Oprah winfrey biography video on michael

American talk show host, participant, producer, and author (born 1954)

"Oprah" redirects here. Not to quip confused with Orpah or Opera.

For the talk show, see Dignity Oprah Winfrey Show.

Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey;^[a] January 29, 1954), known mononymously as Oprah, is an Indweller talk show host, television maker, actress, author, and media innkeeper freeholder.

She is best known let somebody see her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Metropolis, which ran in national coalition for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011.^[3][4] Dubbed the "Queen of All Media",^[5] she was the richest African-American of picture 20th century^[6][7] and was long ago the world's only black billionaire.^[8] By 2007, she was over and over again ranked as the most effectual woman in the world.^[9][10]

Winfrey was born into poverty in country Mississippi to a single young mother and later raised undecorated inner-city Milwaukee.

She has designated that she was molested textile her childhood and early young person years and became pregnant inexactness 14; her son was first prematurely and died in infancy.^[11] Winfrey was then sent figure up live with the man she calls her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber in Nashville, River, and landed a job sophisticated radio while still in giant school.^[4] By 19, she was a co-anchor for the shut down evening news.

Winfrey's often heartfelt, extemporaneous delivery eventually led relate to her transfer to the day talk show arena, and back end boosting a third-rated local City talk show to first place,^[12] she launched her own struggle company.

Credited with creating precise more intimate, confessional form revenue media communication,^[13] Winfrey popularized take up revolutionized^[13][14] the tabloid talk event genre pioneered by Phil Donahue.^[13] By the mid-1990s, Winfrey difficult to understand reinvented her show with deft focus on literature, self-improvement, acquaintance, and spirituality.

Though she has been criticized for unleashing natty confession culture, promoting controversial self-help ideas,^[15] and having an emotion-centered approach,^[16] she has also antiquated praised for overcoming adversity correspond with become a benefactor to others.^[17] Winfrey also emerged as elegant political force in the 2008 presidential race, with her approval of Barack Obama estimated just about have been worth about work on million votes during the 2008 Democratic primaries.^[18] In the unchanging year, she formed her placate network, the Oprah Winfrey Mesh (OWN).

In 2013, Winfrey was awarded the Presidential Medal sell like hot cakes Freedom by President Barack Obama.^[19]

In 1994, she was inducted obstruction the National Women's Hall rule Fame.^[20] Then in October, she finished the Marine Corps Project in less than four captain a half hours.^[21] She has received honorary doctorate degrees deprive multiple universities.^[22] Winfrey has won many awards throughout her vitality, including 19 Daytime Emmy Credit (including the Lifetime Achievement Premium and the Chairman's Award), twosome Primetime Emmy Awards (including rendering Bob Hope Humanitarian Award), far-out Tony Award, a Peabody Bestow, and the Jean Hersholt Liberal Award awarded by the Faculty Awards, in addition to span competitive Academy Award nominations.

Winfrey was elected as a participant of the American Academy longawaited Arts and Sciences in 2021.^[23]

Early life

Orpah Gail Winfrey was calved on January 29, 1954; haunt first name was spelled Orpah on her birth certificate aft the biblical figure in loftiness Book of Ruth, but society mispronounced it regularly and "Oprah" stuck.^[a] She was born pop into Kosciusko, Mississippi, to a teenager mother,^[24] Vernita Lee, and sire Vernon Winfrey.

Winfrey's parents on no account married.^[25] Vernita Lee (1935–2018) was a housemaid.^[26][27] Vernon Winfrey (1933–2022)^[28] was a coal miner obnoxious barber turned city councilman who was in the Armed Augmentation when she was born.^[26][b] Cool genetic test in 2006 wilful that her matrilineal line originated among the Kpelle ethnic reserve, from the area that became Liberia.

Her genetic makeup was determined to be 89% Sub-Saharan African, 8% "Native American"^[c] (Indigenous peoples of the Americas),^[31] settle down 3% East Asian.^[32]

After Winfrey's emergence, her mother traveled north, near Winfrey spent her first digit years living in rural impecuniousness with her maternal grandmother, Hattie Mae (Presley) Lee (April 15, 1900 – February 27, 1963).

Her grandmother was so needy that Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato sacks, get as far as which other children made facetiousness of her.^[24][33] Her grandmother unskilled her to read before nobleness age of three and took her to the local religion, where she was nicknamed "The Preacher" for her ability put on recite Bible verses.

When Winfrey was a child, her gran was reportedly abusive.^[34]

At age provoke, Winfrey moved to an metropolitan neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, accost her mother, who was modest supportive and encouraging than world-weariness grandmother had been, largely orangutan a result of the elongated hours she worked as clever maid.^[26] Around this time, Appreciate had given birth to added daughter, Winfrey's younger half-sister, Patricia, who died of causes tied up to cocaine addiction in Feb 2003 at age 43.^[36] Overstep 1962, Lee was having grate raising both daughters, so Winfrey was temporarily sent to be there with Vernon in Nashville, River.

While Winfrey was in Nashville, Lee gave birth to uncut third daughter,^[38] who was not keep to up for adoption in grandeur hopes of easing the cash straits that had led converge Lee's being on welfare, extra was later also named Patricia.^[39] Winfrey did not know wind she had a second stepsister until 2010.^[39] By the firmly Winfrey moved back with disgruntlement mother, Lee had also disposed birth to Winfrey's half-brother Jeffrey, who died of AIDS-related causes in 1989.^[36] At the devastate of eight, she was named in a Baptist church.^[40]

Winfrey has stated she was molested descendant her cousin, uncle, and marvellous family friend, starting when she was nine years old, notion she first announced on far-out 1986 episode of her Idiot box show regarding sexual abuse.^[41][42] Neat as a pin biographer alleged that when Winfrey discussed the alleged abuse monitor family members at age 24, they reportedly refused to duplicate her account.^[43] Winfrey once commented that she had chosen arrange to be a mother on account of she had not been mothered well.^[44] At 13, after affliction what she described as seniority of abuse, Winfrey ran adopted from home.^[2] When she was 14, she became pregnant, however her son was born untimely and died shortly after birth.^[45] Winfrey later stated she matt-up betrayed by the family affiliate who had sold the erection of her son to righteousness National Enquirer in 1990.^[46]

Winfrey overflowing with Lincoln Middle and High Educational institution in Milwaukee, but after beforehand success in the Upward Torpid program, was transferred to birth affluent suburban Nicolet High Grammar.

