Through the Adlerian Lens: Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey born January 29, 1954 is well-known for one the best talk shows called “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and is renowned for her supporting to charities and creating her own “Angels Network” aimed at inspiring people around the world to make differences in others lives for those who are less privileged. The reasons that I have selected Oprah Winfrey are because she is the best in her field, has over come personal obstacles, contributed greatly to society and has inspired others to achieve.

By the time she graduated, she had earned a full scholarship to the University of Tennessee. She became the youngest female African-American news anchor in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of nineteen. She soon moved on to Baltimore, Maryland as a co-anchor. She was eventually fired from this job but that did not last long as she landed a job with a failing talk show “A.M. Chicago.” She turned the show into the number one rated talk show in Chicago and within three years the show was renamed the “Oprah Winfrey Show.” In 1986, she negotiated to own the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and founded Harpo (Oprah spelled backwards) Productions. The show ran for twenty-five years and won sixteen daytime Emmy

Oprah Winfrey achieved great success in her various endeavors, growing from a news reporter in Nashville to the world-famous talk show host she is today. During the 1980s, talk shows were a crucial part of daytime television. Shows were organized based upon their content and varied greatly in subject. The popularity of talk shows led many people to enter this field, leading to a constant struggle for airtime. Oprah’s rise to fame began when she moved from her hometown in Nashville, to college in Baltimore and ultimately to Chicago, where she lives today. She appeared on an early morning television program called A.M. Chicago, which was later retitled The Oprah Winfrey Show which aired its

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

She came from a disadvantaged background but worked very hard to overcome poverty and discrimination. She was an honors student in high school, and she seemed to have a knack early on for public speaking. She stared on schools speech team. Winning a speech contest got her a scholarship TSU. Her talk show is broadcasted to all of America. Oprah became the richest women of the 20th century.

Oprah Winfrey is an American entrepreneur, TV show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. Oprah Winfrey owns her own network called OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) and she is the chairman of Harpo Inc. She is a self-made billionaire. She is the ONLY African American female billionaire with an estimated net worth of 3.1 billion. Winfrey is the first black woman to own and run a television network, The Oprah Winfrey show was the highest rated, most seen talk show in history and was watched in 110 countries. Oprah has been honored with awards in broadcasting, including the Peabody award and the IRIS Gold Medal award and 39 daytime Emmy awards.

Oprah Winfrey grew up in a world of adversity, despite her early accomplishments as a gifted child. She began her career in 1976, when she moved to Baltimore to join WJZ-TV News. (Oprah Winfrey Biography, 2011) Her empathetic personality made her many friends, and she was invited to Chicago in 1984 to begin hosting a half-hour morning program. Within a year, she had turned the AM Chicago radio show into the most important radio show in town, and was soon expanded to a full one-hour format. During this time, Oprah struggled with the stereotype that as a black woman she would always be an assistant anchor on the news, or simply a well-spoken host of a talk show. This could not have been further from the truth, as Oprah was able to create her own format for excellence in all forms of media, not simply talk or television. The show was renamed the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1985, and kept that name for twenty-five years until she retired the show in 2010.

Before being famous Oprah Winfrey didn’t always had a good life she had a tough childhood but that didn't stop her from being famous. Oprah Struggled but she also overcame obstacles to obtain success. Born to teenage mother Oprah Winfrey lived in poverty she was so poor she had to wear dresses made of potato sacks children made fun of her. She was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend. At the age of 13 after years of being abused she ran away from her home. She became pregnant at the age of 14 her son was born prematurely and

She may be in the spotlight right now, but that was never the case with her. Oprah’s mother was a teenage mother who had her in the 1950s. She had a very troubled childhood. She was sexually assaulted by her mother’s male family members and friends. Eventually she moved to live with her dad who was a barber and a businessman. She was always told she wouldn’t ever be able to go to college not only because she was a girl but because she was black, even though girls were able to do whatever they wanted in the 70s and segregation ended in the 60s. In 1971 she attended Tennessee State and started on her school’s radio and eventually stared in her own TV program. She is another person who beat the odds. She was an African American woman in the 1960-1970s. She was continuously told she would never go to college, but against all odds, she made

Oprah accomplished many things she’s won awards, been in movies, she’s had her own tv show, and many more. Oprah was born on January 29, 1954. Oprah’s grandparents raised her until they died when she 6 years old. She was born and raised in Kosciusko, Mississippi until the age of 6, when she moved in with her mother. “One off these boys got Oprah pregnant, which she managed to hide from everyone for a long time”(Nagle 23). During her teenage years Oprah went through troubled times.“The structure and discipline Oprah found in her father’s home began to yield results within a year or so of her arrival in Tennessee”(Nagle 26). In the beginning of her carer as a working woman she first worked in radio and television broadcasts. She then went on to

Oprah Winfrey is announcer . She was born in 1954 in Mississippi and a received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2002 and a Kennedy Center Honor in 2010 and that because she likes to help the disadvantaged and build a good world. Oprah Winfrey has qualities of leadership , generous and braveness these qualities made Oprah a queen of all media. Oprah Winfrey is leader person who never accept impossible in her life. She supported African girls by opening for them school to complete their educations . She

In today’s day and age one of the most influential women and people is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah has had a big impact on today’s society and played a huge role in advancing it. Oprah Winfrey is a talk show host, producer, actress and philanthropist who are widely respected around the world. By becoming one of the biggest names in talk show history Oprah has paved the way for others and became one of the more popular women in talk show history. Her willingness to help others and to be sure others are guided in positive light shows how much passion she has to see the greater good in others. Oprah’s biggest role comes from helping to pursue the advancement of young women and girls. Oprah has taken the time to see to it that young women are out of poverty and opening up a brand new school for underprivileged females to see to it that they have the same opportunity that children in America and other parts of the world have. Being that African- Americans, let alone women were not seen as marketable, Oprah helped to change this dynamic early in her career by using her platform in communication to open doors for other people. Winfrey’s work over a number of years is the single most evident reason why she has been able to be successful in the field of mass communication. Oprah is one of the most influential women of our time because of how well she is able to contribute to the human rights of women and advancing them in today’s society.

Understand, interpret, direct. This statement is an oversimplification of sorts, but defines the essence of Adlerian psychotherapy. From this minimal overview of Adlerian theory, we can begin to elaborate and explore the intricacies of individual psychology. Adlerians are concerned with understanding the unique and private beliefs and strategies of the individual (private logic and mistaken notions) that we create in childhood, and which serve as a reference for attitudes, private views of self, others and the world, and behavior (lifestyle). Therapeutic work with clients involves short-term and intensive work to increase social interest, to encourage a greater sense of responsibility for behavior, and to support behavioral change.

Pearson (2006) continues in explaining that explanation of gender, ethnic and cultural differences help to form a complete picture of personality and motivations that help to direct people are formed by their culture (Pearson, 20060. Therefore, it can be determined that philanthropist, actress, television producer and talk show host Oprah Winfrey has a personality that was formed through experiences from her childhood, environmental, evolutionary and biological factors. Oprah Winfrey stated “the whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be” (Winfrey, 2011).

Oprah is a successful business person. But she is different from other business icons. “I don’t think of myself as a businesswoman,” she says. From hosting a talk show to acting, Winfrey grabbed every opportunity she believed was necessary to help more people. She states, “The reason I’ve been able to be so financially successful is my focus has never, ever for one minute been money”. As one of the most powerful people in the world, she is the source of inspiration and strength to many people. Her passionate personality brought her fame. Winfrey leads from the heart by making connection with others. She is not afraid of being real by sharing her own experience, including her setbacks and mistakes, to motivate others.