Oprah Winfrey

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The Renaissance Woman When Oprah Winfrey told her 49 million viewers, "It just stopped me cold from eating another burger!" (Tannen) about the Mad cow disease, she wouldn't know it would cost the beef industry $12 million (Deborah Tannen). Texas cattlemen tried to sue Oprah for causing this such massive downfall, but she would win (Deborah Tannen). Oprah Winfrey was once a constantly abused thirteen year old girl. Now she is arguably the most famous African American woman and her talk show is highly regarded as the most talked about show in America. Her show has influenced many to change their lives and help others out. Abraham Lincoln once said, "I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards." (Inspirational Quotes: Achievements). This quote of perseverance could describe her life. Oprah Winfrey's abusive childhood has driven her to make something out of herself and others. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi living with a poor Baptist family (Wikipedia). Her parents, Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee were unmarried and still teenagers during the time she was born (Wikipedia). She lived with her grandmother where she would learn how to read aloud and recite sermons by the young age of 3 (America's Beloved Best Friend). At the age of 13 she would move to Milwaukee with her mother and that's when the trouble would start (America's Beloved Best Friend). She would face sexual abuse and molestation from her family relatives as a teenager, by her cousin, family friends, and her uncle (Victoria Walker). Oprah would keep this a secret and would bottle up her anger, which lead to trouble (Victoria Walker). She would repeatedly run away from home and was sent to juvenile detention, but her admission would be denied because the detention's overcrowded area (America's Beloved Best Friend). At the age of 14 she was impregnated by one of her abusers, but the baby would become stillborn, and this would devastate Oprah (Victoria Walker). Her mother would send her to live with her father as a last resort. She vowed to change her life (Victoria Walker). At Nashville, Tennessee, his father was almost the complete opposite of her mother (America's Beloved Best Friend). He was a disciplinarian, he would give Oprah a midnight curfew, and she would need to reed a book each week and write a report about the book (America's Beloved Best Friend).

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