Oprah Winfrey

Who is Oprah Winfrey? How did she become such a large figure in today’s world? Oprah Winfrey has broken many barriers and over come many obstacles in her life. But what is her story?
Oprah Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko Mississippi. She lived with her mother until she was 13 when she ran away because of abuse. When she couldn’t find a place to stay in a detention center she was sent to live with her dad in Nashville. While living in Nashville she began her career in broadcasting on a radio talk show called WVOL. A few years later she started her career on TV becoming an anchor on WTVF-TV. While she was on TV she started school at Tennessee State University majoring in Speech Communications and Performing Arts.
After college Oprah moved to Chicago and began hosting a show called “AM Chicago” which she made hugely popular. The name was changed to “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. Before Oprah was a popular talk show hostess she was an actress earning a nomination for her acting in Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple. She was also in a book turned movie called Native Son.
In 1991 she helped set up a program for children who are molested and abused like she was when she was little. The program that she started was a national database for these children and the bill for the program was signed by Bill Clinton in 1993.
So how Oprah came to be such an authority figure was by working hard, breaking barriers and stepping up to the plate when she was called.