American talk show host, actress, producer, and author

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey (<a href="/en/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English" class="wl">/ˈoʊprə/</a>; born Orpah Gail Winfrey;<a href="#cite_note-AoA-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a> January 29, 1954) is an American <a href="/en/Television_presenter" title="Television presenter" class="wl">talk show host</a>, television producer, actress, author, and <a href="/en/Media_proprietor" title="Media proprietor" class="wl">media proprietor</a>. She is best known for her talk show, <a href="/en/The_Oprah_Winfrey_Show" title="The Oprah Winfrey Show" class="wl">The Oprah Winfrey Show</a>, broadcast from <a href="/en/Chicago" title="Chicago" class="wl">Chicago</a>, which ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011.<a href="#cite_note-2010_contract-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a>[<a href="/en/Wikipedia:NOTRS" title="Wikipedia:NOTRS" class="mw-redirect wl">better&nbsp;source&nbsp;needed</a>]<a href="#cite_note-:3-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a> Dubbed the "Queen of All Media",<a href="#cite_note-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a> she was the richest African-American of the 20th century<a href="#cite_note-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a><a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a> and was once the world's only black billionaire.<a href="#cite_note-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;">[8]</a> By 2007, she was often ranked as the most influential woman in the world.<a href="#cite_note-opens_school-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;">[9]</a><a href="#cite_note-11" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 10;">[10]</a>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">American talk show host, actress, producer, and author</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn">Quick facts: Oprah Winfrey, Born, Alma&nbsp;mater, Occupat... ▼</header> <table class="infobox biography vcard mobile-collapse-element"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div class="fn" style="display:inline">Oprah Winfrey</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><a href="/en/File:Oprah_in_2014.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Oprah_in_2014.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Oprah_in_2014.jpg/220px-Oprah_in_2014.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="3108" data-file-height="4123" data-file-type="bitmap" height="292" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Oprah_in_2014.jpg/330px-Oprah_in_2014.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Oprah_in_2014.jpg/440px-Oprah_in_2014.jpg 2x" alt="Oprah_in_2014.jpg"></a><div class="infobox-caption">Winfrey in 2014</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Born</th><td class="infobox-data"><div style="display:inline" class="nickname">Orpah Gail Winfrey</div> (1954-01-29) January 29, 1954 (age&nbsp;69) <div style="display:inline" class="birthplace"><a href="/en/Kosciusko,_Mississippi" title="Kosciusko, Mississippi" class="wl">Kosciusko, Mississippi</a>, U.S.</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Alma&nbsp;mater</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Tennessee_State_University" title="Tennessee State University" class="wl">Tennessee State University</a> (BA)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Occupations</th><td class="infobox-data role"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl 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dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><div class="hlist"><ul><li>Television presenter</li><li>actress</li><li>television producer</li><li>media proprietor</li><li>philanthropist</li><li>author</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Years&nbsp;active</th><td class="infobox-data">1973–present</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Works</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Media_works_of_Oprah_Winfrey" title="Media works of Oprah Winfrey" class="wl">Media projects</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Title</th><td class="infobox-data title"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist " style=" margin-left:1em;text-indent:-1em;">
<ul><li>Chairwoman and CEO of <a href="/en/Harpo_Productions" title="Harpo Productions" class="wl">Harpo Productions</a> (1986–present)</li>
<li>Chairwoman, CEO and CCO of the <a href="/en/Oprah_Winfrey_Network" title="Oprah Winfrey Network" class="wl">Oprah Winfrey Network</a> (2011–present)</li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Political party</th><td class="infobox-data org"><a href="/en/Independent_voter" title="Independent voter" class="wl">Independent</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Partner</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Stedman_Graham" title="Stedman Graham" class="wl">Stedman Graham</a> (1986–present)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Children</th><td class="infobox-data">1<a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;" data-mw-group="lower-alpha">[lower-alpha 1]</a><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Awards</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Oprah_Winfrey" title="List of awards and nominations received by Oprah Winfrey" class="wl">Full list</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Website</th><td class="infobox-data"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="http://oprah.com" class="external text" target="_blank">oprah.com</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Signature</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><a href="/en/File:Oprah_Winfrey_Signature.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Oprah_Winfrey_Signature.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Oprah_Winfrey_Signature.svg/150px-Oprah_Winfrey_Signature.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="328" data-file-height="158" data-file-type="drawing" height="72" width="150" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Oprah_Winfrey_Signature.svg/225px-Oprah_Winfrey_Signature.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Oprah_Winfrey_Signature.svg/300px-Oprah_Winfrey_Signature.svg.png 2x" alt="Oprah_Winfrey_Signature.svg"></a></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'>Close ▲</footer></div>

