In Kosciusko, Mississippi, Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954. Her parents Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee intended to name her Orpah, after a women in the Bible. However, the midwife who helped the birth spelled it incorrectly on the birth certificate. Oprah had a tough childhood, her mother decided to leave her with her grandparents to go find a job after WW||. Oprah's grandparents live on a small farm, a small house with three bedrooms and a porch, it was falling apart, it also had no indoor plumbing. So she had to use slop jars. Oprah's grandmothers name was Hattie Mae, whom little Oprah called "mama". The grandparents cared for her, however, Oprah was frightened of them mostly her grandfather. Oprah stated " I remember him …show more content…
Once Oprah entered kindergarten she was advanced, and skipped to the thrips grade, the teachers found out that she had "reading and writing abilities of an eighth grader" (21). Eventually Oprah's grandparents became old and couldn't take care of her anymore, so at seven years old, her mother Vernita agreed to take Oprah in. By this time Vernita was working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she has given birth to another daughter. Oprah didn't want to move with her mom, and she eventually got into trouble. She began to steal money from Vernita's purse, it wasn't too long once she started realizing her money was coming up missing so she sent Oprah to her fathers in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father Vernon Winfrey believed in discipline, work, education. Oprah said that life with her father and stepmother "was like a military school." (24). While living with her father her speaking ability grew stronger and stronger. Once her mother got Oprah back because her father didn't have parental rights her life spiraled downhill. Vernita gave birth to another child. From there on Oprah was lonely, she never seen her mother. She eventually got used to being lonely, and started getting sexually abused by her mother brother. She found comfort in books and speaking and that's what changed her life forever (Nicholson
Oprah’s life took a sharp turn down a dark road for a couple years to come. At the age of three, her grandmother died causing Oprah to move to Milwaukee to live with her mother. Her mother worked as a housemaid. Due to the her mother’s hours at work, Oprah was left home alone for hours. For four years, when her mother was at work, Oprah was sexually abused by male relatives and their friends. She tried to run away, but was caught and sent her away to a juvenile detention center. The juvenile detention center was full at the time so she
Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29, 1954. Oprah hosted her first TV show People Are Talking which was a very popular TV show. Oprah was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show. After a while she became the host her own show called The Oprah Winfrey Show that aired for 25 seasons from 1986 to 2011. I actually met Oprah Winfrey in person she’s a very nice and respectful women. Did you know Oprah Winfrey was the first African American female billionaire in the United States
Oprah and her mother kept moving around when she was young. After living with her grandmother for a couple of year this would’ve been emotionally harrowing to be taken away from a strong role model.
People are like a box of chocolates; just because you don't like the way they look like, it doesn't mean they aren't delightful on the inside. It's meaningful to treat everyone equally and respectfully because you don't know the food in them; the universe will give back to you.
Oprah Winfrey’s past helped shape her into the influential person she is presently. According to achievement.org, the official website of a museum of living history in Washington D.C., Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to mother, Vernita Lee and father Vernon Winfrey. Vernita was just a teenager when Oprah Winfrey was born. Winfrey was sexually abused by several of her mother’s friends and relatives while her mother was away working. The abuse lasted from ages nine to thirteen. When Winfrey tried to run away, she was sent to a juvenile detention home, but was denied admittance because all
Oprah Winfrey - She is the only black female billionaire, one of the richest self-made women on the planet, an award winning talk show host, a media mogul, a philanthropist, and a reporter. As one of the most successful modern reporters, she started off being fired from her job at a broadcasting station in Baltimore before moving on to work as the mogul we know her to be today. She was told by her first boss that she was "too emotional and not right for television", this has become part of her public appeal and why many people feel like she is universally
When it was time for Oprah to go to college, she was eager to be out on her own and make her own decisions. However, her
This essay will compare and contrast Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres based on their lives before fame, their talk shows, and their impact on society.
Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to the unwed Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey at a time when illegitimate children were highly frowned upon. Soon after Oprah’s birth, her parents separated; her father, who was in the military, moved to Nashville and remarried; while her mother moved north in search of employment and a fresh start, leaving Oprah to be raised by her grandparents. From an early age Oprah exhibited elevated intelligence, her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee, encouraged her curious mind teaching her how to read at an early age and pruning her developing speaking skill which she put to practice in church by reciting bible verses and sermons. When she started school, she was allowed to skip ahead to first grade and then third grade because she already knew how to read and write. Then at the age of six, her grandmother became ill and Oprah was sent to live with her mother
19.7: Executives at Warner Brothers believe that Ellen DeGeneres is the heir apparent to Oprah Winfrey in daytime TV…. What other questions should the report address? How would you advise the networks to “franchise” DeGeneres based on your study’s results?
Hattie laid the foundation of Oprah’s career when she taught her to read the Bible. At the age of three, Oprah spent hours reading Bible stories to the animals on the farm. Hattie also taught her many lessons about God and faith. These lessons inspired her (at that tender age itself) to become strong and help people in need. She believed that she had a higher calling and she was sent to ‘do good’ to others.
She was under her grandmother’s care for the first six years of her life. Oprah had transitioned well under the care of her grandmother. “Oprah was a bright child and read and write when she was three” (Leaney). Unfortunately for Oprah at the age of seven, Vernita decided to make a change in her life. This change meant relocating to Baltimore, and taking Oprah out of the only true home she had known. Again Oprah endured separation, but this time her transition was not smooth. Once there, an older cousin sexually molested Oprah, and then she suffered repeated molestation by others throughout her youth. Oprah then turned to a life on the streets. She was pregnant by the age of fourteen; she miscarried and was left feeling distraught. At the age of fifteen, Vernita sent
Oprah Gail Winfrey grew up in a small farming community. A nineteen year old male cousin raped her when she was nine. She was molested by a family friend and an uncle until she was fourteen. She became pregnant and gave birth to a baby that died soon after. She then went to live with her father. She blamed herself for these incidents and it took her many years to realize it was not her fault. Winfrey told her history of sexual abuse on air when one of her guests told her story. Later, eight hundred viewers called in with their stories and to receive referrals to counseling. Oprah had even decided to commit suicide in September 1981. She later felt that she was not really serious about taking her life, but she had even written a note to her friend, Gayle King Bumpus. Her passion and commitment on the issue of sexual abuse came from her own childhood experience, but she had not allowed her
Oprah Winfrey was born January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to mother Vernita and father Veron who was a barber and businessman. Oprah lived in a small farming area and endured a rocky childhood where she encountered sexual abuse by several male relatives and associates of her mother. Due to the sexual abuse, Oprah eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee with her father. Oprah attended Tennessee State University in 1971 and started working in radio and television in Nashville. In 1976, Oprah moved to Baltimore and hosted “People are talking” for eight years where her career began to excel. It was during this time that she began her own morning show in Chicago called “A.M. Chicago”. Her “warm-hearted” personality style helped her progress from last place to first place ratings. The
Oprah had a very difficult childhood, almost from birth, after her parents decided to separate and leave her in the care of her grandmother. However, starting life on that isolated farm in Mississippi might have been the best thing for her. At a very early age, even before she began school, Oprah had started her education and