Oprah Winfrey is recognized as one the most successful media personalities in the world. The Oprah Winfrey Show became the most-viewed daytime program, making the Mississippi-born lady a TV icon. But luck didn’t just land on her lap. She struggled, a lot.
Her then-teenage parents separated before Oprah learned to walk. Hence, she was left in her strict grandmother’s care who helped her learn to read at the age of two. When she turned six, the young Winfrey lived with her mother and two half-brothers in a ghetto and dangerous community; got sexually abused from the age of 9 by some relatives and family friends. Then at twelve, she was sent to her father in Nashville where she felt safe and at peace. This is when she began making speeches at social gatherings.
Oprah thought that her life is finally having a great direction until she was sent back to her mother, where the abuse continued. At 14, she gave birth to a boy who eventually died.
Shortly after, Oprah was back to her father’s home. He supported Winfrey, making the young lass focus on her studies, and eventually helped her get a full scholarship at the University of Tennessee where she majored in communications.
After graduating, she was hired by WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland to do news. But she was fired after some time because a producer said that Oprah was “unfit for television”, criticizing how she was so involved with the stories they feature. WLS-TV eventually hired her to host the morning talk show People are Talking.
In 1984, Oprah moved to Chicago, Illinois and hosted A. M. Chicago, a morning talk show that’s been dismal in ratings. The ratings eventually rose, even beating then number one talk show Donahue. And in 1985, because of the great response, the program was renamed the Oprah Winfrey Show.
After 25 successful seasons, The Oprah Winfrey Show held it's farewell episode on May 25, 2011. She eventually launched her own network, OWN, The Oprah Winfrey Network. To this date, Oprah remains an influential media figure.
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