Oprah Winfrey

"It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always." -Oprah Winfrey

My name is Oprah Winfrey. I am an American talk show host, actress, producer, CEO of my own television network, and philanthropist. I was born on January 29, 1954 to an unwed and unemployed teenage mother. I lived with my grandmother on her farm in my early year, while my mother looked for a job. I stayed with her for a couple of years and then stayed with my father, who was a very strict man, that helped me succeed. At the age of six, I was sent back to live with my mother, who worked full time. I stayed with male relatives who repeatedly molested me. The abuse lasted from when I was nine to thirteen. I tried to run away and I got sent to a juvenile detention home. I was denied from there because all the beds were filled. When I finally turned fourteen, I finally left and was on my own. During the time I was independent, I became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy who died in infancy. After that, I was seventeen and I went back to live with my father. I then went on to win Miss Black Tennessee and I was offered a job on WVOL, a radio station for the African American community in Nashville. I also won a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. There, I majored in Speech Communication and Performing Arts. After school, I became a reporter and anchor for a local news station.Since I was a child, both my grandmother and father knew that I was a gifted child. Later on, in 1976, I became a co-host for WJZ-TV News in Baltimore. There, I co-hosted my first talk show called People are Talking, while being an anchor and news reporter at the same time. Less than a year later, I was invited on a talk show host and I turned AM Chicago into one of the most popular shows. A year later, it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. My show broadcasted nationally and because of it, I have won many awards. On top of my talk show, I acted in a couple of movies. After twenty four seasons and over five thousand broadcasts, I decided to end the show and create my own television network. It is called Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN. On my own television channel, I host a program every night, called Oprah's Lifeclass. I have been called "the most powerful woman in the world."In 2013, President Barack Obama awarder me the Presidential Medal of Freedom.