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After being born out of wedlock, Oprah went on to live with her grandmother, Hattie Mae. They remained on the farm where Oprah was born until around 1960.
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On January 29, 1964, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, a beautiful African American child was born to Vernon Winfrey (a coal miner) and Vernita Lee ( a housemaid).
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Oprah moved to Milwaukee with her mother and other family members. This timespan took a toll on Oprah, as she was abused and sexually assaulted by different family members.
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Oprah knew she had to get away from the abusive family. She ran away and became a wild teenager in the inner city of Milwaukee. It was then that she found herself in much trouble and pregnant. After giving birth to a little baby boy, who died shortly after birth, Oprah moved to Nashville with her father.
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Oprah formed her own television production company called Harpo Productions
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After moving to Nashville with her father and stepmother, Oprah's life changed. She enrolled in school, where she became an honors student. She would eventually attend and graduate from Tennessee State University, with a major in Speech & Performing Arts. It was also during this timeframe that she took part in many pageants, such as Miss Black Tennessee, Miss Fire Prevention, and Miss America. She was crowned Miss Black Tennessee and Miss Fire Prevention.
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Oprah became the first black TV news anchor reporter with WTVF-TV
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Oprah moved to Baltimore where she worked in several positions with WJZ-TV. While working for this station, she met her BFF, Gayle King. She also became the news anchor for ABC news of Baltimore, Maryland.
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Oprah moves to host A.M. Chicago.
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Oprah starred in the Steven Spielberg movie 'The Color Purple' as the character Sofia as was nominated for many awards, including an Emmy.
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After working so hard with the various talk shows and new stations, Oprah founded her very own tv show, The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her first show would air in the fall of 1986.
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Oprah's episode we aired in Forsythe County, Ga, a city where colored people were not allowed to live since 1912. It was also during this time that Oprah won her first Emmy for best talk show host.
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Oprah initiated the Child Protection Act and gave a testimony before Congress. Having survived sexual and physical abuse herself, Oprah advocates for the safety ans protection of all children.
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Oprah became engaged to Stedman Graham.
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President Bill Clinton signed the National Child Protection Act which had been strongly supported by Oprah.
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Oprah hosted an interview with Michael Jackson which reached an audience of one hundred million.
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Oprah became the first woman and the only black on Forbes list of 400 richest Americans. She has remained the only black person to rank among America's 400 richest people nearly every year since 1995.
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Oprah has received numerous awards and acknowledgments from various sources. It was this year that she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmy Awards and an award for top talk show host.
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Fortune called O, the Oprah Magazine the most successful start-up ever in the industry.
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The Color Purple was made into a Broadway musical of which she was a producer
Forbes' international rich list has listed Winfrey as the world's only black billionaire
Became the first blacklisted by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists
Signed 3-year contract with XM Satellite Radio to establish a new radio channel based in Chicago
Named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people of the year -
Oprah currently lives on "The Promised Land", her 42 acre estate in Montecito, California and also owns a house in Lavallette, New Jersey.
