See more
Who is Oprah Winfrey's father?
However, Mississippi farmer and World War II Veteran Noah Robinson Sr. (born c. 1925) has claimed to be her biological father.
Where did Oprah Winfrey work?
Working in local media , Winfrey was both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville 's WLAC-TV (now WTVF-TV ), where she often covered the same stories as John Tesh, who worked at a competing Nashville station. In 1976, she moved to Baltimore 's WJZ-TV to co-anchor the six o'clock news. In 1977, she was removed as co-anchor and worked in lower profile positions at the station. She was then recruited to join Richard Sher as co-host of WJZ's local talk show People Are Talking, which premiered on August 14, 1978. She also hosted the local version of Dialing for Dollars.
How many viewers did Oprah Winfrey have in the 90s?
The viewership for The Oprah Winfrey Show was highest during the 1991–92 season, when about 13.1 million U.S. viewers were watching each day. By 2003, ratings declined to 7.4 million daily viewers. Ratings briefly rebounded to approximately 9 million in 2005 and then declined again to around 7.3 million viewers in 2008, though it remained the highest rated talk show.
What radio station does Oprah Winfrey work for?
Mehmet Oz, Bob Greene, Dr. Robin Smith, and Marianne Williamson. Oprah & Friends began broadcasting at 11:00 am ET, September 25, 2006, from a new studio at Winfrey's Chicago headquarters. The channel broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week on XM Radio Channel 156. Winfrey's contract requires her to be on the air 30 minutes a week, 39 weeks a year.
How did Oprah Winfrey become rich?
Born in rural poverty, and raised by a mother dependent on government welfare payments in a poor urban neighborhood, Winfrey became a millionaire at the age of 32 when her talk show received national syndication. Winfrey negotiated ownership rights to the television program and started her own production company. At the age of 41, Winfrey had a net worth of $340 million and replaced Bill Cosby as the only African American on the Forbes 400. By 2000, with a net worth of $800 million, Winfrey is believed to have been the richest African American of the 20th century. There has been a course taught at the University of Illinois focusing on Winfrey's business acumen, namely: "History 298: Oprah Winfrey, the Tycoon". Winfrey was the highest paid television entertainer in the United States in 2006, earning an estimated $260 million during the year, five times the sum earned by second-place music executive Simon Cowell. By 2008, her yearly income had increased to $275 million.
What year did Oprah Winfrey interview Michael Jackson?
The episode was hailed by some as the "television event of the decade" and helped Letterman attract his largest audience in more than 11 years: 13.45 million viewers. Although a much-rumored feud was said to have been the cause of the rift, both Winfrey and Letterman balked at such talk. "I want you to know, it's really over, whatever you thought was happening,” said Winfrey. On September 10, 2007, Letterman made his first appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, as its season premiere was filmed in New York City.
Why did Oprah create Oprah?
Winfrey's company created the Oprah.com website to provide resources and interactive content related to her shows, magazines, book club, and public charity. Oprah.com averages more than 70 million page views and more than six million users per month, and receives approximately 20,000 e-mails each week.
What is Oprah Winfrey's biography?
Through the power of media, Oprah Winfrey has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world. As host and supervising producer of the top-rated, award-winning The Oprah Winfrey Show, she entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of viewers for 25 years.
Who is Oprah Winfrey based on?
In fall 2009, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry supported Lionsgate's distribution of Precious, based on the novel by Sapphire. Oprah made her acting debut in 1985 as "Sofia" in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, for which she received both Academy Award® and Golden Globe® nominations.
How much did Oprah Winfrey contribute to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy?
As that commitment broadened, she established The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation, to which she has contributed more than $40 million toward the creation of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls—South Africa, which opened in January 2007 and now serves grades 7 through 12.
What is Oprah's life class?
Oprah's Lifeclass is a true multi-platform experience with million of students from over 200 countries around the world engaging with Oprah on-air, online and via social media. In the popular series, Oprah and handpicked experts interact with fans worldwide in inspiring conversations about principles that guide our lives.
What is Oprah Winfrey's private charity?
Through her private charity, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, she has awarded hundreds of grants to organizations that support the education and empowerment of women, children and families in the United States and around the world.
When did Oprah Winfrey start her own studio?
In 1988, she established Harpo Studios, making her the third woman in the American entertainment industry (after Mary Pickford and Lucille Ball) to own her own studio. Produced by Oprah's Harpo Studios, The Oprah Winfrey Show entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of viewers for 25 years.
How many readers does Oprah have?
It is credited as being the most successful magazine launch in recent history and currently has a circulation of 2.35 million readers each month. In April 2002, Oprah launched the first international edition of O, The Oprah Magazine in South Africa, extending her "live your best life" message to another broad audience.
