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Name |
Oprah Winfrey |
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Birth Name |
Orpah Gail Winfrey |
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Significance of her name |
Named after biblical figure in the book of Ruth. |
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Nicknames |
O, Lady O, Deepak Oprah |
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Date of Birth |
29th January 1954 |
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Zodiac sign |
Aquarius |
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Place of Birth |
Kosciusko, Mississippi, United States |
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Nationality |
American |
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Height |
5' 6½" |
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Residence |
Montecito, California, United States |
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Height |
5' 6½" |
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Best known for |
'The Oprah Winfrey Show' - Talk show |
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Family |
Father Vernon Winfrey (Barber)
Mother - Vernita Lee (Housemaid)
Grandmother - Hattie Mae Lee
Step-mother - Zelma Winfrey
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Education |
School :
* Lincoln High School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
* Nicolet High School, Glendale, Wisconsin.
* East Nashville High School in Nashville, Tennessee.
College : Degree in Speech and Performing Arts, Tennessee State University.
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Engaged with |
Stedman Graham (Businessman) |
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Profession |
Media proprietor, Talk show host, Actress, Producer and Philanthropist |
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Political Party |
Democratic Party |
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President of |
Harpo Productions |
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Co-founded |
Oxygen (Women's cable television network) |
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Initiated |
Oprah's Child Predator Watch List (to track down accused child molesters) |
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Her Radio Channel |
Oprah Radio |
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Her Magazines |
* O, The Oprah Magazine
* O at Home |
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Created |
Oprahs Angel Network (a charity that supported charitable projects and NGOs around the world) |
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Credited for |
Creating a more intimate confessional form of media communication.
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Debut |
Actress The Color Purple (1985)
Producer Beloved (1998)
Voiced - Charlotte's Web (2006)
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Owns |
* A house in Lavallette, New Jersey.
* An apartment in Chicago.
* An estate on Fisher Island, Florida.
* A house in Douglasville, Georgia.
* A ski house in Telluride, Colorado.
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Titled as |
* 'Arguably the world's most powerful woman' by CNN and Time.com.
* 'Arguably the most influential woman in the world' by the American Spectator.
* 'One of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th Century' by TIME.
* 'One of the most influential people' by TIME (2004 - 2011).
* 'America's most powerful woman' by Life.
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Idol |
Diana Ross
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Best Friend |
Gayle King
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Honors |
* Rated as the Wealthiest African American of the 21st century, Kennedy Center Honors (2010).
* She was World's first black billionaires as of 2009.
* Ranked #1 on Forbes 'The Celebrity 100' list (2008).
* She has been listed in World's Richest Female Entertainer by Forbes magazine's '20 Richest Women in Entertainment' list (2007).
* Ranked #3 on the annual Forbes magazine 'Celebrity 100 list' (2006).
* Voted as 2006's Best Celebrity Dog Owner by readers of 'The New York Dog' and 'The Hollywood Dog' magazines.
* Chosen as the 2nd celebrity, people would like to have as their substitute teacher, in an online poll conducted by National Education Association (2006).
* Ranked 4th in Forbes magazine's list of the 'Most Trusted Celebrities in America' (2006).
* Ranked 3rd on Forbes magazine's list of the 'World's 100 Most Powerful Stars' (2006).
* Listed in Forbes list of 'Hollywood's 10 Most Generous Entertainers' (2006).
* Listed in People magazine's annual '50 Most Beautiful People' list (2005).
* Named as one of the 'Top Newsmakers' by US TV show Access Hollywood (2005).
* Ranked #1 on VH1's list of the '200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons' (2003).
* Ranked #1 Pop Culture Icon on VH1's '200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons' (2003).
* Received the 50th anniversary medal from National Book Foundation, NYC (1999).
* Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (1997).
* The only African American to rank among America's 400 richest people since 1995.
* Only person to appear in the 'Time 100 Most Influential people in the world list' for five times.
* Ranked 7th on the Hollywood Reporter's 15th annual Women in 'Entertainment Power 100' list.
* Elected for National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, NY.
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Awards |
* Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Academy Awards (2011).
* Honorary doctorate from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina (2009).
* Received the National Freedom Award from National Civil Rights Museum (2005).
* Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, Emmy Awards (2002).
* Personal Award, Peabody Awards (1995).
* Honorary National Book Award for her influential contribution to reading and books (1999).
* Outstanding Made for Television Movie, PGA Awards (1999).
NAACP Image Award:
* Hall of Fame (2005).
* Outstanding News, Talk or Information - Series or Special: The Oprah Winfrey Show (1995).
* Outstanding News, Talk or Information - Series or Special: The Oprah Winfrey Show (1994).
* Outstanding News, Talk or Information - Series or Special: The Oprah Winfrey Show (1993).
* Entertainer of the Year (1991).
* Outstanding News, Talk or Information - Series or Special: Oprah Winfrey (1989).
People's Choice Awards:
* Favorite Talk show Host (2004).
* Favorite Female Television Performer (1998).
* Favorite Female Television Performer (1997).
* Favorite Talk show Host (1988).
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Facts |
* Her birth name 'Orpah' was eventually changed to 'Oprah' after others had difficulty pronouncing her name.
* Her grandmother taught her to read at age of 2½.
* She got her first pair of shoes at the age of 6.
* She was nicknamed 'The Preacher' for her ability to recite Bible verses in the local church during her childhood.
* As a child she played games interviewing her corncob doll and the crows on the fence of her family's property.
* Her first job as a teenager was working at a local grocery store.
* At the age of 17, she won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant.
* Her broadcasting career began at the age of 19 as a teenage intern at WVOL, an African-American radio station and co-anchored evening news in Nashville, Tennessee.
* She is the first woman in history to own and produce her own talk show.
* She and Stedman Graham are teaching 'Dynamics of Leadership' class at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
* Her TV talk show 'The Oprah Show' was a 'Harpo Production'.
* 'Harpo' is 'Oprah' spelled backwards.
* She was instrumental in the passage of the 'Oprah Bill' (1990), which aimed at stopping child abuse.
* She was the highest paid TV entertainer in the United States (2006).
* She challenged herself to become a vegan for 21 days in order to detox her body (May 2008).
* She is often praised for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others.
* She was both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV.
* The Wall Street Journal coined the term 'Oprahfication', meaning public confession as a form of therapy.
* In 2010, she narrated the US version of the BBC nature program Life for Discovery.
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Website |
http://www.oprah.com |
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Twitter |
http://www.twitter.com/oprah |
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Facebook |
http://www.facebook.com/oprahwinfrey
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