Winfrey was born in the town of Kosciusko, Mississippi, on January 29, 1954. After a troubled adolescence in a small farming community, where she was sexually abused by a number of male relatives and friends of her mother, Vernita, Winfrey moved to Nashville to live with her father, Vernon, a barber and businessman. In 1971, Winfrey entered Tennessee State University.
She began working in radio and television broadcasting in Nashville.
In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she hosted the TV chat show People Are Talking. The show became a hit and Winfrey stayed with it for eight years, after which she was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show, A.M. Chicago.Her major competitor in the time slot was Phil Donahue. Within several months, Winfrey's open, warm-hearted personal style had won her 100,000 more viewers than Donahue and had taken her show from last place to first in the ratings.
According to Forbes magazine, Winfrey was the richest African American of the 20th century and the world's only Black billionaire for three years running. Lifemagazine hailed her as the most influential woman of her generation. In September 2002, Winfrey was named the first recipient of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. In 2005, Business Weeknamed Winfrey the greatest Black philanthropist in American history.
| Winner of the Jean Hersholt humanitarian award at the Academy Awards, USA in 2012 |  |
| Winner of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2002 | |
| Winner of the Movies for Grownups Award- Best supporting actress in the Butler (2013) at the AARP |  |
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Movies for Grownups Awards in 2014 |
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