Oprah Winfrey
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Oprah Winfrey has transcended the role of a television talk show host to become many things, among them a philanthropist, media mogul and, for some devoted viewers, a spiritual leader.
Each day on �The Oprah Winfrey Show,� the disarming Winfrey does it all, from sharing the company of Hollywood�s biggest stars to telling extraordinary stories of tragedy, success and relationships experienced by everyday Americans. The one constant is Winfrey, who remains affable, passionate and informative in every situation.
Though she is welcomed into living rooms around the nation as �just one of the girls,� Winfrey is anything but average. Winfrey survived a traumatic childhood to build a media empire and, according to Forbes Magazine in 2003, become the first African-American female billionaire.
Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Miss., in 1954. She lived with her mother in Milwaukee from the time she was six until 13, during which time she endured a series of sexual assaults by family members and friends. Winfrey testified about her abuse to help push Congressional passage of the National Child Protection Act. �The Oprah Bill� was signed by President Clinton in 1993.
Winfrey began to turn her life around after moving in with her father, Vernon, in Nashville, Tenn. Her broadcast career began with a Nashville radio station when she was 17, and she majored in Speech Communications and Performing Arts at nearby Tennessee State University.
A series of broadcasting duties moved her from Nashville to Baltimore and, in 1984, to Chicago, where she was recruited to host her own morning television show, �AM Chicago.� Less than two years later that show became �The Oprah Winfrey Show,� and was nationally syndicated, becoming the highest-rated talk show in television history.
Winfrey�s show won three Daytime Emmys its first year of eligibility and remains the No. 1 rated talk show in the country two decades later.
Winfrey exhibited her wide array of talents as a performer in Steven Spielberg�s feature about the struggles of a young black girl in 1900s United States, The Color Purple, in 1985. She was nominated for an Academy Award as the Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Winfrey made her Broadway debut in the musical of the same name in December 2005.
Winfrey started her production company, Harpo Studios, in 1986, becoming the third woman in American history to own her own studio and the first to produce her own national talk show. Winfrey�s media holdings now include her own web site and two magazines, among others.
Harpo Studios is the cornerstone of Winfrey�s media empire, and has produced films based on award-winning literary works including, �Tuesdays With Morrie,� �Their Eyes Were Watching God,� and �Beloved.� Winfrey�s passion for reading inspired the Oprah Book Club as recurring feature on her show. The club has been applauded for encouraging young readers and rocketed unknown authors to the top of the best-sellers list.
The Oprah Winfrey Foundation supports the education and empowerment of women, children and families in the United States and around the world. While on a visit with Nelson Mandela in December 2000, she pledged $10 million to build a school in South Africa. That school, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, will be featured on an ABC special, �Building a Dream� at 10 p.m. E.S.T.
She has received multiple national awards for both her media programming and humanitarian efforts. In 2005 alone, Winfrey received the National Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum and the International Emmy Founders Award from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Winfrey also has been named to the NAACP Hall of Fame, received the Global Humanitarian Action Award from the United Nations and been named one of Time Magazine�s 100 �Most Influential People� three years in a row.
Winfrey has established herself as a pioneer for businesswomen, African Americans and survivors of sexual abuse, and shown no signs of slowing down, continuing to inspire millions of people each day to make the world a better place.
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