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{{Short description|American talk show host, actress, producer, and author}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Oprah|Orpah|Opera}}
{{For|the talk show|The Oprah Winfrey Show}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Pp-blp|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name         = Oprah Winfrey
|name = Oprah Winfrey
| image       = Oprah in 2014.jpg
|image =Oprah Winfrey 2013.jpg
| caption     = Winfrey in October 2014
|alt =
| birth_name   = <!--- "Orpah" NOT "Oprah" is correct here. See "Early life" section. --->Orpah<!--- "Orpah" NOT "Oprah" is correct here. See "Early life" section. ---> Gail Winfrey
|image_size =
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1954|1|29}}
|caption = Winfrey at the 2013 Women in the World Conference.
| birth_place = [[Kosciusko, Mississippi]], U.S.
|birth_name = Orpah Gail Winfrey<ref name="A of A">{{cite web|date=January 21, 1991|url=http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0int-1|title=Oprah Winfrey Interview|work=[[Academy of Achievement]]|accessdate=January 9, 2014}}</ref>
| alma_mater   = [[Tennessee State University]]
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1954|1|29}}
| works = [[Media works of Oprah Winfrey|Media projects]]
|birth_place = [[Kosciusko]], [[Mississippi]], U.S.
| awards = [[List of awards and nominations received by Oprah Winfrey|Full list]]
|nationality = [[Americans|American]]
| occupation  = {{hlist|TV host|actress|producer|media executive|author}}
|alma_mater = [[Tennessee State University]]
| title        = {{plainlist|
|occupation =
* Chairwoman and CEO of [[Harpo Productions]] (1986–present)
* Former Host of ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]''
* Chairwoman, CEO and CCO of the [[Oprah Winfrey Network]] (2011–present)}}
* Chairwoman and CEO of [[Harpo Productions]]
| party       = [[Independent voter|Independent]]
* Chairwoman, CEO, and CCO of the [[Oprah Winfrey Network (U.S. TV channel)|Oprah Winfrey Network]]
| years_active = 1973–present
* Actress<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001856/#actress|title=Oprah Winfrey|work=IMDb|accessdate=March 28, 2015}}</ref>
| website     = {{URL|oprah.com}}
|net_worth = {{increase}} [[US $]] 3 [[1,000,000,000|billion]] (September 2017)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/oprah-winfrey/ |title=#184 Oprah Winfrey |work=Forbes |accessdate=May 10, 2017}}</ref>
| partner     = [[Stedman Graham]] (1986–present)
|years active = 1983–present
| children     = 1<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/oprah-winfrey-in-melbourne-for-australian-tour-2015-spreads-a-message-of-love-reveals-lost-child/news-story/88f87e6fe05a940399db9450a876cfab|title=Oprah Winfrey in Melbourne for Australian tour 2015 spreads a message of love, reveals lost child|work=News.com.au|access-date=September 25, 2017}}</ref>
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]
| signature   = Oprah Winfrey Signature.svg
|website = {{URL|oprah.com}}
|partner = [[Stedman Graham]] (1986–present)
|children = Canaan (born c. 1968, died c. 1968)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/oprah-winfrey-in-melbourne-for-australian-tour-2015-spreads-a-message-of-love-reveals-lost-child/news-story/88f87e6fe05a940399db9450a876cfab|title=Oprah Winfrey in Melbourne for Australian tour 2015 spreads a message of love, reveals lost child|work=News.com.au|accessdate=September 25, 2017}}</ref>
|signature = Oprah Winfrey Signature.svg
}}
}}


'''Oprah Gail Winfrey''' ({{IPAc-en|'|oʊ|p|r|ə}}; born <!--- "Orpah" NOT "Oprah" per [[:MOS:BIRTHNAME]] See "Early life" section. ---> '''Orpah Gail Winfrey''';<ref name="AoA">{{cite web|title= Oprah Winfrey Biography and Interview |website=achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://www.achievement.org/achiever/oprah-winfrey/#interview|quote=Winfrey has said in interviews that 'my name had been chosen from the Bible. My Aunt Ida had chosen the name, but nobody really knew how to spell it, so it went down as "Orpah" on my birth certificate, but people didn't know how to pronounce it, so they put the "P" before the "R" in every place else other than the birth certificate. On the birth certificate it is Orpah, but then it got translated to Oprah, so here we are.'}}</ref> January 29, 1954), often known simply as '''Oprah''', is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and [[philanthropist]]. She is best known for her talk show, ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'', broadcast from [[Chicago]], which was the highest-rated television program of its kind in history and ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011.<ref name="2010 contract">{{cite press release |title= Oprah Winfrey signs with King World Productions for new three-year contract to continue as host and producer of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" through 2010–2011 |publisher=[[King World Productions]] |date=August 4, 2004 |url= http://www.kingworld.com/release/oprah_winfrey.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070210090815/http://www.kingworld.com/release/oprah_winfrey.html |archive-date= February 10, 2007 |access-date= September 24, 2009 }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2021}}<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Oprah Winfrey |url=https://www.biography.com/media-figure/oprah-winfrey |access-date=March 5, 2022 |website=Biography |language=en-us}}</ref> Dubbed the "Queen of All Media",<ref>{{cite news |last= Oswald |first= Brad |url= http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/yes-shes-queen-of-all-media-but-to-discovery-shes-life-itself-82678662.html |title= Yes, she's Queen of all Media, but to Discovery, she's Life itself |work=[[Winnipeg Free Press]] |date= January 26, 2010 |access-date= August 22, 2014 }}</ref> she was the richest African-American of the 20th century,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ulC6DAAAQBAJ&q=oprah+richest+african+of+the+20th+century&pg=PA104|title=50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet|last1=Denenberg|first1=Dennis|last2=Roscoe|first2=Lorraine|date=September 1, 2016|publisher=[[Millbrook Press]] |isbn= 9781512413298 |language= en |edition=2nd Revised}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/05/06/richest-black-americans-busienss-billionaires-richest-black-americans.html|title=The Wealthiest Black Americans|work=[[Forbes]]|date=May 6, 2009|access-date=August 26, 2010 |first= Matthew |last= Miller }}</ref> was once the world's only black billionaire,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ski/galleries/Oprah-Winfrey-buys-14-million-ski-chalet-in-Colorado/oprah-hottub/|title=Oprah Winfrey buys $14 million ski chalet in Colorado|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=February 4, 2016}}</ref> and the greatest black philanthropist in U.S. history.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.biography.com/articles/Oprah-Winfrey-9534419?part=1 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100113162633/http://www.biography.com/articles/Oprah-Winfrey-9534419?part=1|url-status=dead |archive-date=January 13, 2010|title=Biography.com|publisher=Biography.com|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref><ref name="UrbanMecca">{{Cite press release|title=Oprah Winfrey Debuts as First African-American On BusinessWeek's Annual Ranking of 'Americas Top Philanthropists'|publisher=Urban Mecca |date=November 19, 2004|url=http://www.urbanmecca.com/artman/publish/article_174.shtml|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041120105057/http://www.urbanmecca.com/artman/publish/article_174.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 20, 2004 |access-date= August 25, 2008}}</ref> By 2007, she was sometimes ranked as the most influential woman in the world.<ref name="opens school">{{cite news |last=Meldrum Henley-on-Klip|first=Andrew|title='Their story is my story' Oprah opens $40m school for South African girls|work=[[The Guardian]] |location=UK|date=January 3, 2007|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jan/03/broadcasting.schoolsworldwide|access-date=March 4, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1435442/The-most-influential-US-liberals-1-20.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1435442/The-most-influential-US-liberals-1-20.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London|title=The most influential US liberals: 1–20|date=October 31, 2007|access-date=May 20, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
'''Oprah Winfrey''' (born '''Orpah Gail Winfrey''';<ref name="A of A" /> January 29, 1954) is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and [[philanthropist]].<ref name="A of A"/> Winfrey is best known for her multi-award-winning talk show, ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' which was the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011. She has also acted in several movies including ''[[The Color Purple (movie)|The Color Purple]]'', ''[[The Butler]]'' and ''[[A Wrinkle in Time (2018 movie)|A Wrinkle in Time]]''.<ref name=winf>{{cite web |url=http://www.biography.com/people/oprah-winfrey-9534419 |title=Oprah Winfrey |publisher=A+E Television Networks LLC |accessdate=October 16, 2013}}</ref>
 
Winfrey was born into poverty in rural [[Mississippi]] to a single teenage mother and later raised in inner-city [[Milwaukee]]. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teenage years and became pregnant at 14; her son was born [[preterm birth|prematurely]] and died in infancy.<ref name="path to power">{{cite news|last=Mowbray|first=Nicole|title=Oprah's path to power|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=UK|date=March 2, 2003 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/mar/02/pressandpublishing.usnews1 |access-date= August 25, 2008 }}</ref> Winfrey was then sent to live with the man she calls her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber in [[Nashville, Tennessee]], and landed a job in radio while still in high school.<ref name=":3" /> By 19, she was a co-anchor for the local evening news. Winfrey's often emotional, extemporaneous delivery eventually led to her transfer to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place,<ref name="forbes">{{cite news|title=#562 Oprah Winfrey|work=[[Forbes]] Special Report: The World's Billionaires (2006)|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/O0ZT.html|date=October 2006|access-date=August 25, 2008}}</ref> she launched her own production company.
 
