Preview

Bio of Oprah Winfrey

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
409 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Bio of Oprah Winfrey
Phase 1 IP

Polly James

Psyc 101-1204B

Biographical sketch

Phase 1 IP

Part 1

Terry Barrand

2-25-2012

Oprah Winfrey is an actress, entrepreneur, producer, philanthropist, talk show host, and a television producer she was born January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to an unwed mother. She lived with her mother until her trouble adolescence years where she was abuse sexually by male family members and some of her mother male friends. Oprah moved to Nashville Tennessee where her father lived and by the age of 18 her life seems to get better after winning Ms. Tennessee beauty pageant. She was educated at Tennessee State University where she studied radio and television broadcasting.

Her break came in when she hosted radio and television in Nashville she later moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she hosted a TV chat show. Ms. Winfrey stayed with the company for eight years before landing her own show. She went up against some big names like Phil Donahue, Ricki Lake, and Geraldo whom at the time where the top TV host. When Oprah came alone she became first in ratings by getting over 100,000 more watches, because she brought something different to the table on talk show instead of tabloids and trashy talks she gain the respect of her viewers. She also brought a little of her personal life in to television by losing a total of 90 pounds on the show, but she gained it again and her weight has been an issue thru out her career.

In 1986, The Oprah Winfrey show aired as a nationally syndicated program by the first year the show grossed $125 Million and it showed on 120 channels and her fan was about 12 million people. Her earning for that first year was $30 million. Oprah gain ownership of the program from ABC using her new production company, Harpo Production and it made her more money. "Oprah 's Book Club" was started on her television



References: http://www.biography.com/people/oprah-winfrey-9534419?page=1 blkhistroy.com

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Oprah Gail Winfrey is a very strong and independent woman in today’s society. Oprah Winfrey went through many tough times throughout her lifetime, but being the tenacious woman she is, Winfrey became very successful. Oprah has helped many people get through their own personal struggles by being a role model to the twenty-first century. Oprah exemplifies what it means to be a hero by her ability to pull herself out of poverty by her hard work, becoming a strong woman after years of abuse, and helping others in the world by speaking out about her past.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    American television host, actress, producer, and philanthropist Oprah Gail Winfrey was born in the rural town of Kosciusko, Mississippi, on January 29, 1954 to Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey. Vernita and Vernon had Oprah at a young age and never were married to each other during the time of Oprah’s birth. Oprah Winfrey had a difficult adolescents living with her mother, she was sexually abused by male relatives and friends of her mother. Oprah ran away from home and was sent to a juvenile detention center. Around this time she gave birth to a premature boy that died soon after his birth. Later she became under the supervision of her strict father Vernon Winfrey in Nashville.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    But to see Oprah’s impact on the world, we must go back all the way to her childhood, where her road to success began. Oprah (originally her name was Orpah Winfrey, but due to frequent misspellings of her first name she changed it to Oprah) was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, a rural town in…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    it is always said that young people are the future ;however, young people can not shape the future . for example oprah winfrey ,she faced every problem that might face a person .she helped those who faced the same problems .she recognized the signifiance of choosing the right choice ,and she worked on enhancing the benefits .moreover she established her leader ship academy for girls in south africa to bright the future of women and girls .oprah winfrey understands that in Africa ,where women and girls have been disadvantaged ,can greatly improve the concept of low expectation and unequal…

    • 100 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oprah is very ambitious and has created many organizations to help nations in poverty. To make lives better for children in South Africa, she built an academy for girls so that they can have opportunities to get an education. Not only she is sympathetic toward unfortunate people, but also towards animals who are getting abused and not treated properly. With her kindness and ambitious act of positively using her wealth and fame, she alerted many people about dangerous situations that third world countries are faced…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    She is the first Female African American billionaire, and what does she spend her money on? Charity for the most part. She is yet another prime example of the American dream in one aspect or another. She is also extremely invested and is a major contributor and activist in society. She once said, “Dr. (Martin Luther) King dreamed the dream. But we don’t have to just dream the dream anymore.”(DiLallo) This quote exemplifies the concept of Oprah wanting to be active in her contributions to those who are less fortunate, showing that she not only has the American Dream envisioned for herself, but for all those around…

