ఒప్రః విన్ఫ్రేయ్ Bio

Beatty, Cassidy
5/5/11
Period ½
Oprah Winfrey

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” –Oprah Winfrey. She lived by this quote and many more that represent her strong feminine power. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 9, 1954 in Kosciusko, Missippi to an unmarried teen mother. Even though Oprah was in and out of homes when she was a child, she still realized that TV was her dream and to get there she had to keep up with her studies, like her grandma had taught her. Oprah Winfrey had a rough early life, is one of the most watched TV stars the world has ever seen, and has a profound influence over the way people around the world read, eat, exercise, feel and think about themselves and the world around them.
Oprah’s early may have been hard, but her extraordinary dream always stuck with her. Until the age of 6, Oprah lived with her grandma, Hattie Mae Lee, until she became very ill. She then was sent to live with her mom and her half-sister Patricia in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However she did not get very much attention from her mother and was then sent to live with her father and step-mother in Nashville, Tennessee. There she had skipped another grade, then placing her in 3rd. After her school year, she was taken back to Milwaukee to visit with her mother. When her father returned in the fall, she chose to stay and live with her mother. She was then 9, when her mom would be working all day and would be left alone with her 19 year old cousin. He then sexually abused and raped her where he then took her out to ice cream and was told to keep it a secret; which she did. Until the age of 14, she kept silent as it kept coming from family members who would stop by during the day. Oprah entered an all white high school, which was much different than what she expected. However, she kept acting out, was uncontrollable, and her mom just could not handle it anymore. She was sent back to live with her father and at age 14, discovered she was pregnant. She kept the secret from her parents until she was in her 7th month and that same day went into early labor. Her baby then died within 2 weeks after birth. She made a tremendous come back from those horrible moments in her childhood, and focused on her dream of one day being seen on TV. (I will add 2 quotes.)
Oprah then got back on track at high school, where her love of literature and public speaking took its toll. Her talent took its place in 1970 when she won Elk’s Club speaking competition, earning a once in a lifetime 4-year college scholarship as the prize. In 1971, Oprah was chosen to attend the White House Confrence on Youth in Colorado where she represented Tennessee. When she returned to Nashville, she was interviewed by her local radio station, and was asked to participate in a local beauty pageant. She was the first African American woman to win this pageant. The radio station brought her back and offered her a chance to here her voice on tape because of her experience with public speaking. She received a part-time position as a newsreader and at age 17, she finished her senior year on the radio, along with her 4-year college scholarship in her future. After being noticed on the radio, while attending Tennessee State University, Oprah was offered a job by her local CBS station to be an evening anchor. She took the job and continued her school work along with the radio station and CBS. IN 1976, she headed over to Baltimore where she was offered a job from WJZ-TV appearing as an anchor. She remained at WJZ-TV, however she was offered a job as a morning talk show host on People are Talking with Richard Sher. After 6 years hosting People are Talking Oprah landed a job hosting A.M. Chicago. After just one year, the show was renamed the Oprah Winfrey Show.