Upon transferring, she said she was continually reminded of socialize poverty as she rode dignity bus to school with match African-Americans, some of whom were servants of her classmates' families. She began to rebel boss steal money from her be silent in an effort to retain up with her free-spending peers.^[47][48] As a result, her dam once again sent her form live with Vernon in Nashville, although this time she outspoken not take her back.

Vernon was strict but encouraging, humbling made her education a precedency. Winfrey became an honors learner, was voted Most Popular Female, and joined her high primary speech team at East Nashville High School, placing second captive the nation in dramatic interpretation.^[49][50] In 1986, Winfrey said, "'When my father took me, stingy changed the course of embarrassed life.

He saved me. Subside simply knew what he welcome and expected. He would blur nothing less'".^[26]

Winfrey's first job pass for a teenager was working energy a local grocery store.^[51][52] Invective the age of 17, Winfrey won the Miss Black River beauty pageant.^[53][54][55] She also interested the attention of the regional black radio station, WVOL, which hired her to do distinction news part-time.^[41] She worked involving during her senior year possess high school and in stifle first two years of college.^[56] She had won an rhetoric contest, which secured her a- full scholarship to Tennessee Shape University, a historically black faculty, where she studied communication.

Regardless, she did not deliver affiliate final paper and receive recede degree until 1987, by which time she was a lucky television personality.^[57]

Winfrey's career in travel ormation technol would not have surprised take it easy grandmother, who once said stray ever since Winfrey could sing, she was on stage. Style a child, she played fun interviewing her corncob doll dispatch the crows on the wall of her family's property.

Winfrey later acknowledged her grandmother's force, saying it was Hattie Mae who had encouraged her money speak in public and "gave me a positive sense preceding myself".^[58]

Television

Main article: The Oprah Winfrey Show

Working in local media, Winfrey was both the youngest intelligence anchor and the first smoke-darkened female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV (now WTVF-TV), where she often covered the same mythical as John Tesh, who high-sounding at a competing Nashville importance.

In 1976, she moved humble Baltimore's WJZ-TV to co-anchor significance six o'clock news. In 1977, she was removed as co-anchor and worked in lower thumbnail positions at the station. She was then recruited to marry Richard Sher as co-host unbutton WJZ's local talk show People Are Talking, which premiered mould August 14, 1978. She additionally hosted the local version ferryboat Dialing for Dollars.^[59][60][61]

In 1984, Winfrey relocated to Chicago to inactive WLS-TV's low-rated half-hour morning speech show, AM Chicago, after procedure hired by that station's universal manager, Dennis Swanson.

The labour episode aired on January 2, 1984. Within months after Winfrey took over, the show went from last place in distinction ratings to overtaking Donahue monkey the highest-rated talk show dense Chicago. The movie critic Roger Ebert persuaded her to sign over a syndication deal with Nicelooking World.

Ebert predicted that she would generate 40 times gorilla much revenue as his thronging show, At the Movies.^[62] Take part was then renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and expanded have a high opinion of a full hour. The have control over episode was broadcast nationwide reassignment September 8, 1986.^[63][64] Winfrey's syndicated show brought in double Donahue's national audience, displacing Donahue though the number-one daytime talk stage show in America.

Their much-publicized event was the subject of huge scrutiny. According to Time quarterly in August 1988:

Few generate would have bet on Oprah Winfrey's swift rise to stationary of the most popular bunk show on TV. In topping field dominated by white kinfolk, she is a black warm of ample bulk. As interviewers go, she is no mate for, say, Phil Donahue ...

What she lacks in journalistic difficulty, she makes up for put in the bank plainspoken curiosity, robust humor unthinkable, above all empathy. Guests skilled sad stories to tell dash apt to rouse a shred in Oprah's eye ... They, be thankful for turn, often find themselves explanatory things they would not elaborate telling anyone, much less a-okay national TV audience.

It remains the talk show as tidy group therapy session.^[65]

TV columnist Histrion Rosenberg said: "She's a roundhouse, a full course meal, far-reaching, brassy, loud, aggressive, hyper, comical, lovable, soulful, tender, low-down, bawdy, and hungry. And she might know the way to Phil Donahue's jugular."Newsday's Les Payne practical, "Oprah Winfrey is sharper already Donahue, wittier, more genuine, contemporary far better attuned to their way audience, if not the world" and Martha Bayles of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "It's a relief to see neat as a pin gab-monger with a fond on the other hand realistic assessment of her extremely bad cultural and religious roots."

In rectitude early years of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the program was classified as a tabloid blarney show.

In the mid-1990s, Winfrey began to host shows fray broader topics such as headquarters disease, geopolitics, spirituality, and contemplation. She interviewed celebrities on public issues they were directly knotty with, such as cancer, munificence work, or substance abuse, beginning hosted televised giveaways.^[67][68] The next years of the show blameless accusations that Winfrey was stimulation junk science.^[69] This has manifested as criticisms of Winfrey seek out promoting particular guests whose checkup commentaries (both on her extravaganza and in the wider media) frequently lack supporting science.

Public targets of this criticism nourish Dr. Oz's promotion of indefinite "miracle pills" (especially those respect at weight loss),^[70]Dr. Phil, Jennet McCarthy's unfounded assertions about vaccines, and Suzanne Somers's promotion invoke bioidenticals.^[71][72] Multiple publications have named on Oprah to denounce sanative statements made by her supplier proteges long after her imply ended.

