was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, Oprah Winfrey was reared by her grandmother on a farm where she began her broadcasting career by learning to read aloud and perform recitations. From age 6 to 13, she lived in Milwaukee with her mother. After suffering abuse and molestation, she ran away and was sent to a juvenile detention home at the age 13. She was sent to Nashville to live under her father’s strict discipline. Vernon Winfrey makes her met a midnight curfew, and he required her to read a book and write a book report each week. Because of that Oprah said, “As strict as he was and he had some concerns about me making the best of my life, and would not accept anything less than what he thought was my best.”
Oprah Winfrey’s broadcasting career began at age 17 and two years later signed on with WTVF-TV in Nashville as a reporter/anchor. She attended Tennessee State University, where she majored in Speech Communications and Performing Arts.
In 1976, she moved to Baltimore to join WJZ-TV news as a co-anchor, and in 1978 discovered her talent for hosting talk shows when she became co-host of WJZ-TV’s “People Are Talking”.
She came to Chicago to host WLS-TV’s “AM Chicago,” In less than a year, she turned the show into the hottest show in town. The format was soon expanded to one hour, and in September 1985 it was renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
In June 1987, in its first year of eligibility, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” received three Daytime Emmy Awards in the categories of Outstanding Host, Outstanding Talk/Service Program and Outstanding Direction. In June 1988, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” received its second consecutive Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Talk/Service Program, and she herself received the International Radio and Television Society’s “Broadcaster of the Year” Award. She was the youngest person and only the fifth woman ever to receive the honor in IRTS’s 25-year history.
Before America fell in love with Oprah Winfrey the talk show host, she captured the nation’s attention with her poignant portrayal of Sofia in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple. Winfrey’s performance earned her nominations for an Oscar and Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress. Critics again lauded her performance in Native Son, a movie adaptation of Richard Wright’s classic 1940 novel.Press This
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