OPRAH WINFREY

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Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winery's life experiences have made her into the woman she is today. She was born on January 9,1954,in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She has stated that she is a woman in progress, just trying like everyone else. Taking every conflict and every experience and learning from it. Oprah Winfrey has risen from poverty and a troubled youth to become the most powerful and influential woman in television and according to Forbes Magazine, then world’s most highly paid entertainer. The problems Oprah has encountered, as child was very traumatizing. She moved several times between family members, from a baby to a young child of six years old she lived with her grandparents, being that her parents were young and separated when she was born. During this time she feels that her grandmother installed in her a sense of reasoning and strength. She then moved in with her other in Milwaukee, WI that is when times became hard. Male relatives constantly molested Oprah. With this in mind Oprah became promiscuous and began to experiment with drugs. At the age 14 she gave birth to a premature baby that died. That is when Oprah decided to move with her father in Nashville. Her father insisted on hard work and discipline as means of self-improvement, which gave Oprah the ability to find stability and inspiration to excel in school and change her life. She complied; winning a college scholarship that allowed her to attend Tennessee State University. In 1971 when she was19, she began working part time as a radio announcer for WVOL in Nashville. Two years later, after receiving a BA from Tennessee State, she became a reporter at WTVF-TV in Nashville. In 1976 Oprah was offered a job at the ABC-TV station for WJZ in Baltimore. The newstation posted billboards around the whole city support of the new show. The goal was to make a record-breaking salary such as Barbara Walters with her one million dollars a year. Oprah approached her new job with typical gusto. But WJZ’s management frowned on Oprah’s habit of spontaneous reporting and her refusal to read the news copy ahead of time. The lack of preparation resulted in mistakes. She would mispronounce words and bad grammar. Things did not work out there so the company decided to send Oprah to get a makeover. She was sent to a salon in New York and received a perm that ma... ... middle of paper ... ...alled Families for a Better life. Oprah’s commitment toward making the world a better place is backed up by her generosity as well as everything else. Each year she donates to several charities, including her own Family for Better Lives. Oprah rarely watches television she feels it promotes false values. So as you can she tries do a lot for to solve the world’s problems. When Oprah decides to show end her talk show, it is thought that she will focus on becoming a leading Hollywood actress. She wants to make a movie for a major studio, in hope of receiving an Academy Award. An Academy Award would validate her success in ways that money alone cannot. So as you can see Oprah Winfrey deserves the status she has now. She has been through good and hard times and overcame it. She will continue to do well by herself and by her fans. She hat stated “When I look at the future, it’s so bright it burns my eyes. BIBLEOGRAPHY Oprah Winfrey Speaks by Janet Lowe 1998 People in the News Oprah Winfrey by Judith Presnall 1999 Yahoo! Movies: Oprah Winfrey-Biography Gale- Free Resources-Black History Month-OprahWinfrey

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