Oprah Gail Winfrey was the daughter of unmarried teenage parents and was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29, 1954. Oprah was originally named Orpah, from the bible, but she was known as Oprah almost from the beginning. Not long after her birth, Oprah’s unmarried parents separated and left her with her grandmother. Oprah spent her first six years living in rural poverty with her maternal grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee, on a pig farm. Her grandmother, encouraged Oprah’s love for reading by teaching her to read at the age of 3. Oprah began reading the Bible and started to speak at her local church. She was able to memorise bible verses and because of this, she was nicknamed “The Preacher.” Oprah started kindergarten at age five. By then she already knew how to read and write, so she was moved up …show more content…
Vernita worked long hours as a maid and consequently was not as encouraging as her grandmother. As a result of her mother’s lack of supervision, Oprah started to misbehave. Vernita then decided it was best for Oprah to move to Nashville, Tennessee with her father, Vernon Winfrey who was a barber and business man, and her step-mother, Zelma.
Oprah began to attend the Wharton Elementary School and skipped a grade again and was put in the third grade class. After her third year ended, Oprah’s father took her back to Milwaukee to visit her mother. Vernon returned to Nashville without Oprah, as she chose to stay with Vernita and start fourth grade in Milwaukee.
When Oprah was nine, she was raped by her nineteen year old cousin that was babysitting her. She was told to keep it a secret. Later on, she was abused again by family friends and her uncle. At the age of 13, Oprah ran away from home and gave birth to a premature baby boy who died two weeks after birth. Oprah said that she had not chosen to be a mother because she was not mothered