Born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, Oprah Winfrey was brought up by her grandmother on a farm where she "began her broadcasting career" by learning to read aloud and perform recitations at the age of 3. From age 6 to 13, she lived in Milwaukee with her mother. After suffering abuse and molestation, she ran away and was sent to a juvenile detention home at the age of 13, only to be turned down because all the beds were filled. Then, she was sent to Nashville to live under her father's strict discipline. Vernon Winfrey saw to it that his daughter met a midnight curfew, and he required her to read a book and write a book report each week. "As strict as he was," says Oprah, "he had some concerns about me making the best of my life, and would not accept anything less than what he thought was my best."

Taking off in a broadcasting career

Oprah Winfrey's broadcasting career began at 17, when she was hired by WVOL radio in Nashville, and two years later signed on with WTVF-TV in Nashville as a reporter/anchor. She attended Tennessee State University, where she majored in speech communications and performing arts.

In 1976, she moved to Baltimore to join WJZ-TV news as a co-anchor, and in 1978 discovered her talent for talk shows when she became co-host of WJZ-TV's "People Are Talking," while continuing to serve as anchor and news reporter.

In January 1984, she came to Chicago to host WLS-TV's "AM Chicago." In less than a year, she turned "AM Chicago" into the hottest show in town. It was soon expanded to one hour, and in September 1985 it was renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Seen nationally since September 8, 1986, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" became the number one talk show in national syndication in less than a year.

Actress and children welfare advocate

Before America fell in love with Oprah Winfrey the talk show host, she got the nation's attention with her role of Sofia in Steven Spielberg's 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker's novel, "The Color Purple." Winfrey's performance earned her nominations for an Oscar and Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress.

Her love of acting and her desire to bring quality entertainment projects into production prompted her to form her own production company, HARPO Productions, Inc., in 1986. Today, HARPO is a powerful force in film and television production.

In 1991, motivated in part by her own memories of childhood abuse, she started a campaign to set up a national database of convicted child abusers, and testified before a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of a National Child Protection Act. President Clinton signed the "Oprah Bill" into law in 1993, setting up the national database she had advocated, which is now available to legal agencies and concerned parties across the United States.

When Forbes magazine published its list of America's billionaires for the year 2003, it disclosed that Oprah Winfrey was the first African-American woman to become a billionaire.

recitation

朗诵

abuse

虐待

molestation

骚扰

juvenile detention home

少管所

curfew

宵禁

anchor

节目主持

syndication

企业联合组织

adaptation

改编

nomination

提名

convict

证明...有罪

testify

作证

billionaire

亿万富翁