Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey was born in Mississippi in 1954. A self-made
media icon, Winfrey represents the highest and most pure form
of the American Dream. She was born with nothing, not even
a true family, and turned hard work into an incomparable fortune.
Although, the wealthiest black person in the U. S., she remains
accessible to her fans through mastering and commanding every
media channel ever created.
Oprah Winfrey |
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The story of Oprah's early life is not a happy one. She suffered
years of sexual and emotional abuse from family members that
she should have been able to depend on. Winfrey became pregnant
at age 13, giving birth to a baby boy who would die shortly
after birth. Only her grandmother lifted her up and allowed
her to tap into her potential for greatness.
In high school, she became an honors student and won second
place in a national oratory competition. At 17, Winfrey won
the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant and earned a part-time
job working at a local radio station. Her achievements in
speech and communications landed her a scholarship to Tennessee
State University. She majored in communications and became
the first black female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV.
Her media career took her to Baltimore where she began hosting
a local talk show.
In 1986, the Oprah Winfrey Show first aired nationally. This
show would overtake Donahue, hosted by then King of Talk Phil
Donahue, and go on to be the most successful daytime talk
show of all time, running 26 seasons. Although, the daytime
show was the platform for Oprah's success, her business-savvy
and ability to conquer all forms of media would be her trademark
and make her a household name.
Oprah successfully turned herself into a mega-brand that
launched feature films, online media, a radio empire, and
a publishing empire. Her power in wielding influence has coined
a phrase, "The Oprah Effect" which essentially means
that anything Oprah touches turns to gold. The power of this
influence was nationally recognized when she publically endorsed
Barrack Obama in his 2008 run for President.
Her accessibility and humanity have served as building blocks
for her fame and fortune. Throughout her career, she has confessed,
very publicly, her errors in life including, becoming pregnant
at 13, experimenting with drugs, and making unhealthy weight
loss choices. While earning her heavy criticism in the mainstream
media, these group therapy type confessions also won her the
respect, admiration and fierce loyalty of her fans throughout
the world. Winfrey is noted for taking charitable work to
a whole new level especially founding the Oprah Winfrey Leadership
Academy for Girls in South Africa.
In 2010, Forbes listed Oprah Winfrey's worth at over $2.7
billion, making her the wealthiest self-made woman in America.
While overcoming many personal tragedies, Winfrey has never
had the fall from grace that most successful people experience
at some point in their lives. She's the ultimate winner, and
her snowballing success also serves as an icon. Winfrey has
been with long-time boyfriend Steadman Graham since 1986.
The two became engaged in 1992, but remain not married. Winfrey
has long stood as a symbol that women can and should stand
on their own, and create their own path to their own success.
Today Oprah Winfrey still stands as one of the most famous
women in the modern world.
There is a secret
you don't know …
Besides the factual Oprah Winfrey biography presented above
there is a secret we've just uncovered. After years of hiding
this shame Oprah has finally confessed that she has an obsession
and will spend hours online perusing pictures of vestigial
tails.
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