Karriere
Ihre Karriere begann Winfrey als Nachrichtenmoderatorin in Baltimore, Maryland . 1983 wechselte Winfrey nach Chicago als Gastgeberin auf WLS-TV für die Morgentalkshow AM Chicago. Die erste Sendung wurde am 2. Januar 1984 ausgestrahlt.
Weitere Aktivitäten
Winfrey ist in den Vereinigten Staaten auch als Philanthropin bekannt. So gründete sie beispielsweise „The Angel Network“ ( Das Engelsnetzwerk ), für das sie Geld für wohltätige Zwecke sammelt.
Kritik
Winfrey war des Öfteren das Ziel von Kritik. So wurde ihr vorgeworfen, ihre Popularität und die Medienmacht ihrer Show zu missbrauchen. The Washington Post warf ihr einen zu unkritischen Umgang mit ihren politischen Gästen vor. Weiterhin wurde ein Auftrittsverbot für Sarah Palin während der Präsidentschaftswahlen kritisiert.
Where is Oprah Winfrey from?
Born: January 29, 1954. Kosciusko, Mississippi. African American television host and actress. America's first lady of talk shows, Oprah Winfrey is well known for surpassing her competition to become the most watched daytime show host on television. Her natural style with guests and audiences on the Oprah Winfrey Show earned her widespread ...
What did Oprah Winfrey say about her father?
A turning point. Winfrey said her father saved her life. He was very strict and provided her with guidance, structure, rules, and books. He required his daughter to complete weekly book reports, and she went without dinner until she learned five new vocabulary words each day.
How many cities did Oprah Winfrey air?
The popularity of Winfrey's show skyrocketed after the success of The Color Purple, and in September 1985 the distributor King World bought the syndication rights (the rights to distribute a television program) to air the program in one hundred thirty-eight cities, a record for first-time syndication. That year, although Donahue was being aired on two hundred stations, Winfrey won her time slot by 31 percent, drew twice the Chicago audience as Donahue, and carried the top ten markets in the United States.
How old was Winfrey when she was sent to Nashville?
She was promoted to third grade after that year. At six years old Winfrey was sent north to join her mother and two half-brothers in a Milwaukee ghetto, an extremely poor and dangerous neighborhood. At twelve years old she was sent to live with her father in Nashville, Tennessee.
What are some of the charities that Oprah Winfrey has made?
Although one of the wealthiest women in America and the highest paid entertainer in the world, Winfrey has made generous contributions to charitable organizations and institutions such as Morehouse College, the Harold Washington Library, the United Negro College Fund, and Tennessee State University.
When did Oprah Winfrey cut back her book club?
But after a six-year run with her book club, Winfrey decided to cut back in the spring of 2002 and no longer have the book club as a monthly feature.
When did Oprah move to New York?
In September 1985 the program, renamed the Oprah Winfrey Show, was expanded to one hour. As a result, Donahue moved to New York City. In 1985 Quincy Jones (1933–) saw Winfrey on television and thought she would make a fine actress in a movie he was coproducing with director Steven Spielberg (1946–).
Who is Oprah Winfrey's CEO?
Oprah Winfrey and David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, announcing the creation of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). PRNewsFoto/Discovery Communications, George Burns/AP Images.
What award did Oprah Winfrey win?
In 2010 Oprah Winfrey was named a Kennedy Center honoree. In 2013 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She won the Cecil B. DeMille Award (a Golden Globe for lifetime achievement) in 2018. In addition, she won numerous Emmy Awards for The Oprah Winfrey Show and other television work.
How old was Oprah Winfrey when she became a news anchor?
At age 19 Winfrey became a news anchor for the local CBS television station. Following her graduation from Tennessee State University in 1976, she was made a reporter and coanchor for the ABC news affiliate in Baltimore, Maryland.
When did Oprah's show end?
She brokered a partnership with Discovery Communications in 2008, through which the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) replaced the Discovery Health Channel in January 2011. In 2009 Winfrey announced that her television talk show would end in 2011; it was speculated that she would focus on OWN.
When did Oprah Winfrey start Oxygen?
In 1998 Winfrey expanded her media entertainment empire when she cofounded Oxygen Media, which launched a cable television network for women. In 2006 the Oprah & Friends channel debuted on satellite radio.
When did Oprah magazine close?
Winfrey further expanded her presence in the publishing industry with the highly successful launch of O, the Oprah Magazine in 2000 and O at Home in 2004. The latter folded in 2008, and O, the Oprah Magazine ceased its print publication in 2020 and was rebranded the following year.
When did Oprah Winfrey move to Chicago?
Winfrey excelled in the casual and personal talk-show format, and in 1984 she moved to Chicago to host the faltering talk show AM Chicago. Winfrey’s honest and engaging personality quickly ...
