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1954 |
Short Biography of Oprah
Gail Winfrey
Date of Birth: Born on January 29, 1954
Place of Birth : Kosciusko, Mississippi, USA
Parents: Born out of wedlock
Father:
Vernon Winfrey, a coal miner
Mother:
Vernita Lee, a housemaid
Background Facts, Information & Ancestry :
African American. DNA test have
revealed her ancestry has
roots in Liberia, East Asia and Native American
tribes
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1954 |
1954-1960 Oprah was raised on
a farm by her grandmother, Grandma Hattie Mae.
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1960 |
1960-1968. Moved from
Milwaukee to live with her mother, stepsister and
stepbrother in an inner city ghetto in Mississippi.
During this time O later revealed she suffered from
abuse and was raped by her cousin, uncle, and a
family friend
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1968 |
Oprah ran away from home, ran
wild and narrowly escaped being sent to a juvenile
detention center.
During this time she gave birth to a premature boy,
who died soon after birth. She then moved to
Nashville, Tennessee with her father and her
stepmother Zelma. Vernon by this time had become a
successful businessman and city-council member.
Vernon Winfrey was very strict
and O became an honors student and graduated from
East Nashville High School
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1970 |
Won a scholarship to Tennessee
State University based on her communication skills
and worked at the WVOL local radio station whilst
attending the University
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1971 |
Crowned Miss Black Tennessee
and Miss Fire Prevention. She also took part in the
Miss Black America Pageant
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1973 |
She graduated from Tennessee
State University with a Degree in Speech and
Performing Arts.
Became the first black TV
news anchor reporter with WTVF-TV
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1976 |
Moved to Baltimore to host the
6 o’clock news with WJZ-TV where she met her best
friend Gayle King who was a production assistant at
WJZ-TV April 1: Was
moved from news anchor to the WJZ-TV morning talk
show host of People are Talking
Also became a reporter for
an ABC news affiliate in Baltimore, Maryland.
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1978 |
Was moved from news anchor to
the WJZ-TV morning talk show host of People are
Talking with Richard Sher
Also hosted the local version
of 'Dialing for Dollars'
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1983 |
Moved to Chicago, Illinois in
late 1983 in preparation to host the talk show A.M.
Chicago for WLS-TV
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1984 |
January 2: First episode of
A.M. Chicago. Show was extremely successful in the
ratings |
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1985 |
Continued to work on the Oprah
Winfrey Show Starred
in the Steven Spielberg movie 'The Color Purple' as
the character Sofia
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1986 |
Nominated for an Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actress in 'The Color Purple'
but lost to Anjelica Huston
September 8: Her show expands
to one hour and broadcast nationally. It was
nominated for several Emmy awards
Formed her own television
production company called Harpo Productions
Received the National
Organization for Women's Women of Achievement Award.
Starred in the movie
'Native Son' as Janet Thomason
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1987 |
February 9: Her much acclaimed
episode from her show was aired from Forsyth County,
Georgia, where no blacks had been allowed to live
since 1912. Oprah won
her first Emmy for best talk/service show host and
best show.
Cameo role in the Danny
DeVito movie Throw Momma from the Train
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1988 |
Named Broadcaster of the Year
by the International Television and Radio Society
Harpo Productions which
obtained ownership and production responsibilities
for her show from ABC-TV station, WLS in Chicago
Bought her Chicago apartmet
and her farm in Indiana.
Appeared in the TV program Pee-wee's Playhouse
Christmas Special as herself
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1989 |
Starred as Mattie Michael in
the movie The Women of Brewster Place (she was also
executive producer)
Received the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People's
Entertainer of the year award and went on to
receive their Image Award 4 times from 1989 to 1992
Her half brother, Jeffrey
Lee, sadly died of AIDS.
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1990 |
Appeared in the TV program
Brewster Place as Mattie Michael
Starred in the movie Listen
Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (documentary)
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1991 |
Initiated the National Child
Protection Act and testified before Congress
Appointed chef Rosie Daley to
supervise a new and healthier diet.
