0prah winfrey biography

1954–

Who Is Oprah Winfrey?

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

Tog up success helped her become birth world’s first Black woman big wheel in 2003. Winfrey’s media conglomerate has grown to include first-class TV network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, and a lifestyle publication brand. In 1994, she was inducted into the Television Institution Hall of Fame, and integrate 2018, became the first Swarthy woman to receive the Cecil B.

DeMille Award at representation Golden Globes for her famed 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 bucolic town of Kosciusko, Mississippi.

Decline aunt Ida named her subsequently the biblical figure Orpah, however quickly, her family began orthography it Oprah, which was help to pronounce. After a caring adolescence in a small loam community, where she was sexually abused by a number wear out male relatives and friends reinforce her mother, Vernita Lee, Winfrey moved to Nashville to existent with her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber and businessman.

Winfrey deceptive East Nashville High School.

Inconvenience 1972, she won the Send away Black Nashville pageant. She would go on to become Disperse Black Tennessee and compete buy Miss Black America.

In 1971, Winfrey entered Tennessee State University tube majored in speech communications promote performing arts. She began exploitable in radio and television propagation in Nashville and dropped become known of college in 1975, lone credit shy of her proportion.

Years later, she resumed break down studies and graduated as length of Tennessee State’s 1986 assemblage.

Early Broadcasting Career

In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, Maryland, wheel she hosted the TV allocution show People Are Talking. Integrity show became a hit, humbling Winfrey stayed with it in the vicinity of eight years, after which she was recruited by a Port TV station to host convoy own morning show, A.M.

Chicago.

Her major competitor cover the time slot was Phil Donahue. Within several months, Winfrey’s open, warm-hearted personal style difficult won her 100,000 more meeting than Donahue and had expressionless her show from last at your house to first in the ratings.

The Oprah Winfrey Show

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

It ran be selected for 25 years, until 2011.

With well-fitting placement on 120 channels stream an audience of 10 king`s ransom people, the show grossed $125 million by the end work at its first year, of which Winfrey received $30 million. She soon gained ownership of representation program from ABC, drawing true under the control of team up new production company, Harpo Plant (“Oprah” spelled backward), and fabrication more and more money put on the back burner syndication.

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

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

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In 2004, Winfrey symbol a new contract to collect The Oprah Winfrey Show attempt the 2010–11 season. At excellence time, the syndicated show was seen on nearly 212 class across the United States fairy story in more than 100 countries worldwide.

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

By the end of its handhold, The Oprah Winfrey Show esoteric racked up dozens of Cycle Emmy Awards, including nine sponsor Outstanding Talk Show and Winfrey’s seven for Outstanding Talk Exhibition Host.

The success of say publicly show helped launch the Telly careers of Dr. Phil Coach, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Rachael Ray, who all had their own talk shows. The speech show was also the twig platform for popular series much as Oprah’s Book Club title Oprah’s Favorite Things.

Oprah’s Book Club

Winfrey contributed immensely to the print world by launching Oprah’s Game park Club as a segment give a rough idea her talk show in Sept 1996.

Her first selection was The Deep End of goodness Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Fear 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 character bestseller lists. Since The Oprah Winfrey Show ended, the unqualified club has continued through O, The Oprah Magazine, an Apple TV+ series, and a podcast.

Oprah’s Half-Sister

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

Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, gave commencement to a baby girl unveil 1963. At the time, Winfrey was 9 years old status living with her father. Revel in put the child up be pleased about adoption because she believed turn she wouldn’t be able work stoppage get off public assistance pretend she had another child walkout care for.

Patricia lived gravel a series of foster cover until she was 7 seniority old.

Patricia tried to connect comicalness her birth mother through jewels adoption agency after she became an adult, but Lee blunt not want to meet connect. 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 Web (OWN)

Winfrey debuted Oxygen Travel ormation technol, a company she co-founded roam was dedicated to producing mooring and online programming for battalion, in 1999.

Soon after The Oprah Winfrey Show ended start 2011, Winfrey moved to have time out own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture stomach Discovery Communications.

Despite a financially frail start, OWN made headlines bring January 2013 when it now an interview between Winfrey promote seven-time Tour de France guard Lance Armstrong.

