Biography of Oprah Winfrey

1. Biography of Oprah Winfrey Born:January 29 1954 Birth Place:Kosciusko, Mississippi Birth Name:Oprah Gail Winfrey

2. Background Oprah Winfrey was first named “Oprah” from the bibles Book of Ruth, but it was misspelled on her birth certificate. Oprah Winfrey was reared by her grandmother on a farm where she “began her broadcasting career” by learning to read at the age of three. From age 6-13, she lived with her mother in Milwaukee. After suffering abuse and molestation by her cousin, uncle, and family friend. She ran away and was sent to a juvenile detention home at age 13 only to be denied admission because all beds were filled. As a last resort she had to live with her dad who was very strict. He made her read a book & write a book report each week. Oprah Winfrey began her broadcasting career at age 17, when she was hired by WVOL radio in Nashville. Two years later she became the youngest person and the first African American woman to anchor the news at WTVF-TV in Nashville.

3. Achievements Oprah Winfrey was well known for all her achievements such as being a host on WLS-TV’s “AM Chicago” a faltering local talk show in 1984. In less than a year “AM Chicago” turned into the hottest show in town. In September of 1985, it was turned into the “Oprah Winfrey Show”.

4. Important Facts As you can see race was not a factor in her success. Oprah did not ‘fall into success’ she had to work to get to where she is at right now. The thing that I found most particularly interesting about Oprah Winfrey was that she was the first African American women to anchor the news at WTVF-TV in Nashville.