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1992 |
Won Best Talk Show Host at the
Daytime Emmy Awards
1992 Appeared in the TV program The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air Episode, A Night at the Oprah
Worked on Lincoln as
narrator of the TV documentary
Became engaged to Stedman
Graham, a public relations executive
Appointed Bob Greene to
supervise her exercise program
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1993 |
Hosted an interview with
Michael Jackson which reached an audience of one
hundred million.
President Bill Clinton signed the National Child
Protection Act which had been strongly supported by
Oprah.
Appeared in the TV program
There Are No Children Here role as LaJoe Rivers
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1994 |
Won Best Talk Show and Best
Talk Show Host at the 21st Annual Daytime Emmy
Awards Became
co-author of the book In The Kitchen With Rosie:
Oprah's Favorite Recipes by Rosie Daley and Oprah
Winfrey
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1995 |
Became the first woman and the
only black on Forbes list of 400 richest Americans.
She has remained the only black person to rank among
America's 400 richest people nearly every year since
1995
Won an Emmy for Best Talk Show and Best Host for the
second year in a row.
“Oprah Online” started on American Online (AOL) in
partnership with ABC
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1996 |
Became co-author of the book A
Journal of Daily Renewal : The Companion to Make the
Connection, by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey
Received the prestigious
George Foster Peabody’s Individual Achievement Award
April 16: The OW Show dealt
with Mad Cow Disease in the United States which led
to a court case
September 16: Oprah announced the start of her
successful on-air book club
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1997 |
Formation of Oprah’s Angel
Network encouraging people to make charitable
contributions and volunteer work.
Delivered the commencements address to the Wellesley
College Class of 1997
Appeared in the TV program
Ellen - The Puppy Episode
Appeared in the TV program
Before Women Had Wings role as Miss Zora (she was
also producer)
Author of the book The
Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey : A Portrait in Her
Own Words by Bill Adler (editor) and Oprah Winfrey
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1998 |
February 26: Sucessfully
defended herself in the food disparagement lawsuit
brought by Texas cattlemen following the show about
Mad Cow Disease
Received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Daytime Emmy Awards and an award for top talk show
host.
Formed Oxygen Media
Starred in the movie of the Toni Morrison novel,
Beloved
Co-author of the book
Journey to Beloved, by Oprah Winfrey and Ken Regan
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1999 |
1999 Co-author of the book
Make the Connection : Ten Steps to a Better Body and
a Better Life, by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey
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2002 |
In 2002 Fortune called O, the
Oprah Magazine the most successful start-up ever in
the industry. Became
the recipient of the first Bob Hope Humanitarian
Award at the 2002 Emmy Awards for services to
television and film.
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2003 |
She was the narrator in the
documentary Unchained Memories: Readings from the
Slave Narratives
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2004 |
The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize
Concert was hosted by Oprah and Tom Cruise
Forbes' international rich
list has listed Winfrey as the world's only black
billionaire
Named by Time as one of the
100 people who most influenced the 20th century
She was the narrator in the
documentary Brothers of the Borderland
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2005 |
The Color Purple was made into
a Broadway musical of which she was a producer
Forbes' international rich
list has listed Winfrey as the world's only black
billionaire
Became the first black
listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50
most generous philanthropists
Oprah's Christmas Kindness
was made to draw bring attention to the plight of
young African children affected by poverty and AIDS.
Named by Time as one of the
100 most influential people of the year
Named as the greatest woman
in American history as part of a public poll as part
of The Greatest American in which she ranked in 9th
place in the list of greatest Americans.
She was the narrator in the
documentary Emmanuel's Gift
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2006 |
February 9: Signed 3-year
contract with XM Satellite Radio to establish a new
radio channel based in Chicago
Forbes' international rich
list has listed Winfrey as the world's only black
billionaire
Named by Time as one of the
100 most influential people of the year
Appeared in the TV program
Drake & Josh in the episode Josh Meets Oprah
Appeared in Drake & Josh -
Josh Meets Oprah
Starred in the movie
Charlotte's Web playing Gussy
Oprah currently lives on
"The Promised Land", her 42 acre estate in
Montecito, California and also owns a house in
Lavallette, New Jersey.
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