Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29, 1954. She moved to Nashville to live with her father Vernon, a barber and businessman, after being sexually abused by a number of male relatives and friends of the mother Vernita, during a troubled adolescence. Oprah became the youngest person and the first African-American woman to anchor the news at Nashville’s WTVF-TV at the age of 19. She began working in radio and television broadcasting in 1971 when she entered Tennessee State University in Nashville. When Winfrey moved to Baltimore in 1976, she hosted the TV chat show, People Are Talking. For eight years Winfrey stayed with the hit show until she was recruited to host her own morning show, A.M. Chicago, by a Chicago TV station. Phil Donahue was a major competitor of hers. Winning her 100,000 more viewers than Donahue, Winfrey’s open, warm-hearted personal style had taken her show from last place to first in the ratings, within a couple months. As a result, she l...