- Occupation: Talk Show Host, Actress
- Born: January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi
- Best known for: The Oprah Winfrey Show
· Oprah Winfrey was born in Mississippi on January 29, 1954.
· Her mother was an unwed teenage girl, her father was a U.S. army private.
· Oprah's mother named her after a character in the Bible named "Orpah" from the Book of Ruth. However, her name was misspelled "Oprah" on the birth certificate and she has been called Oprah ever since.
When Oprah was still young, her mum moved to Wisconsin to work. Oprah stayed in Mississippi and lived with her grandmother, Hattie Mae. Life with Hattie Mae was interesting. Oprah lived on a farm. They had no running water. She had to get the water from the well each day and carry it to the house. She learned to read and write by the time she was three, from reading the Bible.
When Oprah was six, she moved to Wisconsin to live with her mom. Sometimes she lived with her mother in Wisconsin and then she lived with her father in, Tennessee. Oprah's mother was very poor. However, Oprah was a bright student, she loved to read, and did well in school. She graduated from East Nashville High School as an honors student in 1971.
· Her mother was an unwed teenage girl, her father was a U.S. army private.
· Oprah's mother named her after a character in the Bible named "Orpah" from the Book of Ruth. However, her name was misspelled "Oprah" on the birth certificate and she has been called Oprah ever since.
When Oprah was still young, her mum moved to Wisconsin to work. Oprah stayed in Mississippi and lived with her grandmother, Hattie Mae. Life with Hattie Mae was interesting. Oprah lived on a farm. They had no running water. She had to get the water from the well each day and carry it to the house. She learned to read and write by the time she was three, from reading the Bible.
When Oprah was six, she moved to Wisconsin to live with her mom. Sometimes she lived with her mother in Wisconsin and then she lived with her father in, Tennessee. Oprah's mother was very poor. However, Oprah was a bright student, she loved to read, and did well in school. She graduated from East Nashville High School as an honors student in 1971.
Oprah helped many families on the show. Here is an example of one.
In 1976, Oprah moved to a TV station in Baltimore, Maryland. At first she worked as a news anchor, but things weren't working out very well. She was moved to a TV talk show called People are Talking. The first day on the job, Oprah knew she had found her calling. She said it was "like breathing." Soon her show became very popular. She was then recruited to host a morning TV show in Chicago called A.M. Chicago. When she arrived in Chicago, the show was in last place in the ratings. The first place show was the popular Phil Donahue Show. However, in just a few months, A.M. Chicago had taken over first place. A few years later, in 1986, the show was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and was shown all over the country.
With the launch of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah became one of the most famous people in the country. Over 10 million people watched her show every day. Oprah also made a lot of money. Her show made $125 million the first year and Oprah's income was $30 million. She had come a long way from her grandma's farm without running water.
With the launch of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah became one of the most famous people in the country. Over 10 million people watched her show every day. Oprah also made a lot of money. Her show made $125 million the first year and Oprah's income was $30 million. She had come a long way from her grandma's farm without running water.
Even though Oprah's talk show was a huge success, she had always wanted to work as an actress in the movies. She got her first major role in the movie The Color Purple in 1985. It turned out that Oprah had a real talent for acting. She did such a great job that she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Over the years, Oprah has acted in other films such as The Women of Brewster Place (1989), Beloved (1998), The Princess and the Frog (2009), and The Butler (2013).
Oprah's achievements
1. Leadership Foundation Academy- a free school for young girls of south Africa. Oprah's the president and does most of the funding obviously.
2. Oprah Winfrey Foundation (1987)- aids women, children and families.
3. Oprah’s Angel Network (1998)- raises money for charitable causes around the world.
4. O Magazine (2000)- where she gives advice to women and uses herself as a guiding force.
2. Oprah Winfrey Foundation (1987)- aids women, children and families.
3. Oprah’s Angel Network (1998)- raises money for charitable causes around the world.
4. O Magazine (2000)- where she gives advice to women and uses herself as a guiding force.
Interesting Facts about Oprah Winfrey
- Oprah was crowned Miss Black Tennessee in 1972. She stopped doing beauty pageants when her career took off.
- She started her own production company called Harpo Productions. "Harpo" is Oprah spelled backwards.
- Oprah is also famous for her weight loss and weight gain. She has lost weight several times and then gained it back.
- As of 2013, her estimated net worth was $2.8 billion.
- The Oprah Winfrey Show aired for 25 years. Its final episode was on May 24, 2011.
- She was named the most influential woman of her generation by Life magazine.
- She has a fear of chewing gum that she has had since she was a little girl.