Winfrey was born into poverty in rural <a href="/en/Mississippi" title="Mississippi" class="wl">Mississippi</a> to a single teenage mother and later raised in inner-city <a href="/en/Milwaukee" title="Milwaukee" class="wl">Milwaukee</a>. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teenage years and became pregnant at 14; her son was born <a href="/en/Preterm_birth" title="Preterm birth" class="wl">prematurely</a> and died in infancy.<a href="#cite_note-path_to_power-12" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 11;">[11]</a> Winfrey was then sent to live with the man she calls her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber in <a href="/en/Nashville,_Tennessee" title="Nashville, Tennessee" class="wl">Nashville, Tennessee</a>, and landed a job in radio while still in high school.<a href="#cite_note-:3-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a> By 19, she was a co-anchor for the local evening news. Winfrey's often emotional, extemporaneous delivery eventually led to her transfer to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place,<a href="#cite_note-forbes-13" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 12;">[12]</a> she launched her own production company.

By the mid-1990s, Winfrey had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, mindfulness, and spirituality. Though she has been criticized for unleashing a confession culture, promoting controversial <a href="/en/Self-help" title="Self-help" class="wl">self-help</a> ideas,<a href="#cite_note-14" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 13;">[13]</a> and having an emotion-centered approach,<a href="#cite_note-Chapman2010-15" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 14;">[14]</a> she has also been praised for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others.<a href="#cite_note-TIME_100_2007-16" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 15;">[15]</a> Winfrey also emerged as a political force in the 2008 presidential race, with <a href="/en/Oprah_Winfrey's_endorsement_of_Barack_Obama" title="Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Barack Obama" class="wl">her endorsement of Barack Obama</a> estimated to have been worth about one million votes during the <a href="/en/2008_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries" title="2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries" class="wl">2008 Democratic primaries</a>.<a href="#cite_note-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 16;">[16]</a> In 2013, Winfrey was awarded the <a href="/en/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom" title="Presidential Medal of Freedom" class="wl">Presidential Medal of Freedom</a> by President <a href="/en/Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama" class="wl">Barack Obama</a>,<a href="#cite_note-18" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a> and received honorary doctorate degrees from <a href="/en/Duke_University" title="Duke University" class="wl">Duke</a> and <a href="/en/Harvard" title="Harvard" class="mw-redirect wl">Harvard</a>.<a href="#cite_note-19" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 18;">[18]</a><a href="#cite_note-Duke_Article-20" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 19;">[19]</a> In 2008, she formed her own network, the <a href="/en/Oprah_Winfrey_Network" title="Oprah Winfrey Network" class="wl">Oprah Winfrey Network</a> (OWN).

Credited with creating a more intimate, confessional form of media communication,<a href="#cite_note-TIME_100_1998-21" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 20;">[20]</a> Winfrey popularized and revolutionized<a href="#cite_note-TIME_100_1998-21" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 20;">[20]</a><a href="#cite_note-Coming_Afer_Oprah-22" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 21;">[21]</a> the <a href="/en/Tabloid_talk_show" title="Tabloid talk show" class="wl">tabloid talk show</a> genre pioneered by <a href="/en/Phil_Donahue" title="Phil Donahue" class="wl">Phil Donahue</a>.<a href="#cite_note-TIME_100_1998-21" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 20;">[20]</a> In 1994, she was inducted into the <a href="/en/National_Women's_Hall_of_Fame" title="National Women's Hall of Fame" class="wl">National Women's Hall of Fame</a>.<a href="#cite_note-23" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 22;">[22]</a> Winfrey has won <a href="/en/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Oprah_Winfrey" title="List of awards and nominations received by Oprah Winfrey" class="wl">many accolades</a> throughout her career which includes 18 <a href="/en/Daytime_Emmy_Award" title="Daytime Emmy Award" class="mw-redirect wl">Daytime Emmy Awards</a> (including the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Chairman's Award), two <a href="/en/Primetime_Emmy_Award" title="Primetime Emmy Award" class="mw-redirect wl">Primetime Emmy Awards</a> (including the <a href="/en/Bob_Hope_Humanitarian_Award" title="Bob Hope Humanitarian Award" class="wl">Bob Hope Humanitarian Award</a>), a <a href="/en/Tony_Award" title="Tony Award" class="mw-redirect wl">Tony Award</a>, a <a href="/en/Peabody_Award" title="Peabody Award" class="mw-redirect wl">Peabody Award</a>, and the <a href="/en/Jean_Hersholt_Humanitarian_Award" title="Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award" class="wl">Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award</a> awarded by the <a href="/en/Academy_Awards" title="Academy Awards" class="wl">Academy Awards</a>, in addition to two competitive Academy Award nominations. Winfrey was elected as a member of the <a href="/en/American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences" title="American Academy of Arts and Sciences" class="wl">American Academy of Arts and Sciences</a> in 2021.<a href="#cite_note-24" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 23;">[23]</a>

Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011. Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a single teenage mother and later raised in inner-city Milwaukee. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teenage years and became pregnant at 14; her son was born prematurely and died in infancy. she launched her own production company. 