Oprah Winfrey is not just another famous African-American
entrepreneur. She is one great example of a person who has
succeeded to rise from poverty and overcome terrible
experiences in her past because of her determination and hard
efforts. Her decisions to constitute her own destiny and her
self-confidence make her the perfect role model for any women
in the world. All these qualities that she possesses have led her
to become one of the most influential people in the world as
Vanity Fair Magazine has praised her: "Oprah Winfrey arguably
has more influence on the culture than any university president,
politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope." Despite
her enormous wealth and popularity, she remains as a humble
and warm-hearted person who continues to be an inspiration
for every person. No wonder many awards have been rewarded
to her as the token of admiration and honor, including a Daytime
Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy
of Television Arts and Sciences in 1998. Nevertheless, her
journey to achieve all of these has not been easy as there were
many obstacles during the process.
Oprah was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi,
USA from an unmarried young couple. Originally named as
Orpah, the family and people around her often addressed her as
Oprah, so she went on to use this particular name. She was
nurtured by her paternal grandmother after her parents decided
to have a separation. Living at her grandmother's farm in rural
Mississippi, she learned to read and practiced recitations at the
age of 3. Her serene life became miserable after she moved to
her mother's home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1960. Because of
her mother's lack of affection and attention, she turned into a
wild girl who was involved in drugs while also suffered sexual
harassment. In 1968, she lost her premature baby who died
shortly after being born. Her mother then sent her to Nashville,
Tennessee to be put under strict rules and high standards of her
father. Despite being an austere man, her father actually taught
her to be a discipline and purposeful person. "As strict as he
was," she recalled, "he had some concerns
about me making
the best of my life, and would not accept anything less than
what he thought was my best."
With her father's help, Oprah gradually fixed her chaotic life. At
East Nashville High Schoobecame a brilliant student, joined drama club and student
council, even was appointed to attend the White House
Conference on Youth. After having graduated in 1971, she
received a four-year scholarship to Tennessee
State University.
She began to develop broadcasting career at 17, working for
WVOL radio in Nashville. During her study at the university, the
nineteen-years-old Oprah made a fabulous movement by
becoming both the youngest and the first African-American
female news anchor at WTVF-TV in Nashville. In 1976, she
finally graduated with a degree of B.A in Speech and Performing
Arts. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Baltimore's WJZ-TV,
working as a reporter as well as the co-anchor of the six o'clock
news. She did not quite enjoy her job since she had to perform
less emotion while announcing news. Thus, she gladly took the
offer to be the co-host of an early morning talk show entitled
"People are Talking." "It was like breathing to me," she
remarked, "Like breathing. You just talk."
The year of 1984 marked Oprah's career as she came to
Chicago and was chosen to host a local talk show called "AM
Chicago" at WLS-TV. The show surprisingly became popular
within several months so that it was extended to be a one-hour
show. Following the show's success, its name then was
changed into "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in September 1985. She
received marvelous accomplishment as her show was aired
nationally on September 8, 1986, soon strived to be the number
one talk show in U.S.. It is because she established a different
kind of talk show that for the first time a host willingly shared
her personal life with the audiences, talking about her friendship
with Gayle King or making anecdotes about her partner,
Stedman Graham. As a host and interviewer, she revealed her
empathy along with emotions, thus making her show humanly
and uniquely exceptional. In the same year, Oprah built Harpo
Productions, Inc. She afterwards took over the show from
Capitol Cities/ABC to be under her production company,
therefore becoming the first black woman in history to possess
and produce her own talk show. In the following year, "The
Oprah Winfrey Show" gained three Daytime Emmy Awards for
Outstanding Talk/Service Program, Outstanding Direction, and
Outstanding Host.
While "The Oprah Winfrey Show" previously followed the format
of traditional talk show, it started to reach more critical
problems which had been considered by Oprah tohave an important repercussion and straight relevance toward
women. During her show, she also included people who
underwent dreadful experiences and those in deficient
conditions. This makes the show more exceptional also
meaningful so that it comes to be the highest rated television
talk show program ever. Being watched by up to 20 million U.S.
audiences every week, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" has spread its
charm to more than 130 countries worldwide, such as
Singapore, Bangladesh, Cyprus, and Mongolia. Furthermore, this
magnificent show had collected 30 Daytime Emmy Awards
throughout 1987-1998. Being the most successful talk show
host in the world, Oprah took a deal to extend her show until
2011 which means that the show will have been broadcast for 25 years.
Oprah's concerns are not only focused on her talk show since
she has been interested in acting and entertainment. In 1985,
she starred in Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" and was
chosen as an Academy Award nominee for her role there. In the
following year, her next film entitled "Native Son" was released.
Her three other big screens were "Throw Momma from the
Train" (1987), "Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones " (1990),
and "Beloved" (1998). Not only played roles, she even produced
some TV programs through Harpo Productions while also made
appearances, such as in "The Women of Brewster Place" (1989),
"There Are No Children Here" (1993), and "Before Women Had
Wings" (1997). The rests were, among others: "The
Weddings" (1998), "Tuesdays with Morrie" (1999), "Amy &
Isabelle" (2001), and "Their Eyes Were Watching God" (2005).
Oprah kept exploring any possibilities to actualize her wishes of
bringing out the social consciousness. She created an on-air
book club in 1996, ventured in the printed media industry by
publishing "O, The Oprah Magazine" and "O At Home," then set
up her own cable television network named "Oxygen" in 1999.
In spite of her hectic activities, Oprah appears to be actively
involved in some projects of humanity. In 1991, she commenced
a proposal urging U.S. government to provide a national
database of convicted child abusers that was later issued as
"Oprah Bill" in 1993. She collects funds for charities through her
organization, Angel Network, while also establishing Family for
Better Lives Foundation. Humanity is not her only concern for
she also possesses a deep thought about education. Realizing
that it is essential, she dedicated herself in this particular field,tconducting The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program, Oprah Winfrey
Leadership Academy for Girls, and Christmas Kindness through
Oprah Winfrey Foundation. "For me, education is about the most
important thing because that is what liberated me," she said.
"Education is what liberated me. The ability to read saved my
life. I would have been an entirely different person had I not
been taught to read when I was an early age."
Biography was written and copyrighted © by AceShowbiz.com.
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