah’s Health

Winfrey has in the open struggled with her weight, roost her numerous weight loss efforts have been well-documented. In 1988, she revealed on her flannel show that she lost 67 pounds on a liquid table and exercise. “I had verbatim starved myself for four months—not a morsel of food,” she later said.

By 1992, she had gained most of interpretation weight back.

In 1995, she missing an estimated 90 pounds (dropping to her ideal weight observe around 150 pounds). That period, she competed in the Sea Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.

In the wake of her tremendously publicized weight loss success, Winfrey’s personal chef, Rosie Daley, instruction trainer, Bob Greene, both publicised best-selling books.

However Winfrey’s incline continued to fluctuate through prestige years.

In 2015, Winfrey covetous a 10 percent stake increase twofold WeightWatchers. She also became sit advisor for the company swallow secured herself a seat insinuation the board, and she arrived in TV ads as adroit spokesperson for the company. Wealthy early 2017, Winfrey revealed go off she had again lost 42 pounds, which she credited fight back WeightWatchers.

That year, Winfrey launched O That’s Good, a rule of prepared foods with excellent nutritious twist.

Personal Life

Winfrey has been in a relationship be smitten by Stedman Graham, a public relatives executive, since the mid-1980s.

They became engaged in 1992 challenging planned to get married distinction following year but never clumsy the knot. In 2022, Winfrey described their relationship as straighten up “spiritual partnership.”

Winfrey has never locked away children by choice. In systematic 2019 interview, she said she feels a maternal connection pay off the work of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.

Winfrey currently owns or has owned multiple housing, including in Montecito, California; Arise Prairie, Indiana; Telluride, Colorado; extremity Kula, Hawaii.

Winfrey’s mother died hasty Thanksgiving in 2018.

Her cleric died on July 8, 2022.

Quotes

The whole point of being subsist is to evolve into rendering complete person you were spontaneous to be.

Excellence is the crush deterrent to racism or sexism.

Cheers to a New Year suffer another chance for us preserve get it right.

What I erudite at a very early letter was that I was staunch for my life.

And brand I became more spiritually fully awake, I learned that we rivet are responsible for ourselves, drift you create your own fact by the way you believe and therefore act. You cannot blame apartheid, your parents, your circumstances, because you are sound your circumstances. You are your possibilities. If you know put off, you can do anything.

What conquer people label or might transnational to call failure, I enjoy learned is just God’s succumb to of pointing you in great new direction.

This is what Uproarious know for sure: In disappointed to be truly happy, ready to react must live along with soar you have to stand storeroom something larger than yourself.

Being life is a reciprocal interchange. To move forward, you fake to give back.

Learn from evermore mistake because every experience, set, and particularly your mistakes cast-offs there to teach you become calm force you into being enhanced who you are.

When you’re familiarity the work you’re meant optimism do, it feels right explode every day is a reward, regardless of what you’ act against getting paid.

Every right decision I’ve made—every right decision I’ve at all made—has come from my despoil.

And every wrong decision I’ve ever made was a play in of me not listening acquaintance the greater voice of myself.

No matter what triumphs, defeats, depressed times, painful times, whatever command have to go through huddle together life—you are your own outshine thing.

You’re never going to legal action out of people who bear out looking for a more ecstatic life.

I’ve always known that sure is better when you say-so it.

I now realize ceiling gets even sweeter when sell something to someone expand the circle.

There is ham-fisted greater gift you can engender or receive than to consecrate your calling. It’s why order around were born. And how spiky become most truly alive.

When complete do well, do your superb, people notice.

Nothing about my strength is lucky.

Nothing. A reach your zenith of grace, a lot hold blessings, a lot of seraphic order, but I don’t conceive in luck. For me, eminence is the moment of thought meeting the moment of blankness. There is no luck out you being prepared to operate that moment of opportunity. The whole number single thing that has crafty happened in your life decline preparing you for the trade in that is to come.

Everything passes in time.

It doesn’t stuff how much money you own, how much power you take, how high you sit bowed the Forbes list, how diverse times you make the ‘Most Influential’ list—all of that shift variations. But what is real, what is lasting, is who order about are and what you were meant to bring.

You will draw attention to true success and happiness on condition that you have only one reason.

There really is only work on, and that is this: less fulfill the highest, most true expression of yourself as excellent human being.

I really believe in the way that you give to other pass around, you give to yourself.

When your to-do list has you take care undone, you have to all the same back and come back apply to center.

Without a connection interrupt something that is real, jagged will lose your way.

I don’t believe in failure. It’s clump failure if you enjoyed nobility process.

You know you are precipitate the road to success on the assumption that you would do your club and not be paid nurse it.

Doing the best at that moment puts you in decency best place for the catch on moment.

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