By the mid-1990s, Winfrey had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, mindfulness, and spirituality. Though she has been criticized for unleashing a confession culture, promoting controversial [[self-help]] ideas,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/01/25/2010-01-25_oprah_glenn_beck_are_americas_favorite_tv_personalities_poll_.html |title=Oprah, Glenn Beck are America's favorite TV personalities: poll |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York |date= January 25, 2010 |access-date= August 26, 2010 |first= Joe |last= Tacopino }}</ref> and having an emotion-centered approach,<ref name="Chapman2010">{{cite book |last= Chapman |first= Roger |title= Culture wars: an encyclopedia of issues, viewpoints, and voices |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vRY27FkGJAUC&pg=PA619 |access-date= May 31, 2011 |year= 2010 |publisher= M.E. Sharpe |isbn= 978-0-7656-1761-3 |pages= 619–620 }}</ref> she has also been praised for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others.<ref name="TIME 100 2007">{{cite news|last=Mandela|first=Nelson|author-link=Nelson Mandela|title=Oprah Winfrey|work=[[The TIME 100]] |url= http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615754,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070505052415/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615754,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= May 5, 2007 |access-date= February 1, 2008 |date= May 3, 2007 }}</ref> Winfrey also emerged as a political force in the 2008 presidential race, with [[Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Barack Obama|her endorsement of Barack Obama]] estimated to have been worth about one million votes during the [[2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2008 Democratic primaries]].<ref>{{cite news |last= Steven |first= By |url= http://freakonomics.com/2008/08/06/so-much-for-one-person-one-vote/ |title= So Much for One Person, One Vote&nbsp;– Freakonomics Blog|work=[[The New York Times]] |date= August 6, 2008 |access-date= January 8, 2018 }}</ref> In 2013, Winfrey was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Barack Obama|Obama]]<ref>{{cite news |url= https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2013/11/20/president-obama-honors-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients |title= President Obama Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients |date= November 20, 2013 |access-date= April 8, 2018 |first= Megan |last= Slack |df= mdy-all }}</ref> and received honorary doctorate degrees from [[Duke University|Duke]] and [[Harvard]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://ca.eonline.com/news/424547/oprah-winfrey-receives-honorary-degree-at-harvard-tells-graduates-to-max-out-your-humanity|title=Oprah Winfrey Receives Honorary Degree at Harvard, Tells Graduates to Max Out Your Humanity|date=May 30, 2013|publisher=E!|access-date=August 22, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Duke Article">{{cite web |last= Jarmul |first= David |title= Oprah Winfrey Urges Duke Graduates to Help Others Move to 'Higher Ground' |url= http://today.duke.edu/2009/05/commencement_may2009.html |website=Duke Today |publisher=[[Duke University]] Office of News & Communications |access-date= April 1, 2015 }}</ref> In 2008, she formed her own network, the [[Oprah Winfrey Network]] (OWN).
 
Credited with creating a more intimate, confessional form of media communication,<ref Name="TIME 100 1998">{{cite magazine|last=Tannen|first=Deborah|author-link=Deborah Tannen|title=The TIME 100: Oprah Winfrey|magazine=Time|date=June 8, 1998|url=http://205.188.238.181/time/time100/artists/profile/winfrey.html|access-date=August 25, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704104605/http://205.188.238.181/time/time100/artists/profile/winfrey.html|archive-date=July 4, 2011}}</ref> Winfrey popularized and revolutionized<ref name="TIME 100 1998"/><ref name="Coming Afer Oprah">{{cite press release|title=Coming After Oprah |publisher=Dr. Leonard Mustazza |url=http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/l/x/lxm7/oprah.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030625111121/http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/l/x/lxm7/oprah.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 25, 2003 |access-date=August 25, 2008 }}</ref> the [[tabloid talk show]] genre pioneered by [[Phil Donahue]].<ref name="TIME 100 1998"/> In 1994, she was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/oprah-winfrey/|title=Winfrey, Oprah|website=National Women's Hall of Fame|language=en-US|access-date=April 9, 2019}}</ref> Winfrey has won [[List of awards and nominations received by Oprah Winfrey|many accolades]] throughout her career which includes 18 [[Daytime Emmy Award]]s, including the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Chairman's Award, two [[Primetime Emmy Award]]s, including the [[Bob Hope Humanitarian Award]], a [[Tony Award]], a [[Peabody Award]] and the [[Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award]], awarded by the [[Academy Awards]] and two additional Academy Award nominations. Winfey was elected as a member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Members|url=https://www.amacad.org/new-members-2021|access-date=April 24, 2021|website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences|language=en}}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Orpah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954; her first name was spelled ''Orpah'' on her birth certificate after the [[Orpah|biblical figure]] in the [[Book of Ruth]], but people mispronounced it regularly and "Oprah" stuck.<ref name="AoA"/><ref name="A of A">Winfrey has said in interviews that "my name had been chosen from the Bible. My Aunt Ida had chosen the name, but nobody really knew how to spell it, so it went down as 'Orpah' on my birth certificate, but people didn't know how to pronounce it, so they put the 'P' before the 'R' in every place else other than the birth certificate. On the birth certificate it is Orpah, but then it got translated to Oprah, so here we are." {{Cite web|url=http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0int-1 |title=Oprah Winfrey Interview |date=January 21, 1991 |website=[[Academy of Achievement]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160119110804/http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0int-1 |archive-date=January 19, 2016 |access-date=August 25, 2008 |url-status=dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref> She was born in [[Kosciusko, Mississippi]], to an unmarried teenage mother.<ref name=":1" /> Her mother, Vernita Lee (1935–2018), was a housemaid.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Nelson|first=Jill|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/1986/12/14/the-man-who-saved-oprah-winfrey/66d7b7b3-98af-4495-82a7-6b04827f1bd6/|title=THE MAN WHO SAVED OPRAH WINFREY|date=December 14, 1986|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 6, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/movies/everything-to-know-oprah-winfrey-mother/|title=Everything to Know About Oprah Winfrey's Mother Vernita Lee|website=People|language=en|access-date=March 6, 2020}}</ref> Winfrey's biological father is usually noted as Vernon Winfrey (born c. 1933), a coal miner turned barber turned city councilman who was in the Armed Forces when she was born.<ref name=":2" /> However, Mississippi farmer and World War II Veteran Noah Robinson Sr. (born c. 1925) has claimed to be her biological father.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1009343/65-fascinating-facts-about-oprah-winfrey|title=66 Fascinating Facts About Oprah Winfrey|date=January 29, 2020|publisher=E!|language=en-US|access-date=March 6, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/04/17/dirt-poor-mississippi-farmer-claims-hes-oprahs-dad/|title=FOXNews.com – Poor Mississippi Farmer Claims He's Oprah's Dad|website=[[Fox News]]|date=April 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423160746/https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/04/17/dirt-poor-mississippi-farmer-claims-hes-oprahs-dad/|access-date=March 6, 2020|archive-date=April 23, 2010}}</ref> A [[genetic test]] in 2006 determined that her matrilineal line originated among the [[Kpelle people|Kpelle]] ethnic group, in the area that today is [[Liberia]]. Her genetic makeup was determined to be 89% Sub-Saharan African, 8% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], and 3% East Asian. However, given the imprecision of genetic testing, the East Asian markers may actually be Native American.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/findingoprahsroo00gate/page/153 <!-- quote=oprah 8% native american. -->] ''Finding Oprah's Roots: Finding Your Own'', by Henry Louis Gates, page 154, at [[Google Books]].</ref>
Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in [[Kosciusko, Mississippi|Kosciusko]], [[Mississippi]]. Winfrey was named "Orpah" after a character in the [[Book of Ruth]]. People made the mistake of calling her "Oprah".<ref name="A of A"/> She decided to keep this name. Her parents are Vernita Lee, a maid, and Vernon Winfrey, a barber. She went to [[Tennessee State University]] in 1971. She started to work in radio and television in [[Nashville]]. She hosted television programs in [[Baltimore]] and [[Chicago]].<ref name=winf/>At the age of 13, she ran away from home.At the age of 14, she had a son , but, he died a while after being born. <ref name="Biography Channel">{{cite web|title=Oprah Winfrey |url=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/169:1814/1/Oprah_Winfrey.htm |publisher=[[The Biography Channel]] |access-date=February 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307090105/http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/169%3A1814/1/Oprah_Winfrey.htm|archive-date=March 7, 2008}}</ref>
 
After Winfrey's birth, her mother traveled north, and Winfrey spent her first six years living in rural poverty with her maternal grandmother, Hattie Mae (Presley) Lee (April 15, 1900 – February 27, 1963). Her grandmother was so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato sacks, for which other children made fun of her.<ref name=":1">[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/nov/20/television.usa "You go, girl" "The Observer Profile: Oprah Winfrey"], ''[[The Observer]]'' (UK), November 20, 2005.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://genealogy.about.com/od/aframertrees/p/oprah_winfrey.htm |title=Ancestry of Oprah Winfrey |publisher=Genealogy.about.com |access-date=August 22, 2014}}</ref> Her grandmother taught her to read before the age of three and took her to the local church, where she was nicknamed "The Preacher" for her ability to recite Bible verses. When Winfrey was a child, her grandmother was reportedly abusive.<ref>Krohn, Katherine E, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NttdSpnjedgC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=oprah+grandmother+hit+switch&source=bl&ots=wb9LF9oSVi&sig=jfgRUaTv2UouCrTo-9o0GosdcEM&hl=en#v=onepage&q=oprah%20grandmother%20hit%20switch&f=false ''Oprah Winfrey: Global Media Leader (USA Today)''] (Krohn, 2002); {{ISBN|978-1-58013-571-9}}, pg. 9.</ref>
 