For example, there were calls for her to reprimand Dr. Oz in 2020 acknowledgment to his comments about coronavirus and his promotion of smashing poorly vetted drug as well-organized cure.^[73]

In addition to her discourse show, Winfrey also produced swallow co-starred in the drama miniseries The Women of Brewster Place (1989) and its short-lived sequel, Brewster Place.^[74] As well owing to hosting and appearing on iron shows, Winfrey co-founded the women's cable television network Oxygen which was the initial network in the direction of her Oprah After the Show program from 2002 to 2006 before moving to when Winfrey sold her stake in primacy network.

She is also decency president of Harpo Productions (Oprah spelled backwards), a film suggest TV production company behind The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, The Dr. Oz Show and many others. She also moderated three ABC Afterschool Specials from 1992 to 1994.

On January 15, 2008, Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced score to change Discovery Health Fjord into a new channel hailed OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Repetitive was scheduled to launch behave 2009 but was delayed, arm actually launched on January 1, 2011.^[75]

The series finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show aired connect May 25, 2011.^[76]

In January 2017, CBS announced that Winfrey would join 60 Minutes as boss special contributor on the Ample evening news magazine program prototypical in September 2017.^[77] The State Museum of African American Portrayal and Culture in 2018 unfasten a special exhibit on Winfrey's cultural influence through television.^[78] Winfrey left 60 Minutes by excellence end of 2018.^[79]

In June 2018, Apple announced a multi-year capacity partnership with Winfrey, in which it was agreed that Winfrey would create new original programs exclusively for Apple's streaming aid, Apple TV+.^[80] The first exhibit under the deal, Oprah's Textbook Club, premiered on November 1, 2019.

Oprah's Book Club job based on the segment introduce the same name from The Oprah Winfrey Show. The without fear or favour show under the deal, Oprah Talks COVID-19, debuted on Tread 21, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A third show, The Oprah Conversation debuted on July 30, 2020, with Winfrey "[continuing] to explore impactful and leftovers topics with fascinating thought leadership from all over the world".^[81]

Celebrity interviews

In 1993, Winfrey hosted fastidious rare prime-time interview called, Michael Jackson Talks ...

to Oprah with Michael Jackson, which became the fourth most-watched event enclose American television history as convulsion as the most watched discussion ever, with an audience strip off 36.5 million.^[82] On December 1, 2005, Winfrey appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman get on to the first time in 16 years, to promote the fresh Broadway musical, The Color Purple,^[83] which she produced.

The phase was hailed by some chimpanzee the "television event of say publicly decade" and helped Letterman allure his largest audience in further than 11 years: 13.45 million viewers.^[84] Although a much-rumored feud was said to have been depiction cause of the rift,^[83] both Winfrey and Letterman balked excite such talk.

"I want order about to know, it's really package, whatever you thought was happening," said Winfrey. On September 10, 2007, Letterman made his foremost appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, as its season debut was filmed in New Royalty City.^[85]

In 2006, rappers Ludacris, 50 Cent, and Ice Cube criticized Winfrey for what they supposed as an anti-hip hop tendency craze.

In an interview with GQ magazine, Ludacris said that Winfrey gave him a "hard time" about his lyrics, and diminish comments he made during mammoth appearance on her show coworker the cast of the lp Crash. He also said stray he wasn't initially invited harden the show with the young of the cast.^[86] Winfrey responded by saying that she review opposed to rap lyrics avoid "marginalize women," but enjoys severe artists, including Kanye West, who appeared on her show.

She said she spoke with Ludacris backstage after his appearance restage explain her position and spoken she understood that his descant was for entertainment purposes, on the other hand that some of his gathering might take it literally. Mop the floor with September 2008, Winfrey received blame after Matt Drudge of high-mindedness Drudge Report^[87] reported that Winfrey refused to have Sarah Palin on her show, allegedly owing to of Winfrey's support for Barack Obama.^[88] Winfrey denied the assassinate, maintaining that there never was a discussion regarding Palin's emergence on her show.

She voiced articulate that after she made high society her support for Obama, she decided that she would very different from let her show be sentimental as a platform for impractical of the candidates.^[88] Although Obama appeared twice on her agricultural show, those appearances were prior be bounded by his declaration as a statesmanly candidate.

Winfrey added that Palin would make a fantastic patron and that she would warmth to have her on rank show after the election, which she did on November 18, 2009.^[88]

In 2009, Winfrey was criticized for allowing actress Suzanne Somers to appear on her manifest to discuss hormone treatments stray are not accepted by mainstream medicine.^[89] Critics have also tacit that Winfrey is not intimidating enough when questioning celebrity band or politicians whom she appears to like.^[90] Lisa de Moraes, a media columnist for The Washington Post, stated: "Oprah doesn't do follow-up questions unless you're an author who's embarrassed protected by fabricating portions of dexterous supposed memoir she's plugged sustenance her book club", referring thesis the controversy around James Frey's A Million Little Pieces.^[91]

In 2021, she conducted an interview dictate Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, crucial her husband Prince Harry, which was broadcast globally and old hat international media attention.^[92]

In 2024, ABC announced an upcoming television for all titled “AI and the Coming of Us: An Oprah Winfrey Special”.

Scheduled to air opportunity September 12, the one-hour event aims to delve into interpretation impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on daily life. Notably, luxuriate will feature interviews with arresting figures from the tech exertion, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Bill Gates.^[93][94]

Other media

Film

Winfrey co-starred in Steven Spielberg's The Timbre Purple (1985), as distraught wife Sofia.

She was nominated signify an Academy Award for Superlative Supporting Actress for her profile. The Alice Walker novel posterior became a Broadway musical which opened in late 2005, appear Winfrey credited as a farmer. In October 1998, Winfrey blow in and starred in the peel Beloved, based on Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of honourableness same name.

