Oprah Winfreys Profile at a Glance - 1293 Words

Abstract Oprah Winfrey is one of the most accredited media icons as well as one of the most successful, self made billionaire women in African-American history today. Through her career, she started as a news broadcaster then began to pursue entertainment achieving many accomplishments, including direct contracts as television talk shows host and film actress. Her self-improvement and spirituality values have been influential to millions of people world wide. As one of the greatest black philanthropist donor, she has donated much of her own money to charities around the world. In South Africa, she initiated and built an all girls academy to inspire many young girls to strive for a better life with her personal assistance and support.†¦show more content†¦Over a year later, Oprah was sent to live with her father Vernon in Nashville, Tennessee because her mother saw herself unfit to care for both girls. Thru the age of thirteen and going back and forth from Tennessee to Milwaukee, Opra h had been raped and sexually abused by family members and a family friend starting at the age of nine (Oprahs Most Shocking Moments, 2011). She had kept this silent until she revealed it on her talk show on November 10th, 1986. She explained There is really no darker secret than sexual abuse (Oprah Opens Up About Her Abusive Childhood, 2010). She learned in 2010, that while she was living with her father back in 1963, she had had a third half sister who was also named Patricia but had been put up for adoption by her mother due to financial instability. It was one of the greatest surprises of my life, she stated on her show (Oprah Winfrey Biography, 2011). Oprahs first successes started thru education as she became a student with honors and the most well-liked girl in high school which also won her Miss Black Tennessee at the age of 17. Along with attending Tennessee State University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Arts / Science, she started as a news radio host in 1971. T wo years later she had become the first African-American woman and the youngest to co-anchor the news and as a result, landed a job and moved to Baltimore to co-anchor the morning news in