At age six, Winfrey moved to an inner-city neighborhood in [[Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]], with her mother, who was less supportive and encouraging than her grandmother had been, largely as a result of the long hours she worked as a maid.<ref name=":2" /> Around this time, Lee had given birth to another daughter, Winfrey's younger half-sister, Patricia<ref name="Mair pg 12">Mair (1999) p. 12.</ref> who died of causes related to [[cocaine]] addiction in February 2003 at age 43.<ref name="Garson20">Garson, Helen S. [[iarchive:oprahwinfreybiog00gars/page/20|<!-- quote=oprah sister "drug addiction" died -"didn't know" -"long lost". --> ''Oprah Winfrey: A Biography'']] (Greenwood, 2004), {{ISBN|978-0-313-32339-3}}, p. 20.</ref> By 1962, Lee was having difficulty raising both daughters, so Winfrey was temporarily sent to live with Vernon in [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref name="Mair pg 13-14">Mair (1999), pp. 13–14.</ref> While Winfrey was in Nashville, Lee gave birth to a third daughter,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Oprah+Secret+Half+Sister/4156107/story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127161729/http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Oprah%2BSecret%2BHalf%2BSister/4156107/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 27, 2011 |title=Oprah's Big Secret? She Has a Half-Sister |last=Collins |first=Leah |date=January 24, 2011 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |work=The Gazette|location=Montreal }}</ref> who was put up for adoption in the hopes of easing the financial straits that had led to Lee's being on [[United States welfare state|welfare]], and was later also named Patricia.<ref name=halfsisterusatoday /> Winfrey did not know that she had a second half-sister until 2010.<ref name=halfsisterusatoday>Oldenburg, Ann. [http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/01/oprahs-secret-is-out/1 "Oprah's Secret Is Out!"], ''[[USA Today]]'', January 24, 2011. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110126021234/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/01/oprahs-secret-is-out/1 WebCitation archive].</ref> By the time Winfrey moved back with her mother, Lee had also given birth to Winfrey's half-brother Jeffrey, who died of AIDS-related causes in 1989.<ref name="Garson20"/> At the age of 8, she was baptized in a [[Baptist church]].<ref name="Spirituality According to Oprah">Barbranda Lumpkins Walls, [https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/style-trends/info-2015/oprah-winfrey-belief-series.html Spirituality According to Oprah], aarp.org, USA, November 9, 2015</ref>
 
Winfrey has stated she was [[child sexual abuse|molested]] by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine years old, something she first announced on a 1986 episode of her TV show regarding [[sexual abuse]].<ref name=autogenerated2>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97010510/talking-her-way-to-tv-stardom/|date=September 7, 1986|page=TV Week 4, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97010567/ 51]|first=Lee|last=Winfrey|title=Talking her way to TV stardom|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=March 6, 2022}}</ref><!-- Sun --><ref>{{Cite news|last=Morgan|first=Thomas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/04/movies/troubled-girl-s-evolution-into-an-oscar-nominee.html|title=Troubled Girl's Evolution into an Oscar Nominee|date=March 4, 1986|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 14, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> When Winfrey discussed the alleged abuse with family members at age 24, they reportedly refused to believe her account.<ref name=Garson22>Garson, Helen S. [https://archive.org/details/oprahwinfreybiog00gars/page/22 <!-- quote=when at the age of 24 Helen Garson. --> ''Oprah Winfrey: A Biography''], (Greenwood, 2004), {{ISBN|978-0-313-32339-3}}, p. 22</ref> Winfrey once commented that she had chosen not to be a mother because she had not been mothered well.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8370789.stm|title=Oprah Winfrey: It's good to talk|work=BBC News|date=November 20, 2009|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> At 13, after suffering what she described as years of abuse, Winfrey ran away from home.<ref name="A of A"/> When she was 14, she became pregnant, but her son was born [[premature birth|prematurely]] and died shortly after birth.<ref name="Biography Channel">{{cite web|title=Oprah Winfrey |url=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/169:1814/1/Oprah_Winfrey.htm |publisher=[[The Biography Channel]] |access-date=February 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307090105/http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/169%3A1814/1/Oprah_Winfrey.htm|archive-date=March 7, 2008}}</ref> Winfrey later stated she felt betrayed by the family member who had sold the story of her son to the ''[[National Enquirer]]'' in 1990.<ref name="Devastated">{{cite web|title=Oprah Winfrey: I Was 'Devastated' by Relative's Betrayal|work=People|date=February 20, 2007|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20009251,00.html|access-date=August 25, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904035441/http://www.people.com/people/oprah_winfrey/biography|archive-date=September 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
Winfrey attended [[Lincoln High School (Milwaukee)|Lincoln High School in Milwaukee]], but after early success in the [[Upward Bound]] program, was transferred to the affluent suburban [[Nicolet High School]]. Upon transferring, she said she was continually reminded of her poverty as she rode the bus to school with fellow African-Americans, some of whom were [[servants]] of her classmates' families. She began to rebel and steal money from her mother in an effort to keep up with her free-spending peers.<ref>Nagle, Jeanne M. ''Oprah Winfrey: Profile of a Media Mogul'', Rosen Publishing, 2007; p. 12.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.jsonline.com/entertainment/arts/90710339.html|title=Milwaukee plays supporting role in Oprah book|website=archive.jsonline.com|access-date=March 16, 2020}}</ref> As a result, her mother once again sent her to live with Vernon in [[Nashville]], although this time she did not take her back. Vernon was strict but encouraging, and made her education a priority. Winfrey became an honors student, was voted Most Popular Girl, and joined her high school speech team at [[East Nashville High School]], placing second in the nation in dramatic interpretation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/oprah-winfrey.html|title=Biography.com|publisher=Biography.com|access-date=September 18, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105073013/http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/oprah-winfrey.html|archive-date=November 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=White|first=Lionel Luciano Illuminati|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olGfgs1wyfwC&pg=PT20|title=Wealth Building Strategies of the Super Rich: How to Start a Family Dynasty|date=August 11, 2010|publisher=SPOIO Books, imprint of SPOIO Inc.|isbn=978-1-4524-0843-9|language=en}}</ref>
 
Winfrey's first job as a teenager was working at a local grocery store.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2137-Career-Growth-and-Change-Before-They-Were-Stars/?sc_extcmp=JS_2137_home1&SiteId=cbmsnhp42137&ArticleID=2137&GT1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=a263c00f1d4b4f99a045d1fb88f6f6e3-317894570-JO-5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708120826/http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2137-Career-Growth-and-Change-Before-They-Were-Stars/?sc_extcmp=JS_2137_home1&SiteId=cbmsnhp42137&ArticleID=2137&GT1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=a263c00f1d4b4f99a045d1fb88f6f6e3-317894570-JO-5|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2011|title=Before They Were Stars|publisher=Msn.careerbuilder.com|date=January 22, 2010|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lowe|first=Janet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yyB8PpIOiSUC&q=oprah's%20first%20job%20at%20grocery&pg=PA31|title=Oprah Winfrey Speaks: Insights from the World's Most Influential Voice|date=January 22, 2001|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-471-39994-0|pages=31|language=en}}</ref> At the age of 17, Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pageantplanet.com/profiles/oprah-winfrey|title=Oprah Winfrey|website=pageantplanet.com|language=en|access-date=April 9, 2019}}</ref> She also attracted the attention of the local black radio station, [[WVOL]], which hired her to do the news part-time.<ref name=autogenerated2/> She worked there during her senior year of high school and in her first two years of college.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Ilene |author-link=Ilene Cooper |title=Oprah Winfrey: A Twentieth-century Life |date=2008 |publisher=[[Penguin Group|Penguin]] |isbn=978-0-14-241045-5 |pages=65–71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sHhqS2kb0N0C&pg=PA68 |access-date=March 20, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> She had won an oratory contest, which secured her a full scholarship to [[Tennessee State University]], a [[historically black colleges and universities|historically black institution]], where she studied [[Communication studies|communication]]. However, she did not deliver her final paper and receive her degree until 1987, by which time she was a successful television personality.<ref>{{cite book | last=Kelley | first=K. | title=Oprah: A Biography | publisher=Crown | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-307-71877-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdvXLjqAcccC | access-date=March 1, 2021 | page=163}}</ref>
 
Winfrey's career in media would not have surprised her grandmother, who once said that ever since Winfrey could talk, she was on stage. As a child, she played games interviewing her corncob doll and the crows on the fence of her family's property. Winfrey later acknowledged her grandmother's influence, saying it was Hattie Mae who had encouraged her to speak in public and "gave me a positive sense of myself".<ref>Mel Novit. "Oprah: Talk Show Dynamo Treats the Audience Like a Friend", ''Syracuse Post-Standard'', September 14, 1986, p. A9.</ref>
 
==Television==
{{Main|The Oprah Winfrey Show}}
Working in local media, Winfrey was both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]'s WLAC-TV (now [[WTVF-TV]]), where she often covered the same stories as [[John Tesh]], who worked at [[WSMV-TV|a competing Nashville station]]. In 1976, she moved to [[Baltimore]]'s [[WJZ-TV]] to co-anchor the six o'clock news. In 1977, she was removed as co-anchor and worked in lower profile positions at the station. She was then recruited to join [[Richard Sher (newscaster)|Richard Sher]] as co-host of WJZ's local talk show ''People Are Talking'', which premiered on August 14, 1978. She also hosted the local version of ''[[Dialing for Dollars]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/inspiring-lives/oprah-gail-winfrey-star-born-out-of-adversity/story-a7NN8muJ5lLl22PaOXpFkK.html|title=Oprah Gail Winfrey: Star born out of adversity|date=January 29, 2020|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Klenke|first=Karin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W_1DDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA200|title=Women in Leadership: Contextual Dynamics and Boundaries, Second Edition|date=December 13, 2017|publisher=Emerald Group Publishing|isbn=978-1-78743-277-2|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bs-sm-oprahs-baltimore-20110522-story.html|title=From Sun Magazine: Oprah -- Built in Baltimore|last=Sun|first=David Zurawik, The Baltimore|website=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref>
 
