“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey, (born January 29, 1954, Kosciusko, Mississippi, U.S.), is a philanthropist and television personality who is best known for being America’s first lady of talk shows. She ran her own Oprah Winfrey’s show from 1986 to 2011 and gained a lot of popularity through it. From there she started her own network known as, “Oprah Winfrey Network”.
Childhood:
Oprah was born on a farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Her parents soon separated from each other leaving Oprah with her grandmother. At the age of six, she went to North to live with her mother but some of her neighbors sexually assaulted her. For that reason, she left that town at the age of 12 to live with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. In Nashville, she began working at a radio station and made speeches on different occasions there.
Broadcasting Career:
After graduation, Winfrey started her career in Baltimore, Maryland as a local news updater in “Good Morning, America” and soon she became the co-host for a morning show, “Baltimore is talking”. She worked there for nearly 8 years, inspired by her natural way of hosting and getting involved with the audience, she was offered to host her own show, “A.M Chicago” by Chicago TV.
In 1984, Winfrey moved to Chicago to host her own show. Through the dedication of Oprah and her unbeatable natural style, she took the rating of her show from last to first in a short span of time.
The Oprah Winfrey Show:
In 1986, Winfrey launched her own show, Oprah Winfrey Show as a nationally syndicated program. The show ran for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011. By achieving the placement on 120 channels and to a huge audience of 10M people, the show grossed $125M in only one year.
In the same year, Winfrey received a special award from the Chicago Academy for the Arts for unique contributions to the city’s artistic community and was named Woman of Achievement by the National Organization of Women. The Oprah Winfrey Show won several Emmys for Best Talk Show. Winfrey also received the title of Best Talk Show Host.
She ended the talk show in 2011 when her contract with ABC production house ended.
Production Companies:
In 1986, Oprah created her own production company known as, Harpo, Inc., where she produced some series based on topics she wanted to see like, The women of Brewster place, Kafir Boy, etc. These series gave her all the right fame she deserved.
Oprah started her on-reading club in September 1996, she discussed some famous book in those sessions. It was her way to encourage book reading in youth. The club ensured Winfrey as the most powerful book marketer in the United States, but she decided to end this book club in 2002.
Oprah always believed that the road to success is sheer determination. Her love for her work and never-ending effort brought her fame, success, and made her a billionaire media giant. She’s truly an inspiration for everyone out there.