Oprah Winfrey Career Timeline

Worked on Nashville radio station reading the news

Mar 9, 1971

After winning Nashville's Miss Fire Prevention contest, a radio station that sponsored the event, offered Winfrey a job reading the afternoon headlines on air.

Youngest person to co-anchor the news for WTVF

Feb 15, 1973

At 19, she becomes anchor of Nashville's WTVF-TV station and leaves Tennessee State University to be the first female African-American news anchor in Nashville.

Hosts TV chat show "People are Talking"

Jan 1, 1976

Hosts AM Chicago (renamedThe Oprah WInfrey Show in 1985)

Apr 8, 1984

Debuted inThe Color Purple

Jun 8, 1985

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

The Oprah Winfrey Show is placed nationally on 120 channels

Mar 9, 1986

Established Harpo Productions

Mar 9, 1988

Stared in ABC's The Women of Brewster Place

Sep 20, 1989

Stars in Beloved with Danny Glover

Mar 9, 1998

Named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century

Mar 9, 1998

Gets 7th Emmy as Outstanding Talk Show Host

Jul 9, 1998

Gets 9th Emmy for The Oprah Winfrey Show

Jul 9, 1998

Co-founds Oxygen Media

Mar 9, 1999

Launched O, The Oprah Magazine

Mar 9, 2000

Oprah's book club became the largest book club in the world

Mar 9, 2003

Recieved Association of American Publishers' AAP Honors Award

Mar 9, 2003

Interviewed Whitney Houston

Mar 9, 2009

What Oprah called, "the best interview she's ever done"

The Oprah Winfrey Show's final season

Mar 9, 2010

25th and final season of The Oprah Winfrey Show

OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) launched on New Years Day

Jan 1, 2011