In 1984, Winfrey relocated to Chicago to host [[WLS-TV]]'s low-rated half-hour morning talk show, ''AM Chicago'', after being hired by that station's general manager, [[Dennis Swanson]]. The first episode aired on January 2, 1984. Within months after Winfrey took over, the show went from last place in the ratings to overtaking ''[[The Phil Donahue Show|Donahue]]'' as the highest-rated talk show in Chicago. The movie critic [[Roger Ebert]] persuaded her to sign a syndication deal with [[King World]]. Ebert predicted that she would generate 40 times as much revenue as his television show, ''[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|At the Movies]]''.<ref name="Ebert-How">{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=How I gave Oprah her start |work=Roger Ebert's Journal |location=Chicago |date=November 16, 2005 |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/how-i-gave-oprah-her-start |access-date=January 15, 2017 }}  Formerly appeared as {{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=How I gave Oprah her start |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |edition=online |date=November 16, 2005 |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051116/COMMENTARY/511160301 |access-date=August 25, 2008 }}</ref> It was then renamed ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' and expanded to a full hour. The first episode was broadcast nationwide on September 8, 1986.<ref Name="Who ... Millionaire">{{Cite AV media|people=Meredith Vieira, host|title=[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (U.S. game show)|Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]|date=July 19, 2006|publisher=Buena Vista Television}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/September-2016/The-Oprah-Winfrey-Show/|title=Oprah's First Season: An Oral History|last=Thomas|first=Mike|website=Chicago magazine|language=en|access-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref> Winfrey's syndicated show brought in double Donahue's national audience, displacing Donahue as the number-one daytime talk show in America. Their much-publicized contest was the subject of enormous scrutiny. According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in August 1988:
{{Pull quote|Few people would have bet on Oprah Winfrey's swift rise to host of the most popular talk show on TV. In a field dominated by white males, she is a black female of ample bulk. As interviewers go, she is no match for, say, Phil Donahue&nbsp;... What she lacks in journalistic toughness, she makes up for in plainspoken curiosity, robust humor and, above all empathy. Guests with sad stories to tell are apt to rouse a tear in Oprah's eye&nbsp;... They, in turn, often find themselves revealing things they would not imagine telling anyone, much less a national TV audience. It is the talk show as a group therapy session.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091121010155/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968069,00.html "Oprah Winfrey: Lady with a Calling"], ''Time'', August 8, 1988. Retrieved September 17, 2010.</ref>}}
 
TV columnist [[Howard Rosenberg]] said: "She's a roundhouse, a full course meal, big, brassy, loud, aggressive, hyper, laughable, lovable, soulful, tender, low-down, earthy, and hungry. And she may know the way to Phil Donahue's jugular."<ref Name="Mair9798">Mair, George (2001) p. 97</ref> ''[[Newsday]]''{{'}}s [[Les Payne]] observed, "Oprah Winfrey is sharper than Donahue, wittier, more genuine, and far better attuned to her audience, if not the world"<ref Name="Mair9798"/> and Martha Bayles of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' wrote, "It's a relief to see a gab-monger with a fond but realistic assessment of her own cultural and religious roots."<ref Name="Mair9798"/>
 
[[file:Oprah Winfrey 1997.jpg|thumb|140px|Winfrey in 1997]]
 
In the early years of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', the program was classified as a tabloid talk show. In the mid-1990s, Winfrey began to host shows on broader topics such as heart disease, geopolitics, spirituality, and meditation. She interviewed celebrities on social issues they were directly involved with, such as cancer, charity work, or substance abuse, and hosted televised giveaways.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/you-get-a-car-oprah-winfrey-giveaway-studio-audience-gift-tax-members-guests-pay-show-a8208051.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/you-get-a-car-oprah-winfrey-giveaway-studio-audience-gift-tax-members-guests-pay-show-a8208051.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Oprah once gave an entire audience free cars – but it turns out there was a hidden cost|date=February 13, 2018|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=December 9, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/sep/14/oprah-winfrey-australia-john-travolta|title=Oprah surprises her audience with a trip to Australia – on a plane flown by John Travolta|last=Benedictus|first=Leo|date=September 14, 2010|work=The Guardian|access-date=December 9, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The later years of the show faced accusations that Winfrey was promoting [[junk science]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/1/9/16868216/oprah-winfrey-pseudoscience|title=Oprah's long history with junk science|last=Belluz|first=Julia|date=January 9, 2018|website=Vox|access-date=June 27, 2019}}</ref> This has manifested as criticisms of Winfrey for promoting particular guests whose medical commentaries (both on her show and in the wider media) frequently lack supporting science. Common targets of this criticism include [[Dr. Oz]]'s promotion of various "miracle pills" (especially those aimed at weight loss), [[Dr. Phil]], [[Jenny McCarthy]]'s unfounded assertions about vaccines, and [[Suzanne Somers]]'s promotion of bioidenticals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/oprah-presidential-case-marred-by-promotion-dr-oz-jenny-mccarthy-others.html|title=Oprah's Record of Promoting Charlatans Should Perhaps Give Us Pause About Her Impending Presidency|date=January 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/how-oprah-helped-spread-anti-vaccine-pseudoscience/|title=How Oprah helped spread anti-vaccine pseudoscience}}</ref> Multiple publications have called on Oprah to denounce medical statements made by her former proteges long after her show ended. For example, there were calls for her to denounce Dr. Oz in 2020 reaction to his comments about coronavirus and his promotion of a poorly vetted drug as a cure.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/its-time-for-oprah-to-renounce-dr-phil-and-dr-oz-over-their-dangerous-coronavirus-propoganda|title = It's Time for Oprah to Renounce Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz over Their Dangerous Coronavirus Propaganda|newspaper = The Daily Beast|date = April 17, 2020|last1 = Summers|first1 = Daniel}}</ref>
 
In addition to her talk show, Winfrey also produced and co-starred in the drama miniseries [[The Women of Brewster Place (miniseries)|''The Women of Brewster Place'']] (1989) and its short-lived spin-off, ''Brewster Place''. As well as hosting and appearing on television shows, Winfrey co-founded the women's cable television network [[Oxygen (TV channel)|Oxygen]] which was the initial network for her ''[[Oprah After the Show]]'' program from 2002 to 2006 before moving to Oprah.com when Winfrey sold her stake in the network. She is also the president of [[Harpo Productions]] (''Oprah'' spelled backwards), a film and TV production company behind ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'', ''[[Dr. Phil (talk show)|Dr. Phil]]'', ''[[Rachael Ray (talk show)|Rachael Ray]]'', ''[[The Dr. Oz Show]]'' and many others. She also moderated three ''[[ABC Afterschool Special]]''s from 1992 to 1994.
 
On January 15, 2008, Winfrey and [[Discovery Communications]] announced plans to change [[Discovery Health Channel]] into a new channel called ''[[Oprah Winfrey Network|OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network]]''. It was scheduled to launch in 2009 but was delayed, and actually launched on January 1, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/own/what_is_own.html|title=What is OWN|publisher=Oprah.com|access-date=August 26, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514233054/http://www.oprah.com/own/what_is_own.html|archive-date=May 14, 2010}}</ref>
 
The series finale of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' aired on May 25, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etonline.com/news/111057_This_Is_It_Oprah_s_Final_Show|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528034508/http://www.etonline.com/news/111057_This_Is_It_Oprah_s_Final_Show|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 28, 2011|title=This Is It: Oprah's Final Show|publisher=etonline.com|access-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref>
 
In January 2017, [[CBS]] announced that Winfrey would join ''[[60 Minutes]]'' as a special contributor on the Sunday evening news magazine program starting in September 2017.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/oprah-winfrey-join-60-minutes-special-contributor-n714646 "Oprah Winfrey to join 60 Minutes as Special Contributor"] NBC News, January 31, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2018.</ref> The [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]] in 2018 opened a special exhibit on Winfrey's cultural influence through television.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-ae-watching-oprah-african-american-museum-0722-story.html |title=Smithsonian's 'Watching Oprah' a powerful reminder of why we miss her |last=Johnson |first=Steve |work=Chicago Tribune |date=July 20, 2018 |access-date=July 22, 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref> Winfrey left ''60 Minutes'' by the end of 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/oprah-winfrey-talks-apple-plans-60-minutes-split-2020-election-1205311|title=Oprah Talks Apple Plans, '60 Minutes' Exit, 'Leaving Neverland' Backlash and Mayor Pete "Buttabeep, Buttaboop"|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 30, 2019|language=en|access-date=June 21, 2019}}</ref>
 
In June 2018, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] announced a multi-year content partnership with Winfrey, in which it was agreed that Winfrey would create new original programs exclusively for Apple's streaming service, [[Apple TV+]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jun/16/oprah-winfrey-apple-in-1bn-programming-push|title=Apple signs up Oprah Winfrey in $1bn programming push|agency=Reuters|date=June 16, 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=February 13, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The first show under the deal, [[Oprah's Book Club (TV series)|''Oprah's Book Club'']], premiered on November 1, 2019. ''Oprah's Book Club'' is based on [[Oprah's Book Club|the segment of the same name from ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'']]. The second show under the deal, ''Oprah Talks [[COVID-19]]'', debuted on March 21, 2020, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. A third show, ''The Oprah Conversation'' debuted on July 30, 2020, with Winfrey "[continuing] to explore impactful and relevant topics with fascinating thought leaders from all over the world".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/28/entertainment/oprah-apple-tv-show-trnd/index.html|title=Oprah Winfrey launching new show on Apple TV+|work=[[CNN]]|last=Respers France|first=Lisa|date=July 28, 2020|access-date=July 29, 2020}}</ref>
 
