Biography oprah show talk

American entertainer (born 1954)

"Oprah" redirects here. Not to be confused with Orpah or Opera.

For the talk show, see The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), also known mononymously as Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she was the richest African-American of the 20th century and was once the world's only black billionaire. By 2007, she was often ranked as the most influential woman in the world.

Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a single teenage mother and later raised in inner-city Milwaukee. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teenage years and became pregnant at 14; her son was born prematurely and died in infancy. Winfrey was then sent to live with the man she calls her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber in Nashville, Tennessee, and landed a job in radio while still in high school. By 19, she was a co-anchor for the local evening news. Winfrey's often emotional, extemporaneous delivery eventually led to her transfer to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place, she launched her own production company.

Credited with creating a more intimate, confessional form of media communication, Winfrey popularized and revolutionized the tabloid talk show genre pioneered by Phil Donahue. By the mid-1990s, Winfrey had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, mindfulness, and spirituality. Though she has

Oprah Winfrey is a household name for many reasons. Despite an incredibly difficult childhood in rural Mississippi, Winfrey went on to triumph in adulthood thanks to a few great teachers and a whole lot of courage.

Winfrey is perhaps most famous for her 25-season talk show, The Oprah WinfreyShow, which inspired its viewers for decades. On top of her role as a talk show host, Winfrey is also an actress, media executive, philanthropist and so much more.

Considered one of the most influential people in the world, Winfrey’s words and actions have given millions of people the tools to change their lives for the better. If there’s any doubt as to the scope of her influence, Winfrey’s “book club” stamp of approval can turn a book into an instant bestseller, and many a retailer itches to be part of Winfrey’s yearly “favorite things” list.

Let’s take a look back at some of her best talk show moments:

Oprah’s wagon of fat

After impressively losing 67 pounds thanks to a liquid diet of Optifast, Winfrey brought the epicness of her weight loss to life by wheeling out a wagon loaded with exactly that much fat.

"At the time I felt it was important to show it that way because I had starved," she said. "I had literally starved for four and a half months." Of course, her diet wasn’t exactly successful long-term — once she returned to eating solid foods, Winfrey’s weight crept back up. (Aired November 15, 1988)

Oprah surprised by her fourth-grade teacher

Winfrey credits many of her childhood teachers for changing her life for the better, particularly her fourth-grade teacher, Mary Duncan. In 1989, Winfrey’s producers surprised her by bringing Mrs. Duncan on the show. Winfrey hadn’t seen her since she was a kid, and their reunion was an emotional one.

"I always, because of you, felt I could take on the world. You did exactly what teachers are supposed to do, they create a spark for learning that li

1954–

Who Is Oprah Winfrey?

Oprah Winfrey is an Emmy Award–winning talk show host, media executive, Academy Award–nominated actress, and philanthropist. She’s best known for being the host of her wildly popular program, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired for 25 seasons, from 1986 to 2011. Its success helped her become the world’s first Black woman billionaire in 2003. Winfrey’s media empire has grown to include a TV network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, and a lifestyle magazine brand. In 1994, she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, and in 2018, became the first Black woman to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes for her outstanding contributions to entertainment.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Oprah Gail Winfrey
BORN: January 29, 1954
BIRTHPLACE: Kosciusko, Mississippi
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aquarius

Early Life and Education

Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954, in the rural town of Kosciusko, Mississippi. Her aunt Ida named her after the biblical figure Orpah, but quickly, her family began spelling it Oprah, which was easier to pronounce. After a troubled adolescence in a small farming community, where she was sexually abused by a number of male relatives and friends of her mother, Vernita Lee, Winfrey moved to Nashville to live with her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber and businessman.

Winfrey attended East Nashville High School. In 1972, she won the Miss Black Nashville pageant. She would go on to become Miss Black Tennessee and compete for Miss Black America.

In 1971, Winfrey entered Tennessee State University and majored in speech communications and performing arts. She began working in radio and television broadcasting in Nashville and dropped out of college in 1975, one credit shy of her degree. Years later, she resumed her studies and graduated as part of Tennessee State’s 1986 class.

Early Broadcasting Career

In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she hosted the TV talk

American television talk show

The Oprah Winfrey Show was an American first-run syndicatedtalk show hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped in Chicago and produced by Winfrey. It remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in American television history.

The show was highly influential to many young stars, and many of its themes have penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. Winfrey used the show as an educational platform, featuring book clubs, interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events. The show did not attempt to profit off the products it endorsed; it had no licensing agreement with retailers when products were promoted, nor did the show make any money from endorsing books for its book club.

Oprah was one of the longest-running daytime television talk shows in history. The show received 47 Daytime Emmy Awards before Winfrey chose to stop submitting it for consideration in 2000. In 2002, TV Guide ranked it at No. 49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In 2013, they ranked it as the 19th greatest TV show of all time. In 2023, Variety ranked The Oprah Winfrey Show #17 on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.

Early history

Oprah had its roots in A.M. Chicago, a half-hour morning talk show airing on WLS-TV, an ABC owned-and-operated station in Chicago. In 1983, Dennis Swanson, the new general manager of WLS-TV, hired Winfrey to replace Robb Weller, that program's former host. Winfrey took over as host on January 2, 1984, and, within a month, took it from last place to first place in local Chicago ratings. By 1985, the local A.M. Chicago program was renamed to The Oprah Winfrey Show.