Oprah Winfrey is one of the most powerful women in the world. She worked passed the struggles of being an African America girl growing up in a poverty-stricken household; becoming one of the most powerful African American women in the world. The struggles Oprah faced helped her become the powerful women she is. Oprah Winfrey, known for the Oprah Winfrey Show, is a charitable person and a major influence in the entertainment industry. She is a role model for not only African Americans, but for women all over the world. She has what people call the “Midas touch” or “Oprah effect”; everything and everyone she touches turns to gold. This means that people or things she speaks highly about or present on her show become famous very quickly. …show more content…
She was born to a single teenage mother, Vernita Lee. Oprah is the half-sister to two girls, both named Patricia, and a boy named Jeffery. Oprah lived with her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee, while her mother went north in search for work. Oprah lived a poor rural life. Her grandmother taught her to read at a young age; Oprah read Bible verses at her local church. While her mother was at work Oprah spent a lot of time alone in their apartment. During this time Oprah was molested many times by her uncle, cousin, and family-friend. Oprah ran away from home at 13 and became pregnant at age 14; after giving birth to a son he died shortly after. When Oprah returned she was made fun of at school, because of her family’s financials. She began to start stealing money from her mother. Her mother was unable to deal with Oprah and sent her to live with her father, Vernon, in Nashville. Her father was a strict parent that focused on education; under his watch Oprah flourished. She became active in school both socially and academically; leading her to attaining a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. There she became a communications major. WVOL, a local black radio station, hired Oprah to read the news part-time. Oprah became the youngest news anchor; becoming the “first” to do things would follow Oprah throughout her …show more content…
Winfrey took the show from last place in the ratings to the highest ranked talk show in Chicago. The show was then renamed, The Oprah Winfrey Show, it became a full-hour talk show broadcasted nationally. The beginning years of the show were classified as a “tabloid talk show”. In the mid 1990’s the show started addressing broader topics and including interviews with celebrities on their opinions’ on many issues present in the world. The Oprah Winfrey Show aired from 1986 to 2011, 25 seasons. To this day it remains the highest-rated talk show in America. Because of her lavish success from her hit talk show, Oprah was able to advance her talents to become an