    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What Is Macbeth's Ambition

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Oprah Winfrey, for one, grew up in an abusive household where male relatives of hers would repeatedly molest her, which took an emotional toll on Oprah. She was an unsettled teenager who appeared to have no future ahead of her, considering the cruelty and harm she had undergone. After Oprah moved to Nashville to live with her father, where she could have easily been absorbed in the same life style she perused in New York, constantly surrounding herself with promiscuous behavior. Instead, she cleaned up her act and won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant, got an on-air job at WVOL, and also won a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. From there she continued her career as a radio newscaster, and eventually had her own radio show. With continued persistence, Oprah gained her own television talk show and is now the highest-paid performer on television. Oprah’s ambition was what drove her to continue her fight through her hard childhood, and make a positive, healthy life for herself. If Oprah lacked the ambitious qualities that she had and gave up, she would likely be trapped as a damaged and troubled woman who let her past experience define who she…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oprah Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko Mississippi. She was left in her grandmother's care after her parents separated. She was a brilliant child who learned how to read before the age of three by her grandmother and could recite bible verses. She also skipped two grades because of how intelligent and educated she was. Oprah grew up poor on a farm with her grandmother until she was six years old. She then moved to her mother's house which was in a very dangerous and poverty-stricken neighborhood. She continuously moved back and forth between her parent's during her childhood. Oprah was molested and raped by her relatives when she was young and she became pregnant at fourteen. She had a son who died when he was an…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this essay I will discuss, the life of Oprah Winfrey and her rise to fortune and fame. I chose Oprah Winfrey because I find her as a very remarkable person with a fascinating life. She has also been an inspiration in my life encouraging me to succeed. To know that she has done so many great things in the world for others really empowers me. I believe she is a very strong, intelligent and successful woman. She has achieved so much success because of her dedication and passion for her life works.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    overcoming them. There are many famous people who have a great impression in my life.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Epic Hero

    • 531 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Oprah Winfrey was born January 29, 1954 and raised in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She grew up in a small farming community. As a young girl, she was “sexually abused by a number of male relatives and friends of her mother,” (bio.). She moved to Nashville to live with her father to escape the pain. Although this is not a positive characteristic she grew from that experience. Most individuals that are sexually abused or harassed have a very difficult time healing themselves from the pain they had to endure. After these events, Oprah was able to move on with her life with the help of a few TV stations and broadcasters.…

    • 531 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oprah was born on January 9, 1954 in an underprivileged neighborhood in Mississippi. Her childhood was a rough one, as her mother was a single, teenage, housemaid. She was sent to live with her grandmother at a young age and experienced the many heartaches of poverty and abuse my family members. Oprah knew she wanted to work in media and help people; when she was in high school, she received a part time job reciting the news for a local radio station. She worked a series of other jobs, including a low rated morning show spot in Chicago.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Oprah Winfrey

    • 2909 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Oprah Gail Winfrey was born January 29, 1954 in rural Kosciusko, Mississippi to her young unmarried mother Vernita Lee and assumed father Vernon Winfrey. Vernita Lee, born in 1933, was a housemaid who gave birth,…

    • 2909 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Oprah Winfrey was born on a small farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29th, 1954, and life was immediately rough for her. Her grandmother raised her for the first six years of her life, while her teenage mother was looking for work up north. Whilst living with her grandma, it was very primitive and poverty was a normality. She would often wear clothes made of potato sacks and garbage bags, having kids in the neighborhood laugh at her constantly. Her only friends at the time were the animals on the farm, but that didn’t stop her, as she would dress them up and have tea parties with them. Albeit she didn’t have an ideal upbringing, she was able to get by with her grandmother by her side. Oprah was taught how to read very early and by the time she was three years old, she was already singing bible verses in church.…

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    - Oprah Winfrey was born on 29th January 1954 in Kosciusko Mississippi to teenagers Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays