Biography of Oprah Gail Winfrey

1.0 Biography of Oprah Gail Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey is a very famous and familiar name worldwide. Born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi, United States, to unwed teenage parents was initially named Orpah based on the Book of Ruth in the Bible and later changed into Oprah for easier pronunciation. Her mother, Vernita Lee, an eighteen-year-old housemaid and her father, Vernon Winfrey was twenty and in the armed forces when Oprah was born. Initially, Oprah lived with her maternal grandmother Hattie Mae in a pig farm at Kosciusko until she was six. Oprah's grandmother taught her to read before the age of three and took her to the local church, where she was nicknamed "The Preacher" for her ability to recite Bible verses. When Oprah was a child, her grandmother would take a switch and would hit her with it when she didn't do chores or if she misbehaved in any way.

At age six and a half, Oprah moved to a Milwaukee inner city ghetto with her mother, who was less supportive and encouraging than her grandmother. Despite her dysfunctional home life, Oprah skipped two of her earliest grades, became the teacher's pet, and by the time she was 13 received a scholarship to attend a prestigious all-white high school in the suburbs. Although Winfrey was very popular, she couldn't afford to go out on the town as frequently as her better-off classmates. Furthermore, due to her mother's lack of supervision gave opportunity for several male relatives and friends to abuse Oprah sexually. Her cousin raped her when she was nine, molested by a family friend and then by her uncle.Like many teenagers at the end of the 1960's, Oprah rebelled, ran away from home and ran the streets. She even gave birth to a premature baby at the age of fourteen but the baby died shortly after birth.

Then, Oprah was given an ultimatum, either to live with her father and his wife in Nashville or be sent to a juvenile detention center. Oprah, disliking the idea of staying in a juvenile detention center went to live with her father and his wife Zelma in Nashville. This was a turning point in her life, as her father provided her with the discipline that was lacking in her life. Her father required her to complete a weekly book report that rekindled her love for reading. Her father's strict curfew and stress on the value of education turned Oprah's life altogether. Winfrey became an honors student, was voted 'Most Popular Girl', joined her high school speech team, and placed second in the nation in dramatic interpretation. At the age of nineteen, Oprah landed her first job as a reporter at WVOL radio station in Nashville. Shortly afterward, she entered into Tennessee State University in Nashville. She won an oratory contest, which secured her full scholarship to Tennessee State University, a historically black institution, where she studied communications. In her freshman year, Oprah won several pageants including 'Miss Black Nashville' and 'Miss Tennessee' in 1971.

She received job offer from the local CBS television station that she declined and after graduating in 1976, Oprah accepted a job offer from WJZ-TV, the affiliate in Baltimore, Maryland. In January 1984, Oprah moved to Chicago to host the 'A.M. Chicago' for WLS-TV. The first episode aired on January 2, 1984. Within months after Winfrey took over, the show went from last place in the ratings to overtaking Donahue as the highest rated talk show in Chicago. It was renamed 'The Oprah Winfrey Show', expanded to a full hour, and broadcast nationally beginning September 8, 1986, its first show about marrying the right person. 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' still exists today as the number one talk show in the United States. This show was the starter for Oprah's success in her career as well her life. She started from zero and now she is a billionaire. According to Forbes magazine, she was the only African American of the 20th century and the world's only black billionaire as 2004.

It was stated in the Time Magazine that "Few people would have bet on Oprah Winfrey's swift rise to host of the most popular talk show on TV. In a field dominated by white males, she is a black female of ample bulk. As interviewers go, she is no match for, say, Phil Donahue. What she lacks in journalistic toughness, she makes up for in plainspoken curiosity, robust humor and, above all empathy. Guests with sad stories to tell are apt to rouse a tear in Oprah's eye. They, in turn, often find themselves revealing things they would not imagine telling anyone, much less a national TV audience. It is the talk show as a group therapy session."

TV columnist Howard Rosenberg said "She's a roundhouse, a full course meal, big, brassy, loud, aggressive, hyper, laughable, lovable, soulful, tender, low-down, earthy and hungry. And she may know the way to Phil Donahue's jugular."

Newsday's Les Payne observed, "Oprah Winfrey is sharper than Donahue, wittier, more genuine, and far better attuned to her audience, if not the world."

Martha Bayles of the Wall Street Journal wrote, "It's a relief to see a gab-monger with a fond but realistic assessment of her own cultural and religious roots."

In the mid-1990s Oprah adopted a less tabloid-orientated format, doing shows about heart disease in women, geopolitics with Lisa Ling, spirituality and meditation, and gift-giving and home decorating shows. She often interviews celebrities on issues that directly involve them in some way, such as cancer, charity work, or substance abuse. In addition, she interviews ordinary people who have done extraordinary things or been involved in important current issues.

In 1992 Oprah hosted a rare prime-time interview with Michael Jackson which became the fourth most watched event in American television history, with an audience of one hundred million. Perhaps oprah's most famous recent show was the first episode of the nineteenth season of The Oprah Winfrey Show in the fall of 2004. During the show each member of the audience received a new G6 sedan; the 276 cars were donated by Pontiac as part of a publicity stunt. The show received so much media attention that even the taxes on the cars became controversial.

Oprah recently made a deal to extend her show until the 2010 - 2011 seasons, by which time it will have been on the air for twenty-five years. She plans to host 140 episodes per season, until her final season, when it will return to its current number, 130.

Oprah always wanted to be an actress even though her father was totally against the idea as he has an opinion that actresses are lewd women.