Capital: € 2.8 billion
Age: 66
Born: 01/29/1954
Country of origin: United States of America
Source of wealth: moderator
Last updated: 2024

Short introduction

Oprah Winfrey is an American talent show host and entrepreneur.

Early life

Oprah Gail Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Her parents were unmarried at birth and still underage. Oprah had two half-siblings on her mother’s side, both of whom died early. First she grew up on a farm with her grandmother. Later Winfrey lived in poor conditions with her mother in Milwaukee, where she came into contact with violence and drugs. Despite a difficult childhood and adolescence, the American has always been hard-working, which helped her later career. Her birth father also influenced Oprah’s life to change. After she ran away from home, Winfrey moved in with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. Under the strict upbringing of the father, the youth learned self-discipline and gained self-confidence.

Career

Oprah Winfrey’s career began as a news presenter in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1984 she found her true calling as the host of her own talk show “AM Chicago” in Chicago. The first program was broadcast in early January 1984 – with great success. The show was later renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (later “Oprah”) and the name of the famous hostess was integrated into the title of the show. The focus of the traditional talk show was on guests who, among other things, had tragic strokes of fate or lived in poverty. In 1990 the presenter founded the show “Oprah’s Book Club”, in which numerous authors presented their books. The media book club was so significant that it influenced purchases and thus bestseller lists in the United States. Oprah Winfrey thus had enormous media power in the United States. In 2009, Winfrey decided to end the 2011 talk show: In late May 2011, the last show of the well-known “Oprah” show was broadcast. However, television did not let go of Winfrey and in the same year her own pay TV channel “OWN” started. Just a year later, her own new talk show “Oprah’s Next Chapter” was also running. In addition to entrepreneurship and her work as a moderator, she also acted as an actress in various productions.

Career highlights

The highlight of her career is her own talk show “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, with which Winfrey also started her career. Through the talk show, the presenter had an influential status in the United States. The way she met her guests played a major role in her success: her gripping presentations and her enormous openness to her guests attracted around 21 million viewers in 105 countries to the television every week. The renowned magazine “Forbes Magazin” chose her as “most influential celebrity” in 2009. Winfrey was also nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe in 1986 for her acting role in the film “The Color Purple”.

Famous quotes

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness. ”

“You are what you are through what you believe in.”

“I know that you cannot hate other people without hating yourself.”

“Doing the best right now puts you in the best position for the next moment.”

“Although I am thankful for the blessing of wealth, it has not changed me. I’m still standing with both feet on the ground. I only wear better shoes. ”

“If you want to achieve the goals of your life, you have to start with the mind.”

“In life you get what you dare to ask.”

“Be grateful for what you have and you will be more satisfied. If you just focus on what you don’t have, you will never be satisfied. ”

Amazing facts

Through her talk show, Winfrey was confronted with many tragic strokes of fate, which prompted her to become involved in charitable causes right at the beginning of her career. Up until 2005 alone, Winfrey donated up to 300 million euros. She founded a school for poor girls in South Africa. For her social engagement, Oprah Winfrey has received several awards, such as the “Women’s World Award”. Winfrey is also very politically active and supported Barack Obama in his presidential candidacy in 2008. As a result, she appeared with him at campaign events.

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