Oprah Winfrey’s life is truly an endless source of inspiration and an example to all who have ever known her.
Queen of talk shows, media mogul and humanitarian, these are the names that people always remember when talking about Oprah Winfrey. This woman not only symbolizes the power of women in the American entertainment industry but also symbolizes relentless progress and extraordinary efforts.
It can be said that Oprah Winfrey has become an endless source of inspiration and a role model for everyone who has ever watched her show or read about her life.
Life and difficult 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood
Oprah Winfrey is a famous and important philanthropist in South Africa. She has created many schools for disadvantaged girls in this country.
Of course, most famous people start from somewhere or in some very special circumstances, but Oprah’s 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood was not as beautiful as other 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren. That is also the reason why, when she became a famous person, she spared no effort, money and time to build good things for the world. She wanted to create her own charity, but built it in the form of a school.
And the school she built in South Africa became a part of her life. Oprah dreamed that all the girls who attended the school would become future African leaders.
It can be said that Oprah’s difficult 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood helped her become the strong and successful person she is today. When she recalls, she often says that she does not want any 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 to suffer the terrible things she experienced.
Oprah Winfrey was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 on January 29, 1954, the first 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 of an unmarried teenage couple in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Oprah grew up in a Baptist family with her mother, Vernita Lee, and her father, Vernon Winfrey.
Her parents had a difficult time figuring out what to do with themselves and how to raise Oprah, who was still a 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦. As a result, Oprah moved in with her grandmother until she was 6 years old, when her grandmother passed away. After her grandmother’s death, Oprah moved back in with her mother and three half-siblings. Together, they lived in the slums of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
While living with her mother, Oprah was abused at the age of nine by close relatives whom her family trusted. Traumatized by a series of unfortunate events, Oprah had a very difficult adolescence. She no longer remembers how many times she tried to run away from home. She became more stub𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 and demanding, even smashing her glasses so that her mother would buy her new, more stylish ones.
However, the real disaster came when Oprah became pregnant at the age of 14. Sadly, the 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 died shortly after 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡. Unable to bear Oprah’s rebellion, her mother was forced to send her to live with her biological father in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father was much stricter than Oprah’s mother. He made his daughter memorize 5 vocabulary words every day or else he would not let her eat dinner. However, this was an important turning point in Oprah’s life, because from this point on she achieved a lot of success.
The road to success
When she transferred to Nashville High School, Oprah quickly showed her talent and became one of the best students. She became the school’s honor student and was voted the most popular girl by her peers. Oprah’s academic achievements were also very impressive.
She joined the school’s speech team and won second place in a national competition. By this time, Oprah had already gathered enough qualities to become an outstanding speaker, and it was not difficult for her to win a scholarship to the University of Tennessee.
Since entering college, Oprah began to become the celebrity she is known as today. During her freshman year at the University of Tennessee, Oprah became Miss Black Nashville and Miss Black Tennessee. With her popularity and great speaking background, Oprah became the first black woman to land a job on television at the age of 19.
After graduating from college in 1976 with a degree in communications, Oprah moved on to become a foreign television correspondent. Her first assignment was in Baltimore. She was then hired on a local talk show called People Are Talking. During this time, she also became the host of the game show Dialing for Dollars.
After working for several local businesses in Baltimore, Oprah Winfrey became the chief television correspondent for AM Chicago. With her ability, Oprah transformed AM Chicago from a poorly rated station to the most popular television show in Chicago.
In 1985, due to the popularity of the show, executives decided to change the name to The Oprah Winfrey Show. The following year, the show was broadcast nationwide and became the number one show in the United States. Oprah Winfrey had now become the media queen she is today.
With her success, Oprah has built her own book club, a magazine called “O” Magazine, and has her own television talk show.
Even at the height of her success, Oprah always kept in mind that she would share that success with the poor. She turned to the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Christmas Kindness, which is dedicated to disadvantaged 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren. She said that helping those unfortunate 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren helped her ease the pain of her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood.
Oprah also donated to many other charities such as Moorehouse College, Harold Washington Library, United Negro College Fund, Tennessee State University Foundation and many others. This also marked the beginning of Oprah’s later charitable activities.
When talking about Oprah Winfrey, Seventeen magazine editor-in-chief Atoosa Rubenstein said: ” Oprah is the type of person who, when she has success, will share it with those around her who need it most. That’s why she is a hero in my eyes and everyone’s, a great role model.”