Oprah Winfrey and Her Accomplishments

Oprah Winfrey. You have probably heard her name before and thought of this amazing and successful billionaire, but do you know the real story behind this hardworking woman? Oprah Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Her unmarried parents separated leaving her grandmother to raise her on her farm. Oprah was an exceptionally bright child: she read at the age of two and skipped two grades (she skipped another one later in her life)! Then, at the age of six she moved in with her mother in a poor unsafe neighborhood. Everything went downhill from there.

She stopped caring about her grades and was disobedient when she got older. Plus, her mother didn’t have time for her (she had another daughter and boyfriend), and worst of all, she was sexually assaulted by her male relatives and was raped at the age of 14. This resulted in her being pregnant and giving birth (the baby died soon after). Then, after all this trauma and chaos, her mother sent her to her father during her teenage years.

While living with her father, Oprah benefited a lot. Her father turned her into a completely different person. He made her very disciplined. For example, he forced her to learn 5 new words every day and to take part in speech, drama, debate and student council during high school. This made her an excellent orator. In fact, Oprah got a full scholarship from the university of Tennessee because she won a speech competition!

Now, all of that was only her childhood! Her adult life is and was very accomplishing. It made her the prominent billionaire that she is today. So, here’s what happened. During university, she landed a job at a local radio station in Nashville which led her to be the first black woman to host the evening news on CBS at the age of 19. Then, after her graduation, she was hired on a morning talk show in Baltimore. Since she was extremely articulate, she became the host of A.M. Chicago (later renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show) which was the last in its ratings but then Oprah changed its topics to women’s issues and debatable topics. This transformation made the show unquestionably popular! Oprah Winfrey also acted in several movies (her first one being The Color Purple), starred in a mini-series, became a voice actor, formed her own production company, and is the author of many books! This is how Oprah Winfrey became successful.

Also, did you know that those are not her only accomplishments? She won many awards (Miss Fire Prevention, special award from Chicago Academy of Arts, several Emmys for Best Talk Show, Presidential Medal of Freedom etc.), is the most powerful book marketer, is the highest paid entertainer, and is the sixth most richest woman in America, but she considers starting a girls school in Africa to be her greatest accomplishment. Some fun facts about Oprah Winfrey are: Harpo, the name of her production company, is Oprah spelled backwards and she launched a lot of people’s tv careers (like Dr. Phil). Anyways, this is life that Oprah Winfrey led so far. Notwithstanding all her hardships and struggles, she managed to be the remarkable woman.