Winfrey, Oprah

Born January 29, 1954 in the city of Kosciasko ^{[6] [7]} , Mississippi , in a Baptist family. The real name is Orpah Gail Winfrey ( Orpah Gail Winfrey ), given to her in honor of the biblical character, Orpah, sister of Ruth . There are conflicting reports about how she became Oprah. According to Winfrey herself, her family and friends could not pronounce “Orp”, so the letters were reversed in the birth certificate. However, it is believed that the letters were confused by the midwife, filling the documents of the newborn.

Her parents were unmarried young people. Mother - Vernita Lee (02.05.1935–22.11.2018) ^[8] - was a maid, and her father - Vernon Winfrey - a miner, then a hairdresser, later a member of the municipal council. When Oprah was born, her father was in the army. After Oprah was born, her mother moved north, and her first six years of her life Oprah spent in the backwoods, living with her grandmother, Hattie May. Grandmother taught her to read when Oprah was not yet three years old, and took her with her to the local church, where she was nicknamed the “Preacher” for her ability to retell Bible chapters. When Oprah was a child, the grandmother often quipped her with a twig if she didn’t do any household chores or behaved badly.

At age 6, Winfrey and her mother, who was less supportive and kind than her grandmother, moved to the area of ​​the old ghetto in Milwaukee , Wisconsin .

Oprah says that being a child of 9 years old, she was harassed by her brothers, uncles and their friends, she was raped at 9 years old and became pregnant at 14. Despite the rather difficult home life, Oprah was educated enough to be 13 years old. start attending school in the suburb of Milwaukee. Although Oprah was quite popular, she could not afford to appear in the city as often as her wealthy classmates. But, like many teenagers in the late 60s, Oprah rebelled and fled from the house into the street.

When she was 14 years old, she became pregnant and gave birth to a child who died shortly after birth. ^[9] At the same time, the upset mother sent her to live in Nashville, Tennessee , to her father.

Vernon was strict, but reliable, and attached great importance to her education. Oprah was among the honorary students and the Most Popular Girl was chosen. She won eloquence competitions, which allowed her to become a student at the University of Tennessee , which became historically a university for black Americans , where she studied communication. At age 18, Oprah won in the theatrical beauty contest Miss Black Tennessee .

Oprah's grandmother told me that from the moment Oprah began to speak, she was always on stage. As a child, she interviewed dolls made from corn cobs and crows on the fence.

At age 17, Oprah worked and studied at the university . She was the youngest reporter working for the local media (CBS television) and the first black female reporter for Nashville television. In 1976, she switched to Baltimore’s WJZ-television as a six-hour news aide, and became one of the leading morning talk show “Baltimore Speaks”. Then the first glory came to her. In 1986, Oprah created her own program - The Oprah Winfrey Show , which made her not only famous, but also a very rich and influential woman in the United States.

On January 1, 2011, Oprah launched its own TV channel called OWN , and she also plans to conduct her own prime-time show on the channel in the future.

On August 3, 2011, it was announced that on November 12, 2011, Oprah Winfrey will receive an honorary Oscar in the “Gene Hersholt Prize” category ^[10] .

November 20, 2013, US President Barack Obama awarded Oprah Winfrey the Presidential Medal of Freedom ^[11] .

In early 2017, Oprah Winfrey will release her first book dedicated to cooking. In 2015, it was planned that she would be engaged in publishing memoirs, but the TV star changed the decision and wrote the book “Food, Health and Happiness: Recipes“ at the highest level ”for excellent meals and a better life” ^[12] .

January 9, 2018 in the media there was information about the intentions of Oprah Winfrey to be elected to the post of President of the United States in the presidential elections in 2020.

Property

Oprah Winfrey currently lives in The Promised Land , on a 42 acre site with ocean and mountain in Montesito, California , near Santa Barbara. According to rumors, Winfrey liked this site so much, abandoned by former owners, that she reportedly bought it for $ 50 million by writing a check, although this site was not for sale.

Winfrey also has a home in Lavalet, New Jersey, an apartment in Chicago , real estate on an island near Miami, a ski lodge in Telluride, Colorado, and property on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

The Winfrey Show is from Chicago . Thus, she spends her main time next door to Streeterville , the rest of the time she resides in California.

Family

Oprah Winfrey and her partner Steadman Graham have been together for about 20 years. Sophie and Solomon - her two Cocker Spaniels, she also had three retrievers, one of whom died. After the death of her first child, Oprah never had children again. The girls from Africa’s Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls , she believes, were meant to be her daughters.

“When I watched Oprah and the girls,” said her best friend, Gail King, “I thought that Oprah was meant to be a mother, and somehow it happened.” Newsweek showed schoolgirl Telesu Sumbhi hugging Oprah and whispering: "We are your daughters now . " Oprah plans to teach home economics in a satellite communication school and plans to live, upon retirement, in the university campus she created. "I want to be near my girls, and be able to see them."

Best friends

Oprah's best friend since the age of 20 is Gail King. King was the host of The Gayle King Show, and she is currently the editor of O, the Oprah Magazine. Since 1997 , when Oprah and Gale have acted in films, they have been the subject of constant rumors that they are homosexual. “I understand why people think that we are homosexual,” Oprah said in an August 2006 issue of her journal, “there is no definition in our culture for this kind of relationship between women. And I understand why they label - how can you be so close (to someone) without being sexy? I said something like that all my answer is there. People think that I should be ashamed to be homosexual and not allow it. Nonsense ... ".

In 1989, the problem of AIDS , so often discussed on her show, touched Oprah personally when her assistant Billy Rizzo fell ill. "I love Billy as a brother," she said at the time, "he is a wonderful talented guy, and it is very painful to see him in this state." Winfrey visited him daily during his last days.

Diaries

In April 2009, Oprah launched a microblog on Twitter , opening it with a post: HI TWITTERS. THANK YOU FOR A WARM WELCOME. FEELING REALLY 21st CENTURY. ^[13]

• Official site
• Oprah Winfrey on the Internet Movie Database