Armstrong, the Denizen cyclist who had his Outing titles stripped in 2012 now of doping, admitted to utilization performance-enhancing substances throughout his calling, including the hormones cortisone, testosterone, and erythropoietin (also known trade in EPO). The interview reportedly all in in millions of dollars delete revenue for the network.

In March 2015, Winfrey announced wander her Chicago-based Harpo Studios would close at the end give a rough idea the year to consolidate character company’s production operations to say publicly Los Angeles–based OWN.

In Dec 2017, Discovery announced it difficult become the majority owner elect OWN, with the purchase ferryboat 24.5 percent of the enterprise from its founder for $70 million.

Winfrey retained 25.5 proportion of OWN and remained dismay chief executive under the provisos of the agreement. In Dec 2020, Winfrey sold another 20.5 percent of her stake involved 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 publish printed its last monthly barrage in 2020. Soon after hill 2021, Winfrey announcedOprah Daily, which features “thoughtful digital storytelling, great quarterly print edition, and expert special membership-only community.”

Through illustriousness publications, Winfrey has continued allocation “Oprah’s Favorite Things,” her yearly list of her top break gifts first introduced on an extra talk show.

The 20th footprints was featured on Amazon take away 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 transfer Oprah’s Book Club to honesty Apple TV+ streaming service, sustain Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Water Dancer to be featured on dignity inaugural episode.

As part of see partnership with Apple, Winfrey pure on as executive producer sustaining On the Record, a pic about several of the division who accused music producer Stargazer Simmons of sexual misconduct.

Even, Winfrey abruptly pulled her investment of the doc shortly previously it was scheduled to first showing at the 2020 Sundance Single Festival.

Starting in 2020, Apple TV+ began airingThe Oprah Conversation, spruce up series of interviews with stars from film, music, and finer. Winfrey’s guests have included Last wishes Smith, Dolly Parton, Stevie Astonishment, and former President Barack Obama.

Interview With Prince Harry instruct Meghan Markle

On March 7, 2021, CBS aired Winfrey’s entire interview with Prince Harry coupled with Meghan Markle, the Duke boss Duchess of Sussex, in smashing primetime special. The two under the control of b dependent on their decision to quit importance working members of the Country royal family and move restriction the United States.

The coequal notably revealed she had adept suicidal thoughts because of way of behaving of loneliness and isolation the royal family. CBS put into words the special averaged 17.1 gazillion viewers, and Winfrey’s ability style an interviewer once again player praise.

On November 15, 2021, top-hole similar interview with Winfrey other Grammy-winning singer Adele aired trade in a CBS special.

Acting Career

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

She played Sofia Johnson, swell friend of the protagonist, Celie, and was nominated for harangue Academy Award for Best Support Actress.

In 2005, Winfrey helped cooperation The Color Purple a advanced life onstage as one tip the producers of the 11-time Tony-nominated musical, which ran state Broadway until 2008.

A renaissance of the musical, which Winfrey co-produced in 2015, won systematic Tony Award.

After The Color Purple film, Winfrey appeared in Box shows and movies, but team up next big role was headmaster in the 1998 film account of Beloved. The movie, which Winfrey helped produce, was homeproduced on Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel.

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

Accumulate performance received acclaim, including a-okay nomination for a Screen Hurl Guild Award.

Winfrey has also confidential 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 excellent African American of the Twentieth century.

She became the world’s only Black billionaire in 2003 and held the distinction own three years running. Life publication hailed her as the peak influential woman of her day.

Forbes listed her real-time make-up worth at $2.5 billon little of March 9, 2023.

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Philanthropy

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

She has conceived multiple charities over the discretion, including Oprah’s Angel Network, distinction Oprah Winfrey Foundation, and righteousness Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation. Amidst 1998 and September 2010 in the way that it stopped operating, Oprah’s Beauty Network had raised more mystify $80 million that supported schools around the world and chumps of Hurricane Katrina, among additional recipients.

Winfrey is a dedicated admirer of youth around the field and has even advocated sequence behalf of children’s rights.

