Media & Arts

Oprah Winfrey

Born into poverty in rural Mississippi; later owned and produced her own talk show.

Born: 1954 · Kosciusko, Mississippi, US
Roots: Black American, rural South
Family: Poverty; Born to a teenage single mother in rural poverty.
Education: Tennessee State University (scholarship)
Started with: A radio job; No family money; hired part-time to read the news while still in high school.
Affiliations & societies: None documented.; Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

1971 · age 17
Local radio, WVOL Nashville
Hired part-time to read the news while still in high school.
1973 · age 19
News anchor at WLAC-TV
Youngest and first Black female anchor at the Nashville station.
1976 · age 22
Reassigned in Baltimore
Removed from the evening news and moved to a morning talk show.
1984 · age 29
Takes over AM Chicago
A last-place half-hour morning show; ratings reach first place within months.
1986 · age 32
Acquires ownership of her show
Launches Harpo Productions and negotiates ownership of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
2003 · age 49
First Black woman billionaire$1B
Per Forbes.
2011 · age 57
Launches OWN
Ends the talk show after 25 seasons and moves to her own cable network.

Sources

Compiled from these references and contemporaneous press reporting. Figures are approximate; verify before relying on them.