Oprah Winfrey – USA celebrity, TV personality

Media giant Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American media proprietor, actress, producer, talk show host & philanthropist. She was born in Mississippi, on January 29, 1954. In 1976, Oprah shifted to Baltimore & hosted a hit television chat show, People Are Talking, after which she was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show. Soon after, Oprah went on to pursue her two-and-a-half decade spell as host of her wildly popular program: The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Oprah begins her life

After a troubled teenage year in a small farming community, where she was sexually maltreated by a number relatives & friends of her mother, Vernita, she moved to her father, Vernon, a barber & businessman lived in Nashville. She entered Tennessee State University in 1971 & began working in radio & television broadcasting in Nashville.

In 1976, Oprah Winfrey moved to Baltimore where she hosted the TV chat show People Are Talking. The show became a hit & Winfrey stayed with it for 8 years, after which she was recruited by a Chicago television station to host her own morning show, A.M. Chicago. Within few months, Winfrey's open, warm hearted personal style had won her 100,000 more viewers than Donahue & had taken her show from last place to first in the ratings. Her success led to nationwide fame & a role in The Color Purple, brought her the nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Oprah launched the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986 as a nationally syndicated program & the show grossed 125 million USD by the end of its first year, of which Winfrey received 30 million USD. Later she gained ownership of the program from ABC & operate it under the control of her new production company - Harpo Productions.

Her growing success and fame

Winfrey, who became almost as familiar for her weight loss efforts as for her talk show, lost an estimated 90 pounds & competed in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC, in 1995. In the walk of her highly publicized success, Winfrey's personal chef, Rosie Daley & trainer, Bob Greene, both published bestselling books.

The media queen contributed immensely to the publishing world by launching her "Oprah's Book Club," as part of her talk show. The program put many unknown authors to the top of the bestseller chart & gave pleasure reading a new kind of popular prominence.

In 2009, Oprah announced that she would be ending her program when her contract with ABC ended. She moved to her own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, jointly with Discovery Communications.

According to Forbes magazine, Oprah Winfrey was the richest African American of the 20th century & the world's only Black billionaire for 3 years running. She is the most influential woman of her generation.

Oprah’s charitable program

In 2005, Business Week named her the greatest Black philanthropist. Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than 51,000,000 USD for charitable programs, including female education in South Africa & relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

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