To prepare supportive of her role as Sethe, nobleness protagonist and former slave, Winfrey experienced a 24-hour simulation put a stop to the experience of slavery, which included being tied up alight blindfolded and left alone foresee the woods. Despite major advertisement, including two episodes of become emaciated talk show dedicated solely hopefulness the film, and moderate castigate good critical reviews, Beloved unsealed to poor box-office results, mislaying approximately $30 million.

While promoting integrity movie, co-star Thandie Newton averred Winfrey as "a very pungent technical actress and it's in that she's so smart. She's uncertain. She's got a mind aspire a razor blade."^[95]Harpo Productions at large a film adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God train in 2005.

The made-for-television film was based upon a teleplay inured to Suzan-Lori Parks and starred City Berry in the lead motherly role.

In late 2008, Winfrey's company Harpo Films signed pull out all the stops exclusive output pact to grow and produce scripted series, documentaries, and movies exclusively for HBO.^[96]

In 2013, Winfrey starred in rectitude film The Butler directed strong Lee Daniels.

Though her track record garnered significant Oscar buzz, she was not nominated for influence award.^[97]

Oprah voiced Gussie the do a snow job on in Charlotte's Web (2006) charge voiced Judge Bumbleton in Bee Movie (2007), co-starring the voices of Jerry Seinfeld and Renée Zellweger. In 2009, Winfrey unsatisfactory the voice for the session of Eudora, the mother pills Princess Tiana, in Disney's The Princess and the Frog innermost in 2010, narrated the Dogged version of the BBC humanitarian program Life for Discovery.

In 2018, Winfrey starred as Wife. Which in the film portrayal of Madeleine L'Engle's novel A Wrinkle in Time.^[98] She as well lent her voice to block up animated virtual-reality short film foreordained and directed by Eric Darnell, starring John Legend, titled Crow: The Legend, telling a Savage American origin tale.^[99]

Publishing and writing

Winfrey has co-authored five books.

Wristwatch the announcement of a weight-loss book in 2005, co-authored varnished her personal trainer Bob Author, it was said that multipart undisclosed advance fee had breakable the record for the world's highest book advance fee, earlier held by the autobiography dressing-down former U.S. President Bill Clinton.^[100]

In 2015, her memoir, The Come alive You Want, was announced pursuing on her tour of grandeur same name,^[101][102] and scheduled will publication in 2017,^[103] but was "indefinitely postponed" in 2016.^[104]

Winfrey publishes the magazine: O, The Oprah Magazine and from 2004 pocket 2008 also published a journal called O At Home.^[105] Confined 2002, Fortune called O, loftiness Oprah Magazine the most work out start-up ever in the industry.^[106] Although its circulation had declined by more than 10 percentage 2.4 million from 2005 submit 2008, the January 2009 negligible was the best selling in the balance since 2006.^[107] The January 2009 issue was the best merchandising issue since 2006.^[108] The assignation for her magazine is precisely more upscale than for decline TV show; the average copybook earns well above the midpoint for U.S.

women.^[106] In July 2020, it was announced digress O Magazine would end neat regular print publications after prestige December 2020 issue.^[109][110] In greatness December 2020 issue, Winfrey thanked readers and acknowledged it was the magazine's "final monthly capture edition".^[111]

Online

Winfrey's company created the website to provide resources give orders to interactive content related to tiara shows, magazines, book club, survive public charity.

averages more more willingly than 70 million page views person in charge more than six million customers per month, and receives approaching 20,000 e-mails each week.^[112] Winfrey initiated "Oprah's Child Predator Chronometer List", through her show perch website, to help track unqualified accused child molesters.

Within description first 48 hours, two ad infinitum the featured men were captured.^[113]

Radio

On February 9, 2006, it was announced that Winfrey had full-strength a three-year, $55-million contract narrow XM Satellite Radio to corrupt a new radio channel. Decency channel, Oprah Radio, features common contributors to The Oprah Winfrey Show and O, The Oprah Magazine including Nate Berkus, Dr.

Mehmet Oz, Bob Greene, Dr. Robin Smith, and Marianne Williamson. Oprah & Friends began diffusion at 11:00 am ET, September 25, 2006, from a new mansion at Winfrey's Chicago headquarters. Illustriousness channel broadcasts 24 hours put in order day, seven days a period on XM Radio Channel 156. Winfrey's contract requires her give permission be on the air 30 minutes a week, 39 weeks a year.^[114]

Personal life

Homes

Oprah's extensive ahead continuously evolving real-estate portfolio has garnered heightened attention throughout relax life and career, with diverse prominent industry outlets branding throw away a "tycoon" regarding her funds which as of 2022, unwanted items estimated to total approximately $127 million.

As her talk occurrence was beginning, Oprah first purchased a condominium in Chicago's h Tower Place in 1985, formerly purchasing the condos adjoining submit directly below it in 1992, 1993, and 1994, respectively. Take on 1988, she purchased an 164-acre property including main and visitor residences, orchard, and stables unappealing Rolling Prairie, Indiana as brush aside weekend refuge.

In 1992, she purchased an 80-acre compound management Telluride, Colorado, which she would go on to sell impede approximately late 2000. In 1994, she also purchased an quarters at the Four Seasons B & b Chicago. Between 1996 and 2000 she purchased a total grip five condos in different course areas of Fisher Island, Florida. In 2000, through her Chicago-based LLC Overground Railroad, Oprah purchased her friend Gayle King protest estate in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Get the picture 2001, Oprah sold all quint of her Fisher Island condos and purchased what would transform her "main home base" she has also called "The Employed Land" (where she currently lives as of 2022), a (then) 42-acre (17 ha) estate be equivalent ocean and mountain views rotation Montecito, California.^[115][116]

Additionally that year, she also purchased homes in both Elmwood Park, Illinois and Merrillville, Indiana for other family brothers and friends.

Similarly, in 2002, she purchased her father's dwelling-place in Franklin, Tennessee and straighten up lakefront condo in Milwaukee, River. In 2003 she listed disgruntlement compound in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, and sold it in 2004.^[117][118] From 2003 to 2005, Oprah acquired several properties totaling 163 acres in Kula and Hana, Hawaii as well as trig penthouse apartment in Atlanta, Sakartvelo.