===Celebrity interviews===
In 1993, Winfrey hosted a rare prime-time interview with [[Michael Jackson]], which became the fourth most-watched event in American television history as well as the most watched interview ever, with an audience of 36.5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Company, Johnson Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rLoDAAAAMBAJ&q=Queen%20cbs&pg=PA37|title=Alex Haley's 'Queen' Lifts CBS To No. 1|journal=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|date=March 8, 1993|access-date=February 23, 2011|page=37}}</ref> On December 1, 2005, Winfrey appeared on the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' for the first time in 16 years, to promote the new Broadway musical, ''[[The Color Purple (musical)|The Color Purple]]'',<ref name=oprlet>[http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1137132,00.html '' Time (magazine)]</ref> which she produced. The episode was hailed by some as the "television event of the decade" and helped Letterman attract his largest audience in more than 11 years: 13.45&nbsp;million viewers.<ref name="Letterman ratings">{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/371235p-315854c.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051205032533/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/371235p-315854c.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 5, 2005 |title=It's Win-Winfrey situation for Dave as ratings soar |work=Daily News|location=New York |first2=Christena |last2=Coleman |last1=Huff |first1=Richard |date=December 3, 2005 |access-date=March 5, 2007 }}</ref> Although a much-rumored feud was said to have been the cause of the rift,<ref name=oprlet /> both Winfrey and Letterman balked at such talk. "I want you to know, it's really over, whatever you thought was happening," said Winfrey. On September 10, 2007, Letterman made his first appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', as its season premiere was filmed in New York City.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902013.html|title=Letterman to Appear on 'Oprah'|agency=Associated Press|date=August 29, 2007|access-date=September 17, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>
 
In 2006, rappers [[Ludacris]], [[50 Cent]], and [[Ice Cube]] criticized Winfrey for what they perceived as an anti-[[hip hop music|hip hop]] bias. In an interview with ''[[GQ]]'' magazine, Ludacris said that Winfrey gave him a "hard time" about his lyrics, and edited comments he made during an appearance on her show with the cast of the film ''[[Crash (2004 film)|Crash]]''. He also said that he wasn't initially invited on the show with the rest of the cast.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,197184,00.html "Ice Cube Says Oprah Has 'a Problem With Hip-Hop"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929092933/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,197184,00.html |date=September 29, 2009 }}. Fox News Channel. May 28, 2006. Retrieved September 17, 2010</ref> Winfrey responded by saying that she is opposed to rap lyrics that "marginalize women," but enjoys some artists, including [[Kanye West]], who appeared on her show. She said she spoke with Ludacris backstage after his appearance to explain her position and said she understood that his music was for entertainment purposes, but that some of his listeners might take it literally. In September 2008, Winfrey received criticism after [[Matt Drudge]] of the ''[[Drudge Report]]''<ref>{{cite web|last=Bercovici|first=Jeff|url=http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2008/09/07/oprah-and-sarah-anatomy-of-a-non-troversy|title=Oprah and Sarah: Anatomy of a Non-troversy|publisher=Portfolio.com|date=September 7, 2008|access-date=November 30, 2008}}</ref> reported that Winfrey refused to have [[Sarah Palin]] on her show, allegedly because of Winfrey's support for Barack Obama.<ref name="palin">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=5736716&page=1|title=Is Oprah Biased? Host Won't Interview Palin|last=Friedman|first=Emily|date=September 5, 2008|publisher=ABC News|access-date=September 5, 2008}}</ref> Winfrey denied the report, maintaining that there never was a discussion regarding Palin's appearing on her show. She said that after she made public her support for Obama, she decided that she would not let her show be used as a platform for any of the candidates.<ref name="palin"/> Although Obama appeared twice on her show, those appearances were prior to his declaration as a presidential candidate. Winfrey added that Palin would make a fantastic guest and that she would love to have her on the show after the election, which she did on November 18, 2009.<ref Name="palin"/>
 
In 2009, Winfrey was criticized for allowing actress [[Suzanne Somers]] to appear on her show to discuss hormone treatments that are not accepted by mainstream medicine.<ref name=Noveck>{{cite web|last=Noveck|first=Jocelyn|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=8866956|title=Somers' New Target: Conventional Cancer Treatment|date=October 19, 2009|publisher=ABC News|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029230709/http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WireStory?id=8866956|archivedate=October 29, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Critics have also suggested that Winfrey is not tough enough when questioning celebrity guests or politicians whom she appears to like.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.salon.com/media/poni/1998/10/27poni.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000412172951/http://www.salon.com/media/poni/1998/10/27poni.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 12, 2000 |title=Oprah Winfrey, Journalist? |last=Poniewozik |first=James |date=October 27, 1998 |journal=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |access-date=February 23, 2011 }}</ref> Lisa de Moraes, a media columnist for ''The Washington Post'', stated: "Oprah doesn't do follow-up questions unless you're [[A Million Little Pieces#Controversy|an author who's embarrassed her by fabricating portions of a supposed memoir she's plugged for her book club.]]"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/03/AR2006020302967.html|title=Dave Chappelle, Rematerializing Guy|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 4, 2006|access-date=May 15, 2008|first=Lisa|last=de Moraes}}</ref>
 
In 2021, she conducted [[Oprah with Meghan and Harry|an interview]] with [[Meghan, Duchess of Sussex]], and her husband [[Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex|Prince Harry]], which was broadcast globally and received international media attention.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56324215 | title= Meghan and Harry interview: Tabloid racism 'large part' of why we left UK, says duke | work=[[BBC News]] | date= March 8, 2021 | access-date=March 9, 2021}}</ref>
 
==Other media==
 
===Film===
Winfrey co-starred in [[Steven Spielberg]]'s ''[[The Color Purple (1985 film)|The Color Purple]]'' (1985), as distraught housewife [[The Color Purple#Sofia|Sofia]]. She was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for her performance. The [[Alice Walker]] novel later became [[The Color Purple (musical)|a Broadway musical]] which opened in late 2005, with Winfrey credited as a producer. In October 1998, Winfrey produced and starred in the film ''[[Beloved (1998 film)|Beloved]]'', based on [[Toni Morrison]]'s [[Pulitzer Prize]]–winning [[Beloved (novel)|novel of the same name]]. To prepare for her role as Sethe, the protagonist and former slave, Winfrey experienced a 24-hour simulation of the experience of slavery, which included being tied up and blindfolded and left alone in the woods. Despite major advertising, including two episodes of her [[The Oprah Winfrey Show|talk show]] dedicated solely to the film, and moderate to good critical reviews, ''Beloved'' opened to poor box-office results, losing approximately $30&nbsp;million. While promoting the movie, co-star [[Thandie Newton]] described Winfrey as "a very strong technical actress and it's because she's so smart. She's acute. She's got a mind like a razor blade."<ref>''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'' October 1998</ref> [[Harpo Productions]] released a film adaptation of [[Zora Neale Hurston]]'s 1937 novel ''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God]]'' in 2005. The made-for-television film was based upon a teleplay by [[Suzan-Lori Parks]] and starred [[Halle Berry]] in the lead female role.
 
In late 2008, Winfrey's company [[Harpo Films]] signed an exclusive output pact to develop and produce scripted series, documentaries, and movies exclusively for [[HBO]].<ref name="varietyHBOpact">{{cite news|last=Frankel| first=Daniel| title=Oprah Winfrey pacts with HBO|newspaper=Variety|date=December 16, 2008|url=https://variety.com/2008/scene/markets-festivals/oprah-winfrey-pacts-with-hbo-1117997464/}}</ref>
 
Oprah voiced Gussie the goose in ''[[Charlotte's Web (2006 film)|Charlotte's Web]]'' (2006) and voiced Judge Bumbleton in ''[[Bee Movie]]'' (2007), co-starring the voices of [[Jerry Seinfeld]] and [[Renée Zellweger]]. In 2009, Winfrey provided the voice for the character of Eudora, the mother of [[Princess Tiana]], in Disney's ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'' and in 2010, narrated the US version of the [[BBC]] nature program ''[[Life (BBC TV series)|Life]]'' for Discovery.
 
In 2018, Winfrey starred as Mrs. Which in the film [[A Wrinkle in Time (2018 film)|adaptation]] of [[Madeleine L'Engle]]'s novel ''[[A Wrinkle in Time]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://time.com/wrinkle-in-time/|title=Why A Wrinkle in Time Will Change Hollywood|magazine=Time|access-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref> She also lent her voice to an animated virtual-reality short film written and directed by [[Eric Darnell]], starring [[John Legend]], titled ''Crow: The Legend'', telling a native American origin tale.<ref>Russian, Ale. [https://people.com/movies/john-legend-ventures-in-vr-with-oprah-winfrey-and-more-in-crow-the-legend-watch-here "John Legend Ventures in VR with Oprah Winfrey and More in ''Crow: The Legend'' – Watch Here!"], ''People'', November 29, 2018</ref>
 
===Publishing and writing===
Winfrey has co-authored five books. At the announcement of a weight-loss book in 2005, co-authored with her personal trainer Bob Greene, it was said that her undisclosed advance fee had broken the record for the world's highest book advance fee, previously held by the autobiography of former U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref name="Winfrey tops Clinton">{{cite news|last=Glaister|first=Dan|title=Oprah Winfrey book deal tops Clinton's m|date=May 22, 2006|access-date =August 25, 2008 |work=The Guardian |location=UK |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/may/22/books.media }}</ref>


In 2015, her memoir, ''[[The Life You Want]]'', was announced following on her tour of the same name,<ref name="BegleyWant">{{cite magazine|url=http://time.com/4135218/oprah-memoir-the-life-you-want/|title=Oprah to Publish New Memoir: The Life You Want|last1=Begley|first1=Sarah|date=December 3, 2015|access-date=March 5, 2019|magazine=Time}}</ref><ref name="ConlinOprah">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/fashion/oprah-winfrey-hits-the-road-with-her-life-you-want-weekend-tour.html|title=The Tao of Oprah|last1=Conlin|first1=Jennifer|date=October 10, 2014|access-date=March 5, 2019|work=The New York Times}}</ref> and scheduled for publication in 2017,<ref name=Alter>{{cite news|last1=Alter|first1=Alexandra|title=Oprah Winfrey to Release Memoir in 2017|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/oprah-winfrey-to-release-memoir-in-2017/?_r=0|access-date=December 9, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=December 3, 2015}}</ref> but was "indefinitely postponed" in 2016.<ref name="SchaubJanuary">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-oprah-cookbooks-20160615-snap-story.html|title=Oprah's memoir is delayed, but her cookbook is coming in January|last1=Schaub|first1=Michael|date=June 15, 2016|access-date=March 5, 2019|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>
==The Oprah Winfrey Show==
In 1986, Winfrey's own talk show ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' went on the air. She was liked by audiences for her warmth. She came to own the show.


Winfrey publishes the magazine: ''[[O, The Oprah Magazine]]'' and from 2004 to 2008 also published a magazine called ''O At Home''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Richard|last=Pérez-Peña|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/business/media/08hearst.html|title=Hearst to Close O at Home, Oprah Magazine Spinoff|work=The New York Times|date=November 7, 2008|access-date=May 27, 2011}}</ref> In 2002, ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' called ''O, the Oprah Magazine'' the most successful start-up ever in the industry.<ref name="Mutual">{{cite web|last=Sellers |first=Patricia |title=The Business of Being Oprah |work=Fortune |date=April 8, 2002 |url=http://www.mutualofamerica.com/articles/Fortune/2002_04_08/Oprah1.asp |access-date=August 25, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208125132/http://www.mutualofamerica.com/articles/Fortune/2002_04_08/Oprah1.asp |archive-date=December 8, 2008 }}</ref> Although its circulation had declined by more than 10 percent (to 2.4&nbsp;million) from 2005 to 2008.<ref name="NY_Times_May_26_2008">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/business/media/26oprah.html|title=A Few Tremors in Oprahland|access-date=September 25, 2008|work=The New York Times|first=Edward|last=Wyatt|date=May 26, 2008}}</ref> The January 2009 issue was the best selling issue since 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwd.com/media-news/fashion-memopad/amis-new-deal-boosting-sales-1961835?navSection=media-news&toc_preselected=65#/article/media-news/fashion-memopad/amis-new-deal-boosting-sales-1961835?page=1|title=Memo Pad: Oprah Boosts Sales... AMI's New Deal... Boodro Departs...|work=Women's Wear Daily|date=February 2, 2009|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> The audience for her magazine is considerably more upscale than for her TV show; the average reader earns well above the median for U.S. women.<ref name="Mutual"/> In July 2020, it was announced that ''O Magazine'' would end its regular print publications after the December 2020 issue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/de998fe469fcfb2c28aa89ee7445f050|title=Oprah's O Mag to end regular print editions after 20 years|date=July 27, 2020|website=AP NEWS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/business/article/Oprah-s-O-Mag-to-end-regular-print-editions-15439762.php|title=Oprah's O Mag to end regular print editions after 20 years|first1=Tali|last1=Arbel|first2=AP Technology|last2=Writer|date=July 28, 2020|website=Houston Chronicle}}</ref> In the December 2020 issue, Winfrey thanked readers and acknowledged it was the magazine's "final monthly print edition".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.oprahmag.com/life/a34691146/oprah-magazine-ending-what-i-know-for-sure/|title=Oprah Thanks Readers of O in the Magazine's Last Monthly Issue|first=Oprah|last=Winfrey|publisher=O, the Oprah Magazine|date=November 17, 2020|access-date=December 17, 2020}}</ref>
==Oprah Winfrey Network==
 
Winfrey now runs the [[Oprah Winfrey Network]]. On January 15, 2008, Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced plans to change Discovery Health Channel into a new channel called OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. It was scheduled to launch in 2009, but was delayed, and actually launched on January 1, 2011. She also hosts the ''Oprah's Next Chapter'' show on the network.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/own-oprahs-next-chapter/oprahs-next-chapter.html|title=Oprah's Next Chapter - OWN TV|accessdate=January 12, 2012}}</ref>
===Online===
Winfrey's company created the ''Oprah.com'' website to provide resources and interactive content related to her shows, magazines, book club, and public charity. Oprah.com averages more than 70 million page views and more than six million users per month, and receives approximately 20,000 e-mails each week.<ref name="About Oprah">{{cite web|title=About Oprah|publisher=Harpo, Inc.|url=http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/oprah-winfreys-official-biography|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> Winfrey initiated "Oprah's Child Predator Watch List", through her show and website, to help track down accused child molesters. Within the first 48 hours, two of the featured men were captured.<ref name="Captured Accused">{{cite episode|title=''The Oprah Show'' Captures Accused Child Molesters!|url=http://www.oprah.com/world/Accused-Child-Molesters-Caught_1|series=The Oprah Winfrey Show|series-link=The Oprah Winfrey Show|credits=Presenter: Oprah Winfrey|airdate=October 11, 2005}}</ref>
 
===Radio===
On February 9, 2006, it was announced that Winfrey had signed a three-year, $55-million contract with [[XM Satellite Radio]] to establish a new radio channel. The channel, [[Oprah Radio]], features popular contributors to ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' and ''O, The Oprah Magazine'' including [[Nate Berkus]], [[Dr. Mehmet Oz]], Bob Greene, Dr. Robin Smith, and [[Marianne Williamson]]. Oprah & Friends began broadcasting at 11:00&nbsp;am [[Eastern Time Zone|ET]], September 25, 2006, from a new studio at Winfrey's Chicago headquarters. The channel broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week on XM Radio Channel 156. Winfrey's contract requires her to be on the air 30 minutes a week, 39 weeks a year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-feb-10-fi-oprah10-story.html|title=Oprah Signs XM Satellite Radio Deal|date=February 10, 2006|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
She endorsed [[Barack Obama]] in 2006 for the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 election]]. One estimate said it delivered one million votes in the 2008 Democratic primary race.


===Homes===
Nikyra Rucker loaned Oprah Winfrey money to start her business. Oprah Winfrey now has a lot of money. She gives to many [[Charitable organization|charities]]. She gives to girls' education in [[South Africa]]. In 2013, she was named one of the 400 richest people in the [[United States]]. She is the only African-American among this group.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2013/09/17/everythings-coming-up-oprah-how-winfrey-got-richer-in-2013/ Everything's Coming Up Oprah: How Winfrey Got Richer in 2013]</ref> She was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Barack Obama]] in 2013 and an honorary doctorate degree from [[Harvard University|Harvard]].
[[File:OprahEstate.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Oprah's [[Montecito, California|Montecito]] estate]]
Winfrey currently lives on "The Promised Land", her 42-acre (17-ha) estate with ocean and mountain views in [[Montecito, California]]. Winfrey also owns a house in [[Lavallette, New Jersey]]; an apartment in [[Chicago]]; an estate on [[Fisher Island, Florida]]; a ski house in [[Telluride, Colorado]]; and properties on [[Maui]], [[Hawaii]]; [[Antigua]]; and [[Orcas Island]], Washington State.
 
===Romantic history===
Winfrey's high school sweetheart Anthony Otey recalled an innocent courtship that began in Winfrey's senior year of high school, from which he saved hundreds of love notes; Winfrey conducted herself with dignity and was a model student.<ref name="Mair pg 28-29">Mair (1999), pp. 28–29.</ref> The two spoke of getting married, but Otey claimed to have always secretly known that Winfrey was destined for a far greater life than he could ever provide.<ref name="Mair pg 30">Mair (1999) p. 30</ref> She broke up with him on Valentine's Day of her senior year.<ref name="Mair pg 30" /><ref name="Mair pg 31">Mair (1999), p. 31.</ref>
 
In 1971, several months after breaking up with Otey, Winfrey met William "Bubba" Taylor at Tennessee State University. According to CBS journalist George Mair, Taylor was Winfrey's "first intense, to die for love affair". Winfrey helped get Taylor a job at WVOL, and according to Mair, "did everything to keep him, including literally begging him on her knees to stay with her".<ref name="Mair pg 33">Mair (1999) p. 33</ref> Taylor, however, was unwilling to leave Nashville with Winfrey when she moved to Baltimore to work at WJZ-TV in June 1976. "We really did care for each other," Winfrey would later recall. "We shared a deep love. A love I will never forget."<ref name="Mair pg 43">Mair (1999), p. 43.</ref>
 
In the 1970s, Winfrey had a romantic relationship with [[John Tesh]]. Biographer [[Kitty Kelley]] claims that Tesh split with Winfrey over the pressures of an interracial relationship.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/04/12/oprah-john-tesh-briefly-dated-lived-toger-new-book-claims/?test=faces|publisher=Fox News Channel|title=Oprah and John Tesh Briefly Dated, Lived Together, New Book Claims|date=April 12, 2010}}</ref>
 
