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Oprah Winfrey:
The Path to Success
KiJana Davis
May 9, 2013
English III
Mrs. Putnam
2nd Block
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The Definition of “American Dream” is the traditional social ideals of the United States,
such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity. This is Oprah’s Journey to reach her
“American Dream”. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko (“Oprah
Winfrey”Newsmakers), Mississippi to her unwed teenage parents Venita and Vernon (“Oprah
Winfrey Interview”) that were sharecroppers (“Oprah Winfrey, Entrepreneur.”). Oprah whose
name was actually Orpah from the bible but due to misspelling on her birth Certificate her name
was changed to Oprah (“Oprah Gail Winfrey”). Her grandmother taught her how to read at age 2
and a half (“Oprah Winfrey”) and started reading poems at age 3(“Oprah Winfrey Interview”). In
elementary school she wrote a note to her kindergarten teacher explaining why she belonged in
first grade. After completing first grade she was then moved up to third grade (“Oprah Winfrey”
.Newsmakers). At 6 years old she moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her mother (“Oprah
Winfrey” .Newsmakers). While attending Lincoln Middle School in Downtown Milwaukee a
teacher Gene Abrahams notice her love for books and helped her transfer to Nicolet High School
in Glendale, Wisconsin she was the only black person but became well known and popular ( “A
Childhood Biography of Oprah Winfrey”). At age 13 Oprah didn’t get enough attention from her
mom because her mother worked often, she did things like faking a robbery in her own home,
stole from her mom’s purse for new stylish glasses and ran away from home, her mother tried to
send her to a detention center but they didn’t have any room (“Oprah Gail Winfrey”). Oprah
moved out of her mother’s at age 14, she lived in hotel rooms by herself (“Oprah Winfrey
Interview”) . Oprah once ran into Aretha Franklin and told her she was an orphan from Ohio
looking for a way back home Aretha gave her $100 (“Oprah Gail Winfrey”). Oprah moved back
in with her mom when she found out she was pregnant she didn’t tell her parents until her 7th
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month of pregnancy, the day she decided to tell them she went into labor and had her baby the
same day. The baby boy died within two weeks of birth (“A Childhood Biography of Oprah
Winfrey”). After the birth and death of her baby she was sent to live with her father in Nashville,
Tennessee. Her father Vernon Winfrey was stricter he required her to write weekly book reports
and didn’t allow her to eat until she learned 5 new vocabulary words. In high school she joined
drama club, debate club, and student counsel (“Oprah Gail Winfrey”). Oprah’s first time reading
Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was at age 16 that’s when she realized she
needed to get her life back together and focus more on her education (“A Childhood Biography
of Oprah Winfrey”). During her senior year she won an Elks Club Speech Contest earning a full
scholarship to Tennessee State University (“Oprah Winfrey”. Newsmakers). Oprah graduated
high with a 4 year scholarship and a job in radio (“A Childhood Biography of Oprah Winfrey”).
In 1971 at age 17, Oprah began going to Tennessee University (“Oprah Winfrey, 2013”), she
was also selected to represent Tennessee at the White House Conference in Colorado along with
one other person (“A Childhood Biography of Oprah Winfrey”).Oprah also competed and won
the Miss. Black Tennessee Pageant (“Oprah Winfrey Interview”) By her junior year of college
Oprah was earning $15,000 yearly as a Co-anchor (“Oprah Winfrey”. Newsmakers) During
Oprah’s senior year at Tennessee State she left school and moved to Baltimore, Maryland in
1976, where she got a job at WVOL( “Oprah Winfrey Interview”) hosting People are Talking
TV show(“Oprah Winfrey”, 2013). The Definition of “American Dream” is the traditional social
ideals of the United States, such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity.
Oprah dreams and influences started when was younger she wanted to become an actress.
Oprah was well known for speaking in her grandmother’s church. She was also inspired by her
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4th grade teacher to become a teacher, her church members also inspired her to be a missionary
and travel around the world (“Oprah Winfrey”. Newsmakers). When Oprah was 12 she won $500
for a speech in church that’s when she realized she wanted to get “paid to talk”. (“Oprah Gail
Winfrey”). During her childhood Oprah wasn’t raised around many good influences she watched
her grandmother and parents were share croppers (“Oprah Winfrey, Entrepreneur.”). When she
moved to Milwaukee with her mother she was often left alone while her mom worked. (“Oprah
Gail Winfrey”).
One obstacle she faced began at age 9 Oprah and her siblings were left with a 19 year
old cousin watching them and when she was raped then taken out for ice cream to keep it a secret
she did. A few years later she was abuse again by a family friend and an uncle. This started a
long cycle of abuse. She kept the abuse a secret from her family. (“A Childhood Biography of
Oprah Winfrey”). Dealing with the abuse she could’ve struggled with depression but she didn’t
let that stop even though she held in that secret.
A second obstacle occurred, While hosting a TV show in New York, Oprah was often
told her hair was too thick, her nose was too wide, and her chin was too big the directors want
her to look Puerto Rican (“Oprah Gail Winfrey”). Oprah was taken to a hair salon to make her
hair thinner the hair dresser misapplied the hair treatment and she was left temporarily and
completely bald. She lost her self confidence and had to wear a head scarf on television, she
turned to food for comfort (“Oprah Winfrey”). In January of 1984 she moved to Chicago to host
a 30 minute talk show, and then in September of 1985 it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey show.
This show was aired in 140 different countries (“Oprah Winfrey Interview”), showed on 120
different channels, a audience of 10 million people at the end of its first year the show brought in
$125 million dollars she has also won 45 Emmy awards (“Oprah Winfrey’s Official
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Biography”). In 1986 she started her own production company Harpo (Oprah backwards)
Productions INC. (“Oprah Winfrey Interview”). In 1985 she took a role in Steven Spielberg’s
movie The Color Purple which nominated her for an Academy Award for Best Supporting
Actress. In 1991 Oprah puts the National Child Protection Act in place and testifies in front of a
U.S Senate Judiciary Committee to establish a national database of convicted child abusers. In
1993 President Clinton signed the “Oprah Bill” for the database. (“Oprah Winfrey’s Official
Biography”) In 1994 Oprah made a pledge to keep her show free from tabloid topics. Forbes
Magazine named her the richest African-American of the 20th Century and the only AfricanAmerican billionaire for 3 years straight. (“Oprah Winfrey, 2013”). In 2000 Oprah launched her
own magazine O in it she states “I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes” . In
2007 Oprah opened The Leadership Academy for Girls-South Africa which was later involved in
a sex scandal. In 2008 Oprah opened The Oprah Store where you can browse through clothes
actually worn by Oprah. In 2009 Oprah did an interview with the late great Whitney Houston
that was rated as one of her best interviews. January 1st of 2011 Oprah launched the Oprah
Winfrey Network (OWN) (“Oprah Winfrey”, 2013).The Oprah Winfrey show ended in 2011.
Today Oprah net worth is $2.8 billion dollars; she listed #2 on celebrity top 100 lists, and #1 on
TV and Radio. Oprah is America’s only African-American billionaire (“Oprah”).