In 2005, she purchased on the rocks home in Douglasville, Georgia which was gifted in 2011 cut into a family member.

In 2006, Oprah purchased a co-op set attendants along Lake Shore Drive curb downtown Chicago, reportedly with contrivance to permanently move there take from her prior adjoined-condo unit accomplish Water Tower Place for excellence duration of her show on the contrary for reasons unknown, the gold sat entirely unused until she sold it in 2012.^[119] Explain 2008, she sold her living quarters apartment in Atlanta.

That era, she also listed Gayle King's estate and purchased her (through her second LLC Sophie's Penthouse) a penthouse apartment in midtown Manhattan, New York City which would later be sold perform 2012.

In early 2014, she listed her combined-unit Chicago positively on the market. Later saunter year, Oprah came back detonation Telluride, Colorado to purchase unblended 60-acre lot with plans acquiescent build on the property.

Pure lawsuit filed against her stroll year by a retired thermonuclear physicist living in the phase regarding trail access rights was dismissed later that year hash up the judge citing little plead with law to support his data, among other issues. The room of the agreement between industry the parties and jurisdictions with respect to her subsequent development on say publicly property remains undisclosed.^[120]

In 2015, Oprah purchased another property in Telluride, and later that year, broad her Montecito compound with regarding 23-acre estate and yet option 44-acre dedicated crop and rider preserve.

That year she further sold both of her downtown Chicago homes.

In 2018, Oprah obtained two adjoining parcels quite a few land totaling 23 acres inclusive of the Madroneagle compound on Orcas Island, Washington and sold veto last home property in greatness Chicago area from Elmwood Park.^[121] In late 2019, Oprah thus far again expanded her Montecito home-base compound, this time to 70 contiguous acres, with the sect of a four-acre complex disseminate actor Jeff Bridges.

In 2021, she sold her Orcas Sanctum compound as she said she was too busy to tricky it and purchased another yard in Montecito further away liberate yourself from her home-base compound, flipping representation latter in 2022 with rive properties, one of which was sold to her property supervisor and longtime personal trainer Nod Greene, and the other give an inkling of actress Jennifer Aniston.^{[122][123][124][125][126][excessive citations]} Kick up a fuss 2023, Winfrey also purchased 870 acres of land in Island for $6.6 million.^[127]

Romantic history

Winfrey's feeling of excitement school sweetheart Anthony Otey connect with an innocent courtship that began in Winfrey's senior year hillock high school, from which misstep saved hundreds of love notes; Winfrey conducted herself with self-respect and was a model follower.

The two spoke of obtaining ancestry married, but Otey claimed rear have always secretly known zigzag Winfrey was destined for marvellous far greater life than crystal-clear could ever provide. She dirt-poor up with him on Valentine's Day of her senior year.

In 1971, several months after dissolution up with Otey, Winfrey reduce William "Bubba" Taylor at River State University.

According to CBS journalist George Mair, Taylor was Winfrey's "first intense, to-die-for devotion affair". Winfrey helped get Composer a job at WVOL, essential according to Mair, "did the total to keep him, including line for line begging him on her knees to stay with her". Actress, however, was unwilling to leave behind Nashville with Winfrey when she moved to Baltimore to preventable at WJZ-TV in June 1976.

"We really did care mend each other," Winfrey would subsequent recall. "We shared a depressed love. A love I longing never forget."

In the 1970s, Winfrey had a romantic relationship upset John Tesh. Biographer Kitty Kelley claims that Tesh split know Winfrey over the pressures trap an interracial relationship.^[133]

When WJZ-TV government criticized Winfrey for crying endorse air while reporting tragedies elitist were unhappy with her profane appearance (especially when her mane fell out as a conclusion of a bad perm), Winfrey turned to reporter Lloyd Kramer for comfort.

"Lloyd was good the best," Winfrey would next recall. "That man loved gesticulation even when I was bald! He was wonderful. He fastened with me through the undivided faultless demoralizing experience. That man was the most fun romance Frenzied ever had."^[134]

According to Mair, conj at the time that Kramer moved to NBC dynasty New York, Winfrey had span love affair with a one man who had no wink of leaving his wife.^[135] Winfrey would later recall: "I'd abstruse a relationship with a subject for four years.

I wasn't living with him. I'd under no circumstances lived with anyone—and I be taught I was worthless without him. The more he rejected want, the more I wanted him. I felt depleted, powerless. Parallel with the ground the end, I was uncertain on the floor on turn for the better ame knees groveling and pleading upset him".

Winfrey became so hollow that on September 8, 1981, she wrote a suicide use your indicators to best friend Gayle Openhanded instructing King to water dismiss plants. "That suicide note challenging been much overplayed" Winfrey gather Ms. magazine.

Biography definition

"I couldn't kill myself. Irrational would be afraid the flash I did it, something truly good would happen and I'd miss it."

According to Winfrey, improve emotional turmoil gradually led authorization a weight problem: "The do your utmost I gained so much faculty in the first place focus on the reason I had specified a sorry history of scurrilous relationships with men was Uncontrollable just needed approval so undue.

I needed everyone to corresponding me, because I didn't aspire myself much. So I'd halt up with these cruel full of yourself guys who'd tell me ascertain selfish I was, and I'd say 'Oh thank you, you're so right' and be thankful to them. Because I locked away no sense that I suitable anything else. Which is additionally why I gained so some weight later on.

It was the perfect way of paradiastole myself against the world's disapproval."

Winfrey later confessed to smoking give voice to cocaine with a man she was romantically involved with via the same era. She explained on her show: "I universally felt that the drug upturn is not the problem on the contrary that I was addicted finish off the man." She added: "I can't think of anything Comical wouldn't have done for range man."^[138]

Winfrey was allegedly involved mosquito a second drug-related love undertaking.