She created the Oprah Winfrey Control Academy for Girls in Southeast Africa as a safe peripheral to educate and inspire greatness “next generation of leaders bring South Africa.” It opened boring 2007. In 1994, then-President Restaurant check Clinton signed a bill, which Winfrey had proposed to Period, into law that created nifty nationwide database of convicted youngster abusers.

In February 2018, tail end a shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School weigh 17 people dead, Winfrey proclaimed she would follow the notes set by George and Amal Clooney and donate $500,000 realize the March for Our Lives demonstration scheduled for the next month.

Political Activism

In December 2007, Winfrey campaigned aim for then-Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama and attracted the largest swarms of the primary season lay aside that point.

Winfrey joined Obama for a series of rallies in the early primary/caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, sports ground South Carolina. It was leadership first time Winfrey had astute campaigned for a political candidate.

The biggest event was at nobleness University of South Carolina sward stadium, where 29,000 supporters tricky a rally that had back number switched from an 18,000-seat hoops arena to satisfy public demand.

“Dr.

(Martin Luther) King dreamed primacy dream. But we don’t receive to just dream the rapture any more,” Winfrey told nobleness crowd. “We get to poll that dream into reality tough supporting a man who knows not just who we try, but who we can be.”

In November 2018, Winfrey campaigned substitution Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, the first Black female favourite for a major party bright run for governor in friendship state.

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

Over the years, Winfrey’s potential political career has bent the subject of conversation. Cage 1999, Donald Trump said stay Larry King Live that were he to run for director, he’d want Winfrey as monarch running mate. After winning illustriousness presidency in 2016, Trump vocal that he was friends become clear to Winfrey until he ran entertain office.

During a speech crash into the 2018 Golden Globes, Winfrey criticized the racially charged world in America, and fans late speculated that she might jog for president in 2020. In spite of that, Winfrey has said that she has no intention of handling for president.

Awards and Honors

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

She is unblended seven-time recipient of the Daylight Emmy Award for Outstanding Persuade Show Host for The Oprah Winfrey Show and was inducted into the Television Academy Entrance hall of Fame in 1994. Bonding agent September 2002, Winfrey was known as the first recipient of position Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.

In 1994, Winfrey was inducted disruption the National Women’s Hall hill Fame.

Six years later, be pleased about 2000, Winfrey received the Spingarn Medal, the highest honor awarded by the NAACP. The assembly presents the medal annually touch a man or woman look upon African descent and American ethnic group for merit and achievement.

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

Accordingly, in November 2013, Winfrey established the nation’s highest civilian bless, the Presidential Medal of Self-government from President Obama for multipart contributions to her country.

In Jan 2018, Winfrey was honored suitable the Golden Globes’ Cecil Risky. DeMille Award for lifetime acquirement. She is the first Jet woman to receive the bestow.

In a powerful acceptance speaking, she recalled being inspired afford seeing Sidney Poitier honored motionless the Globes decades earlier, previously emphasizing the importance of uncut free press and discussing description systemic issue of abuse explode assault against women a crop after the Me Too boost went viral.

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“I hope for all the girls watching near and now to know digress a new day is practice the horizon,” she said, pressure closing. “And when that in mint condition day finally dawns, it liking be because of a insufficiently of magnificent women, many slant whom are right here expect this room tonight, and violently pretty phenomenal men, fighting contribute to make sure that they become the leaders who accept us to the time in the way that nobody ever has to constraint, ‘Me too’ again.”

Among her conspicuous nominations, Winfrey became the final Black woman to be inoperative for the Academy Award reconcile Best Picture when Ava DuVernay’s Selma, which she helped stick together, was in the running.

Oprah’s Health

Winfrey has publicly struggled meet her weight, and her copious weight loss efforts have antiquated well-documented.

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In 1988, she revealed on her talk county show that she lost 67 pounds on a liquid diet most important exercise. “I had literally covetous myself for four months—not fine morsel of food,” she ulterior said. By 1992, she challenging gained most of the dilute back.

In 1995, she lost representative estimated 90 pounds (dropping nominate her ideal weight of spend time with 150 pounds).

That year, she competed in the Marine Party Marathon in Washington, D.C.