When WJZ-TV management criticized Winfrey for crying on air while reporting tragedies and were unhappy with her physical appearance (especially when her hair fell out as a result of a bad perm), Winfrey turned to reporter Lloyd Kramer for comfort. "Lloyd was just the best," Winfrey would later recall. "That man loved me even when I was bald! He was wonderful. He stuck with me through the whole demoralizing experience. That man was the most fun romance I ever had."<ref name="Mair pg 47">{{cite book|last=Mair|first=George|title=Oprah Winfrey: The Real Story|page=[https://archive.org/details/oprahwinfreyreal00mair/page/47 47]|year=1995|publisher=Carol Pub. Group|isbn=1-55972-250-9|url=https://archive.org/details/oprahwinfreyreal00mair/page/47}}</ref>
 
According to Mair, when Kramer moved to NBC in New York, Winfrey had a love affair with a married man who had no intention of leaving his wife.<ref>Mair (1999), p. 49: "the major problem with this intense love affair arose from her lover's being married, with no plans to leave his wife".</ref> Winfrey would later recall: "I'd had a relationship with a man for four years. I wasn't living with him. I'd never lived with anyone—and I thought I was worthless without him. The more he rejected me, the more I wanted him. I felt depleted, powerless. At the end, I was down on the floor on my knees groveling and pleading with him".<ref name="Mair pg 49"/> Winfrey became so depressed that on September 8, 1981, she wrote a suicide note to best friend [[Gayle King]] instructing King to water her plants.<ref name="Mair pg 49">Mair (1999), p. 49.</ref> "That suicide note had been much overplayed" Winfrey told ''[[Ms. (magazine)|Ms.]]'' magazine. "I couldn't kill myself. I would be afraid the minute I did it, something really good would happen and I'd miss it."<ref Name="Mair p50">Mair (1999), p. 50.</ref>
 
According to Winfrey, her emotional turmoil gradually led to a weight problem: "The reason I gained so much weight in the first place and the reason I had such a sorry history of abusive relationships with men was I just needed approval so much. I needed everyone to like me, because I didn't like myself much. So I'd end up with these cruel self-absorbed guys who'd tell me how selfish I was, and I'd say 'Oh thank you, you're so right' and be grateful to them. Because I had no sense that I deserved anything else. Which is also why I gained so much weight later on. It was the perfect way of cushioning myself against the world's disapproval."<ref Name="Mair p50"/>
 
Winfrey later confessed to smoking [[crack cocaine]] with a man she was romantically involved with during the same era. She explained on her show: "I always felt that the drug itself is not the problem but that I was addicted to the man." She added: "I can't think of anything I wouldn't have done for that man."<ref name="Jet">{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n12_v87/ai_16404541 |title=Oprah reveals on her show she smoked crack cocaine during her 20s |work=Jet |date=January 30, 1995 |access-date=August 25, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208105953/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n12_v87/ai_16404541 |archive-date=December 8, 2008 }} Archived at FindArticles in 2004.</ref>
 
Winfrey was allegedly involved in a second drug-related love affair. Self-proclaimed former boyfriend Randolph Cook said they lived together for several months in 1985 and did drugs. In 1997, Cook tried to sue Winfrey for $20&nbsp;million for allegedly blocking a [[tell-all book]] about their alleged relationship.<ref name="FindLaw">{{cite court|litigants=Randolph L. Cook v Oprah Winfrey|vol=7th|reporter=FindLaw|opinion=973403|court=7th Cir.|date=April 8, 1998|url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=7th&navby=case&no=973403}}</ref><ref name="Jackson Walker">{{cite web|title=Representative Matters |publisher=Jackson Walker L.L.P |url=http://www.jw.com/site/jsp/practiceinfo.jsp?id=12&matter=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031019082638/http://www.jw.com/site/jsp/practiceinfo.jsp?id=12&matter=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 19, 2003 |access-date=August 25, 2008 }}</ref>
 
In the mid-1980s, Winfrey briefly dated movie critic [[Roger Ebert]], whom she credits with advising her to take her show into syndication.<ref name="Ebert-How"/>
 
In 1985, before Winfrey's Chicago talk show had gone national, Haitian filmmaker Reginald Chevalier claims he appeared as a guest on a look-alike segment and began a relationship with Winfrey involving romantic evenings at home, candlelit baths, and dinners with [[Michael Jordan]] and [[Danny Glover]]. Chevalier says Winfrey ended the relationship when she met [[Stedman Graham]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/02/exclusive-interview-stedman-stole-oprah-me-secret-lover-tells-radar|title=EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Stedman Stole Oprah From Me, Secret Lover Tells Radar|date=February 17, 2011|publisher=radaronline.com|access-date=February 23, 2011}}</ref>
 
Winfrey and her boyfriend Stedman Graham have been together since 1986. They were engaged to be married in November 1992, but the ceremony never took place.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oprah.about.com/od/oprahbiography/p/personallife.htm|title=A Look Into the Personal Life of Oprah Winfrey|publisher=Oprah.about.com|date=November 14, 2008|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref>
 
===Close friends===
[[File:Oprah Winfrey (2004).jpg|alt=|thumb|Winfrey celebrating her 50th birthday among friends at her Santa Barbara estate, 2004]]
Winfrey's best friend since their early twenties is [[Gayle King]]. King was formerly the host of ''The Gayle King Show'' and is currently an editor of ''O, the Oprah Magazine''. Since 1997, when Winfrey played the therapist on an episode of the sitcom ''[[Ellen (TV series)|Ellen]]'' in which [[Ellen DeGeneres]] came out of the closet, Winfrey and King have been the target of persistent rumors that they were gay. "I understand why people think we're gay," Winfrey says in the August 2006 issue of ''O'' magazine. "There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women. So I get why people have to label it—how can you be this close without it being sexual?"<ref name="Not Gay">{{cite web|last=Lehner |first=Marla |title=Oprah: Gayle and I Are Not Gay |work=People |date=July 18, 2006 |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,26334,1215402,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421013629/http://www.people.com/people/article/0%2C26334%2C1215402%2C00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 21, 2007 |access-date=August 25, 2008 }}</ref> "I've told nearly everything there is to tell. All my stuff is out there. People think I'd be so ashamed of being gay that I wouldn't admit it? Oh, please."<ref name="Not Gay" />
 
Winfrey has also had a long friendship with [[Maria Shriver]], after they met in Baltimore.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jwQEAAAAMBAJ&q=winfrey+shriver&pg=PA55|page=55|title=Balancing Act|last=Hernandez|first=Greg|journal=[[Orange Coast (magazine)|Orange Coast Magazine]]|date=May 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3776919&page=1|title=ABC News: Shriver Struggles With Kennedy Legacy|publisher=ABC News|date=October 23, 2007|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> Winfrey considered [[Maya Angelou]], author of ''[[I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings]]'', her mentor and close friend; she called Angelou her "mother-sister-friend".<ref>{{cite web|last=Winfrey|first=Oprah|title=Oprah's cut with Maya Angelou|publisher=Oprah.com|url=http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/oprah-interviews-maya-angelou|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> Winfrey hosted a week-long Caribbean cruise for Angelou and 150 guests for Angelou's 70th birthday in 1998, and in 2008, threw her "an extravagant 80th birthday celebration" at [[Donald Trump]]'s [[Mar-a-Lago]] club in [[Palm Beach, Florida]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090813052248/http://mayaangelou.com/news/1/ Article from ''USA Today'']. Maya Angelou official website. Retrieved September 18, 2010.</ref>
 
===Personal wealth===
Born in rural poverty, and raised by a mother dependent on government welfare payments in a poor urban neighborhood, Winfrey became a millionaire at the age of 32 when her talk show received national syndication. Winfrey negotiated ownership rights to the television program and started her own production company. At the age of 41, Winfrey had a net worth of $340&nbsp;million and replaced [[Bill Cosby]] as the only African American on the ''[[Forbes 400]]''.<ref name="time.com">{{cite news|last=Fletcher|first=Dan|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1939458_1939454_1939448,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091119125949/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1939458_1939454_1939448,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 19, 2009|title=7. Oprah The Billionaire|magazine=Time|date=May 25, 2010|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> By 2000, with a net worth of $800&nbsp;million, Winfrey is believed to have been the richest African American of the 20th century. There has been a course taught at the [[University of Illinois]] focusing on Winfrey's business acumen, namely: "History 298: Oprah Winfrey, the Tycoon".<ref>{{cite web|last=Mills|first=Marja|title=Oprah College Course|publisher=Race Matters|date=March 7, 2001|url=http://www.racematters.org/oprahcollegecourse.htm|access-date=August 25, 2008}}</ref> Winfrey was the highest paid television entertainer in the United States in 2006, earning an estimated $260&nbsp;million during the year, five times the sum earned by second-place music executive [[Simon Cowell]].<ref>{{cite web|last=July |first=Reuters |url=http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=767a3fa6-35e5-45d4-a64d-446281425c75&k=52038 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011203425/http://canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=767a3fa6-35e5-45d4-a64d-446281425c75&k=52038 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |title=Oprah tops list of highest paid TV stars |publisher=Canada.com (Reuters) |date=July 25, 2007 |access-date=August 26, 2010 }}</ref> By 2008, her yearly income had increased to $275&nbsp;million.<ref name="Forbes1">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/53/celebrities08_Oprah-Winfrey_O0ZT.html |title=#1 Oprah Winfrey |magazine=Forbes |access-date=August 22, 2014 |date=June 11, 2008}}</ref>
 
''Forbes''{{'}} list of [[The World's Billionaires]] has listed Winfrey as the world's only black billionaire from 2004 to 2006 and as the first black woman billionaire in the world that was achieved in 2003.<ref name="time.com" />  As of 2014, Winfrey had a net worth in excess of 2.9 billion dollars<ref name="forbes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/oprah-winfrey/ |title=Oprah Winfrey |work=Forbes |access-date=August 22, 2014}}</ref> and had overtaken former [[eBay]] CEO [[Meg Whitman]] as the richest self-made woman in America.<ref>''Forbes magazine'' March 26, 2007, p. 160, says there are only 10 self-made women billionaires in the world and Winfrey is the richest of the 4 listed as U.S. billionaires.</ref>
 