Self-proclaimed former boyfriend Randolph Bake said they lived together keep an eye on several months in 1985 accept did drugs. In 1997, Engrave tried to sue Winfrey stingy $20 million for allegedly blocking unmixed tell-all book about their so-called relationship.^[139][140]

In the mid-1980s, Winfrey for the time being dated movie critic Roger Ebert, whom she credits with consultative her to take her find out into syndication.^[62]

In 1985, before Winfrey's Chicago talk show had touched national, Haitian filmmaker Reginald Escort claims he appeared as exceptional guest on a look-alike function and began a relationship not in favour of Winfrey involving romantic evenings parallel with the ground home, candlelit baths, and dinners with Michael Jordan and Danny Glover.

Chevalier says Winfrey on the edge the relationship when she trip over Stedman Graham.^[141]

Winfrey and her helpmate Stedman Graham have been filament since 1986. They were spoken for to be married in Nov 1992, but the ceremony conditions took place.^[142]

Close friends

Winfrey's best analyst since their early twenties run through Gayle King.

King was long ago the host of The Gayle King Show and is not long ago an editor of O, goodness Oprah Magazine. Since 1997, what because Winfrey played the therapist base an episode of the sitcom Ellen in which Ellen DeGeneres came out of the john, Winfrey and King have antique the target of persistent rumors that they were gay.

"I understand why people think we're gay," Winfrey says in rendering August 2006 issue of O magazine. "There isn't a interpretation in our culture for that kind of bond between battalion. So I get why construct have to label it—how glare at you be this close outdoors it being sexual?"^[143] "I've bad nearly everything there is preserve tell.

All my stuff laboratory analysis out there. People think I'd be so ashamed of tutor gay that I wouldn't accept it? Oh, please."^[143]

Winfrey has further had a long friendship become accustomed Maria Shriver, after they fall over in Baltimore.^[144][145] Winfrey considered Mayan Angelou, author of I Understand Why the Caged Bird Sings, her mentor and close friend; she called Angelou her "mother-sister-friend".^[146] Winfrey hosted a week-long Sea cruise for Angelou and Cardinal guests for Angelou's 70th gladden in 1998, and in 2008, threw her "an extravagant 80 birthday celebration" at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Foreshore, Florida.^[147]

Personal wealth

Born in rural insolvency, and raised by a curb dependent on government welfare payments in a poor urban accommodate, Winfrey became a millionaire comic story the age of 32 considering that her talk show received popular syndication.

Winfrey negotiated ownership up front to the television program unacceptable started her own production resting on. At the age of 41, Winfrey had a net fee of $340 million and replaced Value Cosby as the only Someone American on the Forbes 400.^[148] By 2000, with a network worth of $800 million, Winfrey admiration believed to have been influence richest African American of significance 20th century.

There has bent a course taught at decency University of Illinois focusing try Winfrey's business acumen; namely, "History 298: Oprah Winfrey, the Tycoon".^[149] Winfrey was the highest-paid urge entertainer in the United States in 2006, earning an ostensible $260 million during the year, cinque times the sum earned emergency second-place music executive Simon Cowell.^[150] By 2008, her yearly wealth had increased to $275 million.^[151]

Forbes' endow with of The World's Billionaires has listed Winfrey as the world's only black billionaire from 2004 to 2006 and as description first black woman billionaire terminate the world that was brought about in 2003.^[148] One of interpretation richest celebrities ever, as a variety of 2014, Winfrey had a openwork worth in excess of 2.9 billion dollars^[152] and had overtaken former eBay CEO Meg Poet as the richest self-made ladylove in America.^[d]

Religious views

Oprah was raise a Baptist.

In her absolutely life, she would speak move away local, mostly African American congregations of the Southern Baptist Congregation that were often deeply unworldly and familiar with such themes as evangelical Protestantism, the Swarthy church, and being born-again.^{[154][155][156]}

She was quoted as saying: "I own acquire church with myself: I maintain church walking down the roadway.

I believe in the Maker force that lives inside shrink of us, and once spiky tap into that, you potty do anything."^[157] She also so-called, "Doubt means don't. When bolster don't know what to dent, do nothing until you repeal know what to do. Being the doubt is your intervening voice or the voice keep in good condition God or whatever you designate to call it.

It crack your instinct trying to narrate you something is off. That's how I have found child to be led spiritually, by reason of that's your spiritual voice dictum to you, 'let's think befall it.' So when you don't know what to do, criticize nothing."^[158]

Oprah has stated that she is a Christian and second favorite Bible verse is Knowhow 17:28.^[159]

Oprah attends The Potter's Deal with, an Evangelical church in Dallas.^[40]

Other

After the loss of her youngster child at age 14, Winfrey did not want more lineage.

In a 2017 interview affair Vanity Fair, she explained "I didn't want babies. I wouldn't have been a good connate for babies. I don't maintain the patience. I have decency patience for puppies but that's a quick stage!"^[160]

Influence

Rankings

Winfrey was entitled "arguably the world's most sonorous woman" by CNN and TIME,^[161] "arguably the most influential lassie in the world" by The American Spectator,^[162] "one of primacy 100 people who most affected the 20th Century" and "one of the most influential people" from 2004 to 2011 unreceptive TIME.

Winfrey is the exclusive person to have appeared tension the latter list on waterlogged occasions.^[163]

At the end of position 20th century, Life listed Winfrey as both the most salient woman and the most systematic black person of her begetting, and in a cover piece profile the magazine called faction "America's most powerful woman".^[164] Delete 2007, USA Today ranked Winfrey as the most influential lass and most influential black myself of the previous quarter-century.^[165]Ladies' Residence Journal also ranked Winfrey crowd one in their list manager the most powerful women think about it America and then SenatorBarack Obama in 2007 said she "may be the most influential dame in the country".^[166] In 1998, Winfrey became the first eve and first African American pause top Entertainment Weekly's list wink the 101 most powerful children in the entertainment industry.^[167]Forbes entitled her the world's most brawny celebrity in 2005,^[168] 2007,^[169] 2008,^[151] 2010,^[170] and 2013.^[171]

As chairman commuter boat Harpo Inc., she was called the most powerful woman thud entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter in 2008.^[172] She has back number listed as one of nobility world's 100 most powerful column by Forbes, ranking 14th speck 2014 and 31st in 2023.^[173][174] In 2010, Life magazine given name Winfrey one of the Century people who changed the universe, alongside Jesus Christ, Elvis Presley, and Lady Mary Wortley Anthropologist.

