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Oprah was born
Oprah Winfrey was born in Mississippi to her mother Vernita Lee and her father Vernon Winfrey. She was left in the care of her grandmother shortly after she was born. -
Oprah was sent to her mother’s house for the first time
Oprah was sent to live with her mother and her two half brother’s at 6 years old. She lived in poverty and in a very dangerous neighborhood. Here she endured a lot of sexual abuse, and not a lot of supervision. -
Oprah lives with her dad
Oprah moved in with her dad at 12 years old. Having a much happier lifestyle, she began publicly speaking. She realized she wanted to be “paid to talk.” -
Oprah excels as a student
Oprah excels in school as a student, starting at 3rd grade, and knowing to read at 2 years old. She joins many clubs. -
Oprah becomes pregnant
Oprah got raped at age 13 and gives birth to a son at 14, which passed shortly after. -
Oprah went to Tennessee State University
After years of abuse, Oprah got a full ride scholarship at 17. During her college years, she went to a White House Conference on youth, was crowned Miss Fire Prevention by a local news station, which she began to work for, and turned down working for CBS twice, before she took the job, and became Nashville's first African-American female coanchor, at 19. -
Oprah wins Miss Black Tennessee Beauty Pageant
Even though she had a hard life and missed 2 years of school, this shows how smart Oprah was from a young age. -
Oprah began doing cut-ins during Good Morning, America
Oprah did local news updates in Baltimore. Maryland after graduating from Tennessee State University. She soon was moved to the morning talk-show, Baltimore is Talking. -
Oprah Winfrey started working for ABC
After 7 years on Baltimore is Talking, Oprah was recognized by ABC's Chicago affiliate, and she moved to take on A.M. Chicago, which previously had low ratings. -
Oprah gets her show
Oprah changed the emphasis, and the ratings of the show A.M. Chicago. She shifted the show from traditional women's issues to debatable topics, and the show's ratings were even with Phil Donahue's program, who is a national talk-show host. After three months, the show was renamed to The Oprah Winfrey Show, and ran Donahue to New York. -
Oprah was in The Color Purple
Oprah was recognized by Quincy Jones and Stephen Spielberg in her show, and they wanted her to act in their move, The Color Purple. Her only acting experience prior was a one-woman show. The Oprah Winfrey Show's popularity skyrocketed after the success of this movie. -
The Oprah Winfrey Show expanded
After Kings World bought the syndication rights to air a show in 138 cities, Oprah won her time slots against Donahue by 31%, and carried the top 10 markets in the U.S.. -
Oprah gets rightfully recognized
Oprah got many awards, including; one from Chicago Arts Academy for contributions to the city’s artistic community, Woman of Achievement by the National Organization of Women. Her show won many Emmy’s for Best Talk SHow, and her as Best Talk Show Host. -
Oprah starts her own production company
Oprah started her own production company to produce what she wanted to see produced. She starred in many of the productions, or simply just owned screen rights. -
Oprah starts an on-air book club
Oprah stood up and announced she would have an on-air book club, and that viewers should read the book and they would discuss it the next month on-air. The book, The Deep End of the Ocean, became a number-one best-seller. Oprah became the most powerful book marketer in the United States. She discontinued the club in 2002.