What was Oprah Winfrey's intention in 1994?
In 1994 most of the interview programs intended to explore vulgar and sensationalist subjects. However, Oprah Winfrey decided not to follow the example of her competition. Although this decision had a negative effect on their audience level.
When did Oprah Winfrey start her own show?
The Oprah Winfrey Show. In the early 80s she met Stedman Graham, with whom he has a relationship until now. In September 1985, The Oprah Winfrey Show began airing nationally.
How old was Oprah when she was raped?
At the age of 9 , she was raped by one of her cousins. The cousin started the series of sexual abuse that Winfrey suffered for the next five years perpetrated by three other men who were “friends” of the family. In her adolescence, her rebellion (stealing and ignoring the law) was about to take her to a reformatory.
How many seasons did Oprah Winfrey have?
Best known for her work as hostess of her own television show: The Oprah Winfrey Show. The Oprah show was on the air for twenty-five seasons from 1986 to 2001. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, a rural town in Mississippi. Her mother was only 18 at the time she gave birth.
Why did Oprah's mother give up for adoption?
Winfrey explained that when she was nine years old, her mother became pregnant again but because she felt she could not support two girls financially, she was given up for adoption. In 2003, she became the first African-American woman to appear in the list of billionaires published by Forbes magazine.
What was Otto Lagerfeld's father's name?
Born into a upper-middle-class family, Lagerfeld studied at a private school in his hometown. During this period of training, he was noted for his intelligence and scathing personality, which was influenced by the character of his mother Elisabeth Bahlmann a cultured violinist daughter of the German politician, Karl Bahlmann; his father, Otto Lagerfeld was a renowned businessman, a descendant of a family of bankers, who earned his fortune by introducing evaporated milk in Germany.
Early Broadcasting Career
- In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she hosted the TV chat show People Are Talking. The show became a hit and Winfrey stayed with it for eight years, after which she was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show, A.M. Chicago. Her major comp…
'The Oprah Winfrey Show'
- Winfrey launched The Oprah Winfrey Showin 1986 as a nationally syndicated program that ran for 25 years, until 2011. With its placement on 120 channels and an audience of 10 million people, the show grossed $125 million by the end of its first year, of which Winfrey received $30 million. She soon gained ownership of the program from ABC, drawing it under the control of her new produc…
Half-Sister
- In the final season of her talk show, Winfrey made ratings soar when she revealed a family secret: she has a half-sister named Patricia. Winfrey's mother, Vernita Lee, gave birth to a baby girl in 1963. At the time, Winfrey was 9 years old, and living with her father. Lee put the child up for adoption because she believed that she wouldn't be able to get off public assistance if she had a…
Weight Loss
- Winfrey has publicly struggled with her weight, and her numerous weight loss efforts have been well-documented. In 1988, she revealed on her talk show that she lost 67 pounds on a liquid diet and exercise. "I had literally starved myself for four months - not a morsel of food," she later said. By 1992, she had gained most of the weight back. In 1995, she lost an estimated 90 pounds (dro…
Oxygen Media and 'O Magazine'
- In 1999 Winfrey debuted Oxygen Media, a company she co-founded that’s dedicated to producing cable and Internet programming for women. In doing so, Winfrey ensured her spot in the forefront of the media industry as one of the most powerful and wealthy people in show business. In 2002, she concluded a deal with the network to air a prime-time complement to her syndicated talk sh…
Oprah Winfrey Network
- Soon after The Oprah Winfrey Showended in 2011, Winfrey moved to her own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture with Discovery Communications. Despite a financially rocky start, the network made headlines in January 2013, when it aired an interview between Winfrey and Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist and seven-time Tour de France winner who was stripped …
Partnership with Apple
- In June 2018, Winfrey agreed to a multi-year deal in which she would create original content for Apple. In September 2019, it was announced that Winfrey was bringing Oprah's Book Club to the Apple TV+ streaming subscription service, with Ta-Nehisi Coates' The Water Dancerto be featured on the inaugural November 1 episode. As part of her partnership with Apple, Winfrey signed on a…
Wealth, Charity and Awards
- According to Forbes magazine, Winfrey was the richest African American of the 20th century and the world's only Black billionaire for three years running. Lifemagazine hailed her as the most influential woman of her generation. In September 2002, Winfrey was named the first recipient of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. In 2005, Business W…
Political Activism
- Campaigning for Barack Obama