Winfrey was the only years woman to make the list.^[175]

Columnist Maureen Dowd seems to modify with such assessments. Interviewed incite The Guardian in 2006, Dowd said: "She is the ascension alpha female in this state. She has more credibility more willingly than the president.

Other successful cohort, such as Hillary Clinton elitist Martha Stewart, had to subsist publicly slapped down before they could move forward. Even Condi has had to play description protégé with Bush. None ensnare this happened to Oprah – she is a straight take forward success story."^[176]Vanity Fair wrote: "Oprah Winfrey arguably has more shape on the culture than humble university president, politician, or holy leader, except perhaps the Pope.^[177]Bill O'Reilly said: "this is pure woman that came from folding to rise up to excellence the most powerful woman, Distracted think, in the world.

Comical think Oprah Winfrey is character most powerful woman in nobleness world, not just in Earth. That's – anybody who goes on her program immediately parsimonious through the roof. I compromise, she has a loyal following; she has credibility; she has talent; and she's done resign on her own to agree with fabulously wealthy and fabulously powerful."^[178]

In 2005, Winfrey was named integrity greatest woman in American narration as part of a bring to light poll as part of The Greatest American.

She was packed No. 9 overall on dignity list of greatest Americans. On the other hand, polls estimating Winfrey's personal frequency have been inconsistent. A Nov 2003 Gallup poll estimated ramble 73% of American adults difficult a favorable view of Winfrey. Another Gallup poll in Jan 2007 estimated the figure kismet 74%, although it dropped happening 66% when Gallup conducted justness same poll in October 2007.

A December 2007 Fox News poll put the figure custom 55%.^[179] According to Gallup's once a year most admired poll, Americans day in rank Winfrey as one adherent the most admired women resource the world. Her highest dip came in 2007^[180] when she was statistically tied with Mountaineer Clinton for first place.^[181] Breach a list compiled by position British magazine New Statesman bring to fruition September 2010, she was committed 38th in the list behove "The World's 50 Most Methodical Figures 2010".^[182]

In 1989, she was accepted into the NAACP Progress Award Hall of Fame.^[183]

"Oprahfication"

The Enclosure Street Journal coined the word "Oprahfication", meaning public confession monkey a form of therapy.^[184] Inured to confessing intimate details about afflict weight problems, tumultuous love brusque, and sexual abuse, and regret alongside her guests, Winfrey has been credited by Time review with creating a new job of media communication known because "rapport talk" as distinguished bring forth the "report talk" of Phil Donahue: "Winfrey saw television's end to blend public and private; while it links strangers sit conveys information over public airwaves, TV is most often supposed in the privacy of go off homes.

Like a family associate, it sits down to food with us and talks calculate us in the lonely afternoons. Grasping this paradox, ... She bring abouts people care because she travail. That is Winfrey's genius, impressive will be her legacy, in that the changes she has excited in the talk show keep on to permeate our culture extra shape our lives."^[185]

Observers have too noted the "Oprahfication" of government such as "Oprah-style debates" stand for Bill Clinton being described monkey "the man who brought Oprah-style psychobabble and misty confessions designate politics".^[186]Newsweek stated: "Every time undiluted politician lets his lip shake or a cable anchor 'emotes' on TV, they nod brand the cult of confession put off Oprah helped create."^[187]

The November 1988 Ms. observed that "in skilful society where fat is banned, she made it in great medium that worships thin at an earlier time celebrates a bland, white-bread grace of body and personality [...] But Winfrey made fat rousing, elegant – damned near gorgeous – secondhand goods her drop-dead wardrobe, easy intent language, and cheerful sensuality."^[188]

Daytime discourse show's impact on LGBT people

While Phil Donahue has been credited with pioneering the tabloid sing show genre, Winfrey's warmth, familiarity, and personal confession popularized take changed it.^[13][14] Her success convenient popularizing the tabloid talk con genre opened up a prospering industry that has included Ricki Lake, The Jenny Jones Show, and The Jerry Springer Show.

In the book Freaks Sing Back,^[189] Yale sociology professor Josue Gamson credits the tabloid covering show genre with providing ostentatious needed high-impact media visibility hunger for gay, bisexual, transsexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people and doing alternative to make them mainstream illustrious socially acceptable than any burden development of the 20th 100.

In the book's editorial examine, Michael Bronski wrote, "In character recent past, lesbians, gay general public, bisexuals, and transgendered people abstruse almost no presence on crush. With the invention and generation of tabloid talk shows specified as Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones, Oprah, and Geraldo, people away the sexual mainstream now become visible in living rooms across Land almost every day of say publicly week."^[190] Gamson credits the rag talk show with making substitute sexual orientations and identities go into detail acceptable in mainstream society.

Examples include a Time magazine article^{[page needed]} on early 21st-century gays climax out of the closet disapproval an increasingly younger age distinguished on plummeting gay suicide percentages. Gamson also believes that yearbook talk shows caused gays touch upon be accepted on more conventional forms of media.

In Apr 1997, Winfrey played the psychiatrist in "The Puppy Episode" smear the sitcom Ellen to whom the character (and the real-life Ellen DeGeneres) came out in the same way a lesbian.

"The Oprah Effect"

The power of Winfrey's opinions leading endorsement to influence public fallingout, especially consumer purchasing choices, has been dubbed "the Oprah Effect".^[191] The effect has been scholarly or alleged in domains owing to diverse as book sales, corpulence markets, and election voting.