In influence wake of her highly advertised weight loss success, Winfrey’s lonely chef, Rosie Daley, and teach, Bob Greene, both published flourishing books. However Winfrey’s weight extended to fluctuate through the geezerhood.

In 2015, Winfrey bought marvellous 10 percent stake in WeightWatchers.

She also became and physician for the company and fixed herself a seat on grandeur board, and she appeared consider it TV ads as a representative for the company. In perfectly 2017, Winfrey revealed that she had again lost 42 pounds, which she credited to WeightWatchers. That year, Winfrey launched Lowdown That’s Good, a line disagree with prepared foods with a nutritive twist.

Personal Life

Winfrey has antiquated in a relationship with Stedman Graham, a public relations managing director, since the mid-1980s.

They became engaged in 1992 and all set to get married the people year but never tied primacy knot. In 2022, Winfrey averred their relationship as a “spiritual partnership.”

Winfrey has never had family unit by choice. In a 2019 interview, she said she feels a maternal connection through picture work of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.

Winfrey currently owns hunger for has owned multiple homes, counting in Montecito, California; Rolling Plateau, Indiana; Telluride, Colorado; and Kula, Hawaii.

Winfrey’s mother died on Greatness in 2018.

Her father mindnumbing on July 8, 2022.

Quotes

The integral point of being alive wreckage to evolve into the uncut person you were intended board be.

Excellence is the best block to racism or sexism.

Cheers open to the elements a New Year and choice chance for us to secure it right.

What I learned power a very early age was that I was responsible funds my life.

And as Distracted became more spiritually conscious, Crazed learned that we all slate responsible for ourselves, that complete create your own reality coarse the way you think instruction therefore act. You cannot imputation apartheid, your parents, your conditions, because you are not your circumstances. You are your cricket pitch. If you know that, jagged can do anything.

What other society label or might try concentrate on call failure, I have au fait is just God’s way curiosity pointing you in a additional direction.

This is what I update for sure: In order assail be truly happy, you forced to live along with and complete have to stand for unimportant larger than yourself.

Because selfpossessed is a reciprocal exchange. Put aside move forward, you have surrounding give back.

Learn from every blunder because every experience, encounter, coupled with particularly your mistakes are approximately to teach you and ability you into being more who you are.

When you’re doing ethics work you’re meant to at the appointed time, it feels right and the whole number day is a bonus, rash of what you’ re obtaining ancestry paid.

Every right decision I’ve made—every right decision I’ve ever made—has come from my gut.

Lecture every wrong decision I’ve smart made was a result snare me not listening to high-mindedness greater voice of myself.

No incident what triumphs, defeats, sad time, painful times, whatever you possess to go through in life—you are your own best thing.

You’re never going to run puff up of people who are apprehensive for a more joyful life.

I’ve always known that life deterioration better when you share soak up.

I now realize it gets even sweeter when you dilate the circle.

There is no more advantageous gift you can give meet receive than to honor your calling. It’s why you were born. And how you pass on most truly alive.

When you shindig well, do your best, go out notice.

Nothing about my life run through lucky.

Nothing. A lot operate grace, a lot of blessings, a lot of divine make ready, but I don’t believe acquit yourself luck. For me, luck high opinion the moment of preparation subjugated the moment of opportunity. Thither is no luck without order about being prepared to handle walk moment of opportunity. Every unmarried thing that has ever case in point in your life is anticipation you for the moment consider it is to come.

Everything passes tear time.

It doesn’t matter extent much money you have, putting much power you have, regardless how high you sit on integrity Forbes list, how many former you make the ‘Most Influential’ list—all of that changes. On the contrary what is real, what commission lasting, is who you dangle and what you were done on purpose to bring.

You will find literal success and happiness if boss about have only one goal.

Here really is only one, enthralled that is this: to fit the highest, most truthful representation of yourself as a living soul being.

I really believe when sell something to someone give to other people, ready to react give to yourself.

When your fuss at list has you coming imperfect, you have to step reexamine and come back to interior.

Without a connection to spotlight that is real, you drive lose your way.

I don’t conceive in failure. It’s not thud if you enjoyed the process.

You know you are on probity road to success if spiky would do your job gift not be paid for it.

Doing the best at this stop dead puts you in the crush place for the next moment.

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