Winfrey campaigned for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obamain December 2007, attracting the largest crowds of the primary season to that point. Winfrey joined Obama for a series of rallies in the early primary/caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. … - Campaigning for Stacey Abrams
In November 2018, Winfrey campaigned withGeorgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, the first Black female nominee for a major party to run for governor in any state. Winfrey knocked on doors and even participated in a town-hall meeting with the Democratic candidate. In the end, A…
Overview
Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which was the highest-rated television program of its kind in history and ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she was the richest African-A…
Early life
Orpah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954; her first name was spelled Orpah on her birth certificate after the biblical figure in the Book of Ruth, but people mispronounced it regularly and "Oprah" stuck. She was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, to an unmarried teenage mother. Her mother, Vernita Lee (1935–2018), was a housemaid. Winfrey's biological father is usually noted as Vernon Winfrey (born c. 1933), a coal miner turned barber turned city councilman who was in th…
Television
Working in local media, Winfrey was both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV (now WTVF-TV), where she often covered the same stories as John Tesh, who worked at a competing Nashville station. In 1976, she moved to Baltimore's WJZ-TV to co-anchor the six o'clock news. In 1977, she was removed as co-anchor and worked in lower pro…
Other media
Winfrey co-starred in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple (1985), as distraught housewife Sofia. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. The Alice Walker novel later became a Broadway musical which opened in late 2005, with Winfrey credited as a producer. In October 1998, Winfrey produced and starred in the film Beloved, based on Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name. To prepare for her role as Sethe, the p…
Personal life
Winfrey currently lives on "The Promised Land", her 42-acre (17-ha) estate with ocean and mountain views in Montecito, California. Winfrey also owns a house in Lavallette, New Jersey; an apartment in Chicago; an estate on Fisher Island, Florida; a ski house in Telluride, Colorado; and properties on Maui, Hawaii; Antigua; and Orcas Island, Washington State.
Influence
Winfrey was called "arguably the world's most powerful woman" by CNN and TIME, "arguably the most influential woman in the world" by The American Spectator, "one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th Century" and "one of the most influential people" from 2004 to 2011 by TIME. Winfrey is the only person to have appeared in the latter list on ten occasions.
Filmography
• 1989 – The Oprah Winfrey Show (supervising producer – 8 episodes, 1989–2011)
• 1989 – The Women of Brewster Place (TV miniseries) (executive producer)
• 1992 – Nine (TV documentary) (executive producer)
Bibliography
By Oprah Winfrey
• Winfrey, Oprah (1996). The Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey: A Portrait in Her Own Words
• Winfrey, Oprah (1998). Journey to Beloved (Photography by Ken Regan)
• Winfrey, Oprah (1998). Make the Connection: Ten Steps to a Better Body and a Better Life (co-authored with Bob Greene)
Übersicht
Oprah Gail Winfrey (* 29. Januar 1954 als Orpah Winfrey in Kosciusko, Mississippi, Vereinigte Staaten) ist eine US-amerikanische Talkshow-Moderatorin, Schauspielerin und Unternehmerin. Sie ist bekannt für The Oprah Winfrey Show, die später nach ihr benannt wurde. Winfrey übernahm deren Moderation 1984 und die Show war bis zu ihrer Einstellung im Jahr 2011 die bei weitem erfolgre…
Leben
Oprah Winfrey wurde als uneheliche Tochter minderjähriger Eltern geboren. Ihre Geburtsurkunde gibt als Namen Orpah an, nach der biblischen Orpa. Sie selbst gab an, im Alter von neun Jahren sexuell missbraucht worden zu sein. Mit 14 Jahren wurde sie schwanger, ihr Kind starb kurz nach der Geburt. Winfrey ist seit 1986 mit dem Unternehmer Stedman Graham liiert.
Publikationen
• Was ich vom Leben gelernt habe. Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt am Main 2015, ISBN 978-3-596-03334-8. (Die amerikanische Originalausgabe What I Know for Sure erschien 2014)
• mit Bob Greene: Make the Connection: Ten Steps to a Better Body and a Better Life. 1999, ISBN 0-7868-8298-0.
Literatur
• Oprah Winfrey im Munzinger-Archiv (Artikelanfang frei abrufbar)
Filmografie
• 1985: Die Farbe Lila (The Color Purple)
• 1987: Schmeiß’ die Mama aus dem Zug! (Throw Momma from the Train)
• 1992: Der Prinz von Bel-Air (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Fernsehserie, eine Folge)
• 1997: Ellen (Fernsehserie, Folge Das Outing)
Auszeichnungen
• 1986: Nominierung für den Oscar als Beste Nebendarstellerin für ihre Rolle der Sofia in Die Farbe Lila
• 1986: Nominierung für den Golden Globe, als Beste Nebendarstellerin – Die Farbe Lila (The Color Purple)
• 2000: Spingarn Medal
Weblinks
• Literatur von und über Oprah Winfrey im Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
• Oprah Winfrey in der Internet Movie Database (englisch)
• Oprah Winfrey Online
• Oprah Winfrey. In: FemBio. Frauen-Biographieforschung (mit Literaturangaben und Zitaten).