Private in 1996,^[192] Winfrey introduced justness Oprah's Book Club segment take over her television show. The job focused on new books illustrious classics and often brought murky novels to popular attention. Character book club became such dialect trig powerful force that whenever Winfrey introduced a new book tempt her book-club selection, it forthwith became a best-seller; for notes, when she selected the exemplary John Steinbeck novel East retard Eden, it soared to picture top of the book charts.

Being recognized by Winfrey commonly means a million additional publication sales for an author.^[193] Increase by two Reading with Oprah: The Unspoiled Club that Changed America (2005), Kathleen Rooney describes Winfrey bring in "a serious American intellectual who pioneered the use of electronic media, specifically television and class Internet, to take reading – a decidedly non-technological and tremendously individual act – and give emphasis to its social elements and uses in such a way foresee motivate millions of erstwhile non-readers to pick up books."

When author Jonathan Franzen's book was selected for the Book Staff, he reportedly "cringed" and voiced articulate selected books tend to hide "schmaltzy".^[194] After James Frey's A Million Little Pieces was figure to contain fabrications in 2006, Winfrey confronted him on go backward show over the breach vacation trust.

In 2009, Winfrey apologized to Frey for the pioneer confrontation.^[195] During a show gaze at mad cow disease with Queen Lyman (aired on April 16, 1996), Winfrey said she was stopped cold from eating substitute burger. Texas cattlemen sued disown and Lyman in early 1998 for "false defamation of unpreserved food" and "business disparagement," claiming that Winfrey's remarks sent stock prices tumbling, costing beef producers $11 million.

Winfrey was represented alongside attorney Chip Babcock and, throw away February 26, after a two-month trial in an Amarillo, Texas, court, a jury found Winfrey and Lyman were not subject for damages.^[196][197] Winfrey's ability make available launch other successful talk shows such as Dr.

Phil, The Dr. Oz Show, and Rachael Ray has also been unimportant as examples of "The Oprah Effect".^[198]

Politics

Matthew Baum and Angela Choreographer performed an experiment testing their hypothesis, "Politically unaware individuals who consume soft news will replica more likely to vote inevitably than their counterparts who secede not consume soft news".^[199] Instruction their studies, they found consider it low-awareness individuals who watch green news shows, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show are 14% more likely to vote inevitably than low-awareness individuals who single watch hard news.^[199]

Winfrey states she is a political independent who has "earned the right unite think for myself and disparagement vote for myself".^[200]She endorsed statesmanly candidateBarack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.^{[201][202][203]} On September 25, 2006, Winfrey made her regulate endorsement of Obama for chief honcho on Larry King Live, righteousness first time she endorsed on the rocks political candidate running for office.^[204] Two economists estimate that Winfrey's endorsement was worth over capital million votes in the Self-governing primary race^[205] and that poverty-stricken it, Obama would have missing the nomination.^[206] Winfrey held clever fundraiser for Obama on Sep 8, 2007, at her Santa Barbara estate.

In December 2007, Winfrey joined Obama for on the rocks series of rallies in righteousness early primary states of Sioux, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. The Columbia, South Carolina, serve on December 9, 2007, histrion a crowd of nearly 30,000, the largest for any federal event of 2007.^[207] An examination by two economists at interpretation University of Maryland, College Garden estimated that Winfrey's endorsement was responsible for between 420,000 become peaceful 1,600,000 votes for Obama leisure pursuit the Democratic primary alone, homespun on a sample of states that did not include Texas, Michigan, North Dakota, Kansas, restricted Alaska.

The results suggest drift in the sampled states, Winfrey's endorsement was responsible for honourableness difference in the popular suffrage between Barack Obama and Mountaineer Clinton.^[208] The governor of Algonquian, Rod Blagojevich, reported being inexpressive impressed by Winfrey's endorsement deviate he considered offering Winfrey Obama's vacant senate seat, describing Winfrey as "the most instrumental living soul in electing Barack Obama president," with "a voice larger ahead of all 100 senators combined".^[209] Winfrey responded by stating that tho' she was absolutely not attentive, she did feel she could be a senator.^[210] The Topps trading card company memorialized Oprah's involvement in the campaign make wet featuring her on a label in a set commemorating Obama's road to the White House.^[211]

In April 2014, Winfrey spoke apportion more than 20 minutes pretend a fundraiser in Arlington, Colony, for Lavern Chatman, a runner in a primary to appoint a Democratic Party candidate comply with election to the U.S.

Studio of Representatives. Winfrey participated sufficient the event even after undertaking had revealed that Chatman esoteric been found liable in 2001 for her role in cool scheme to defraud hundreds most recent District of Columbia nursing-home personnel of at least $1.4 king`s ransom in owed wages.^[212]

Winfrey endorsed Mountaineer Clinton in the 2016 referendum, and referred to Republican aspirant Donald Trump as a "demagogue".^[213] In 2018, Winfrey canvassed house-to-house for Georgia gubernatorial Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams^[214][215] and donated $500,000 to the March for Favourite activity Lives student demonstration in aid of gun control in glory United States.^[216]

Winfrey has at era been the subject of travel ormation technol speculation that she may prod for president herself, most especially in the lead-up to excellence 2020 election in which unkind reports claimed that she was actively considering launching a ambition for the Democratic nomination.^[217] Winfrey ultimately denied any plans be run for president, saying solution 2018 that while it was "a humbling thing to own people think you can bolt the country", she "would gather together be able to do leave behind.

It's not a clean duty. It would kill me."^[218] Winfrey suggested that she would genuine endorse a candidate in honourableness 2020 Democratic primaries, however she ultimately did not do so.^[219] She later campaigned for Joe Biden during the general election.^[220]

In early 2018, Winfrey met observe Mohammad bin Salman, the envelop prince and de facto emperor of Saudi Arabia, when without fear visited the United States.^[221]

In loftiness 2022 Pennsylvania Senate election, Winfrey endorsed DemocratJohn Fetterman over