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Born January 29, 1954 in
Kosciusko, Mississippi
Raised by her grandmother on a farm
Suffered sexual abuse from a number of male relatives
Moved to Nashville, TN to live with her father, Vernon, a barber and businessman
Attended TSU in 1971

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At the age of 17, began working at WVOL radio in
Nashville
At 19 years old, she became youngest person and 1 st
African-American woman to anchor the news at WTVF-
TV
Co-anchor the Six O-Clock
News in Baltimore
Co-host of local talk show,
People Are Talking

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In 1984, moved to Chicago to host WLS-TV’s morning show, A.M. Chicago
After a month on air, began surpassing ratings of her major competitor, Phil
Donahue
Launched The Oprah Winfrey
Show on Sept. 8, 1986

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Oprah establishes own syndicated production company in 1988
In October 1988, she became the first woman in history to own and produce her own talk show

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“Originally, our goal was to uplift, enlighten, encourage and entertain through the medium of television. Now, our mission for The Oprah Winfrey Show is to use television to transform people’s lives, to make viewers see themselves differently and to bring happiness and a sense of fulfillment into every home.”
Oprah Winfrey

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Time magazine- 100 Most Influential People in the World
Time magazine- 100 Most Influential People of the 20 th
Century
Newsweek- Most Important Person in Books and Media
Life magazine- Voted most influential woman and influential black person of her generation
Bob Hope Humanitarian Award
Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Forbes magazine- published in 2003, first African-American woman to become a billionaire
Received more than 40 daytime Emmy Awards for
Outstanding Talk Show and Outstanding Talk Show Host

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Oprah’s Angel Network – has raised $50 million to date; est.
“Use Your Life Award” in April 2000
Oprah.com – started in October 1995
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Oprah’s Book Club – on-air reading club established
September 17, 1996
“I want to get the country excited about reading again!”
Oprah Winfrey

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Dec. 2002- Oprah Winfrey Foundation expanded to global humanitarian efforts to South Africa
Jan. 2007- establishes The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy
Foundation which contributed to $40 million toward creation and opening of Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in
South Africa

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Magazine Creator/Editorial Director/Author
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O, The Oprah Magazine- April 2000, international version to
South Africa launched April 2002
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O at Home- newsstand-only quarterly magazine launched in 2004
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Co-authored five books
Satellite Radio Programmer
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XM Satellite Radio channel, Oprah and Friends launched Sept. 2006
Broadway Producer
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The Color Purple, December 1, 2005 at the Broadway Theatre in NYC
Television Program Creator
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Dr. Phil- Sept. 2002
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Rachael Ray- Sept. 2006

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Academy of Achievement. “Oprah Winfrey”. 06 May
2007 http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0bio-1
Oprah Winfrey’s Biography. About Oprah. 06 May
2007 http://www.oprah.com/about/press/about_press_bio.j
html
The Oprah Winfrey Show Fact Sheet. About Oprah. 06
May 2007 http://www.oprah.com/about/press/about_press_ows faq.jhtml