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Staff post about: Oprah Winfrey Become an Author

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The biography of Oprah Winfrey is of the stuff that movies are made. Born January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, Oprah Winfrey was raised by her religious grand-mother who inspired the young girl’s broadcasting career by encouraging her to read aloud at their church. Since then, there has been no turning back for her.

When she was six years old, Oprah Winfrey moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother. Here, she continued fostering her love of talking and performing in front of an audience. However, it would not be a smooth and straight path to success for her; after all, what life story would be complete without trials and tribulations that had to be overcome?

For this television host, those trials came in the form of abuse and molestation at the hands of relatives. She ran away when she was 13 years old, and after a brief stint in a juvenile detention centre, was sent to Nashville to live with her barber and entrepreneur father, Vernon Winfrey. A strict man, he forced Oprah to read and write a report on a different book each week. This would be the point in time that marked the turning point. She began to realize her potential that arose from hard work. From here on out, she had no doubt that the world would soon be taking notice of the name Oprah Winfrey.

She subsequently enrolled in Tennessee State University, studying and working part-time in radio and television broadcasting. In 1976, she moved to Baltimore to take a job as host of the television show People Are Talking. The show was such a success that Oprah stayed on for eight years, after which time she was recruited to Chicago to host her own morning show, AM Chicago. It was then that the Oprah Winfrey biography would come to be a matter of public knowledge.

Competing against Phil Donahue’s time slot, Oprah’s warm style won her a loyal following and propelled her to the top of the ratings. In 1986, AM Chicago was renamed the Oprah Winfrey Show and extended to a full hour. As her life story goes, that was the end of the beginning for Oprah, with the rest, as they say, becoming history. Over the next two decades, Oprah would shoot to unprecedented fame and success; people were definitely talking.

As life stories go, Oprah’s is one rife with hardship and challenges, but also enormous passion, determination, and success. She has become the richest African-American of the 20th century and is now using her wealth to not only run the Oprah Winfrey Show and the other pursuits of her Harpo Productions, but also to fund philanthropic activities around the world, including girls’ schooling in South Africa.

The Oprah Winfrey biography is the story of the American dream. She overcame abuse and poverty to become one of the most influential, admired and successful people of our time. And, she isn’t finished yet.

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