Oprah Winfrey Biography

Oprah Winfrey is one of the most influential and powerful African American woman in the world during this millenium. Oprah Winfrey is known for a plethora of thing. Oprah is a multi-billion dollar mogul. Winfrey is not only known as a talk show host, but also known as a philosopher and world influencer. She has paved a way for many women and young girls in this generation.

Oprah has a great amount of power over today’s culture and society. It is good that Oprah uses her fame and fortune to contribute to our culture. Oprah is also known as an activist. In the early 1990s was motivated by in part by her own childhood where she was abused. “Winfrey led a campaign to establish a database of convicted child abusers. This became a reality when President Clinton signed the Oprah Bill into law in 1993. Through her private charity, Winfrey has awarded hundreds of grants that support the education of women in the United States and around the world.” (hastac.org)

This expresses Oprah’s power as a celebrity to help others. She helps to convict child abusers, and donates money to help women to get better education. “Winfrey has donated $40 million and her own personal time to set up the leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg. The doors to the academy opened in January with 152 students.” (hastac.com) Oprah does not consider opening the school as an act of good deed. Oprah claims she is just doing what she was born to do, which is make a difference in others lives. “Oprah has become very fortunate in this society which gives her the ability to sell products, ideas, and causes. This has become widely known as the “Oprah effect.” Winfrey puts her power and fame to extremely good use and makes sure the name she has for herself doesn’t go unnoticed.” (hastac.org)

There is no on like Oprah on television or in the entertainment business. Many other shows have been made trying to mimic the way Oprah acts in the television, but Oprah is one of a kind and no matter how hard people try, there will never be another Oprah Winfrey. “In 1999, Time magazine included Winfrey on its inaugural list of the 100 most influential people in the world; she has since appeared six times on the Time 100 list-more often than any other individual.” Winfrey now has built an entire empire that will last for generations. Her empire consists of her talk show, book club, website, magazine, radio channel, personal growth tours, YouTube channel, Facebook page, and a cable TV network called OWN. All these components have made Winfrey not only one of the “most trusted brand names” in America but also “The Queen of All Media,” as Forbes put it in ranking her 234 on its list of world billionaires.” (hastac.org)

In conclusion, Oprah Winfrey has had a great influence on African American culture and more than definitely paved a way for African Americans in the entertainment business and women. Most celebrities don’t have much influences like she does on culture or society in general.