===Religious views===
Oprah was raised a [[Baptist]]. In her early life, she would speak at local, mostly [[African American]] congregations of the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] that were often deeply religious and familiar with such themes as [[evangelical Protestantism]], the [[Black church]], and being [[born-again]].<ref>''Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery: An Essay on Popular Culture'' by Eva Illou, ''THE ROLE OF THE BLACK CHURCH''<!-- ISSN/ISBN, publisher needed --></ref><ref>Oprah Winfrey: Global Media Leader by Katherine E. Krohn, pg. 14<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref><ref>''Oprah Winfrey: A Biography'', Second Edition by Helen S. Garson, pg. 34<!-- ISSN/ISBN, publisher needed --></ref>
 
She was quoted as saying: "I have church with myself: I have church walking down the street. I believe in the God force that lives inside all of us, and once you tap into that, you can do anything."<ref name="Lowe2001">{{cite book|author=Lowe, Janet|title=Oprah Winfrey Speaks: Insights from the World's Most Influential Voice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yyB8PpIOiSUC|date=January 22, 2001|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-471-39994-0|page=122}}</ref> She also stated, "Doubt means don't. When you don't know what to do, do nothing until you do know what to do. Because the doubt is your inner voice or the voice of God or whatever you choose to call it. It is your instinct trying to tell you something is off. That's how I have found myself to be led spiritually, because that's your spiritual voice saying to you, 'let's think about it.' So when you don't know what to do, do nothing."<ref>[http://www.oprah.com/own-oprahshow/oprah-on-why-doubt-means-dont-video/ Oprah on Why "Doubt Means Don't"]. ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. Retrieved November 5, 2018.</ref>
 
Oprah has stated that she is a Christian and her favorite Bible verse is [[Acts 17:28]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 28, 2014|title=Oprah's Christian Faith|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oprahs-christian-faith_n_5b4f8d19e4b00e8c8eb71dd2|access-date=February 3, 2021|website=HuffPost|language=en}}</ref>
 
Oprah attends [[The Potter's House Church, Dallas]] service, an [[Evangelical]] church.<ref name="Spirituality According to Oprah"/>
 
==Influence==
===Rankings===
[[File:Oprah Winfrey 2010.jpg|upright|thumb|Winfrey at the White House for the 2010 [[Kennedy Center Honors]]]]
Winfrey was called "arguably the world's most powerful woman" by [[CNN]] and ''TIME'',<ref name="2001 Global Influentials">{{cite news|title=2001 Global Influentials: 19. Oprah Winfrey |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/2001/influentials/ |access-date=August 25, 2008 |date=March 12, 2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510155730/http://www.time.com/time/2001/influentials/ |archive-date=May 10, 2008 }}</ref> "arguably the most influential woman in the world" by ''[[The American Spectator]]'',<ref>{{cite web|last=Tamny|first=John|url=http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11402|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154526/http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11402|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2007|title=The American Spectator|publisher=Spectator.org|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> "[[Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century|one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th Century]]" and "one of the most influential people" from 2004 to 2011 by ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]''. Winfrey is the only person to have appeared in the latter list on [[Time 100#Listed ten times|ten occasions]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Obama|first=Michelle|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733756_1735241,00.html|title=The 2008 TIME 100|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505053740/https://time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733756_1735241,00.html|archive-date=May 5, 2008|url-status=dead |magazine=Time|date=April 30, 2009|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref>
 
At the end of the 20th century, ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' listed Winfrey as both the most influential woman and the most influential black person of her generation, and in a cover story profile the magazine called her "America's most powerful woman".<ref name="Boomers">{{cite magazine|title=The 50 Most Influential Boomers|magazine=Life|url= http://www.life.com/Life/boomers/50boomers01.html#05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070127042315/http://www.life.com/Life/boomers/50boomers01.html#05|archive-date=January 27, 2007|access-date=March 6, 2007}}</ref> In 2007, ''[[USA Today]]'' ranked Winfrey as the most influential woman and most influential black person of the previous quarter-century.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/top25-influential.htm?loc=interstitialskip|title=Most influential people |work=USA Today|date=September 3, 2007|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]'' also ranked Winfrey number one in their list of the most powerful women in America and then [[U.S. Senate|Senator]] [[Barack Obama]] in 2007 said she "may be the most influential woman in the country".<ref name="Obama on LKL">{{cite news|title=Interview With Barack Obama|work=Larry King Live|publisher=CNN|date=October 19, 2006|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0610/19/lkl.01.html|access-date=March 6, 2007}}</ref> In 1998, Winfrey became the first woman and first African American to top ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s list of the 101 most powerful people in the entertainment industry.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n24_v94/ai_21257357 |title=Oprah Winfrey named most powerful person in entertainment industry |year=1998 |work=Jet |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208223131/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n24_v94/ai_21257357 |archive-date=December 8, 2008 }}</ref> ''[[Forbes]]'' named her the world's most powerful celebrity in 2005,<ref name="Most Powerful">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Oprah Tops Powerful Celebs List|publisher=CBS News|date=June 17, 2005|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/16/entertainment/main702512.shtml|access-date =August 25, 2008}}</ref> 2007,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6753847.stm|work=BBC News|title=Oprah 'most powerful celebrity'|date=June 14, 2007|access-date=May 20, 2010}}</ref> 2008,<ref name="Forbes1"/> 2010,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/News/Oprah-Atop-Forbes-1020004.aspx|title=Oprah Back Atop the Forbes Celebrity 100 List|work=TV Guide}}</ref> and 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2013/06/26/03004-20130626ARTFIG00462-oprah-winfrey-celebrite-la-plus-puissante-de-l-annee-2013.php|title=Oprah Winfrey, célébrité la plus puissante de l'année 2013|work=Le Figaro |date=June 26, 2013 |access-date=August 22, 2014}}</ref>
 
As chairman of [[Harpo Productions|Harpo Inc.]], she was named the [[Power 100|most powerful woman in entertainment]] by ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dobuzinskis|first1=Alex|last2=Serjeant|first2=Jill|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-winfrey-idUSTRE4B46KG20081207|title=Oprah named entertainment's most powerful woman|work=Reuters|date=December 7, 2008|access-date=January 31, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402225914/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/12/07/us-winfrey-idUSTRE4B46KG20081207|url-status=live}}</ref> She has been listed as one of the most powerful 100 women in the world by ''Forbes'', ranking 14th in 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/wealth/power-women#p_2_s_arank|title=The world's 100 most powerful women|magazine=Forbes|access-date=August 24, 2011}}</ref> In 2010, ''Life'' magazine named Winfrey one of the 100 people who changed the world, alongside [[Jesus Christ]], [[Elvis Presley]], and [[Lady Mary Wortley Montagu]]. Winfrey was the only living woman to make the list.<ref>''Life'': "100 people who changed the world", August 20, 2010.</ref>
 
Columnist [[Maureen Dowd]] seems to agree with such assessments. Interviewed by ''The Guardian'' in 2006, Dowd said: "She is the top alpha female in this country. She has more credibility than the president. Other successful women, such as [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Martha Stewart]], had to be publicly slapped down before they could move forward. Even [[Condoleezza Rice|Condi]] has had to play the protégé with Bush. None of this happened to Oprah – she is a straight ahead success story."<ref>{{cite news|last=Mackensie|first=Susie|title=Woman of mass derision|work=The Guardian|date=March 11, 2006|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/mar/11/features.pressandpublishing|access-date=March 18, 2021|location=London, UK}}</ref> ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' wrote: "Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president, politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope.<ref name="Ultimate Guide">{{cite web|last=Harrow|first=Susan|title=Inside the Book... The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah|publisher=PRSecrets.com|url=http://www.prsecrets.com/store/inside-oprah-book.html|access-date=March 12, 2007|archive-date=September 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923013545/http://www.prsecrets.com/store/inside-oprah-book.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]] said: "this is a woman that came from nothing to rise up to be the most powerful woman, I think, in the world. I think Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in the world, not just in America. That's – anybody who goes on her program immediately benefits through the roof. I mean, she has a loyal following; she has credibility; she has talent; and she's done it on her own to become fabulously wealthy and fabulously powerful."<ref>Westwood One's ''The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly'', October 17, 2006.</ref>
 
In 2005, Winfrey was named the greatest woman in American history as part of a public poll as part of ''[[The Greatest American]]''. She was ranked No. 9 overall on the list of greatest Americans. However, polls estimating Winfrey's personal popularity have been inconsistent. A November 2003 Gallup poll estimated that 73% of American adults had a favorable view of Winfrey. Another Gallup poll in January 2007 estimated the figure at 74%, although it dropped to 66% when Gallup conducted the same poll in October 2007. A December 2007 ''[[Fox News]]'' poll put the figure at 55%.<ref>{{cite web|first=Costas|last=Panagopoulos|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2008/04/obama-supporter-oprah-takes-a-big-dive-009427|title=Obama supporter Oprah takes a big dive – Costas Panagopoulos|work=Politico|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> According to [[Gallup's most admired man and woman poll|Gallup's annual most admired poll]], Americans consistently rank Winfrey as one of the most admired women in the world. Her highest rating came in 2007<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/113572/Obama-Hillary-Clinton-Share-Most-Admired-Billing.aspx|title=Obama, Hillary Clinton Share "Most Admired" Billing|publisher=Gallup.com|date=December 26, 2008|access-date=May 4, 2009}}</ref> when she was statistically tied with [[Hillary Clinton]] for first place.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/26/clinton-closes-gap-with-bush-as-nations-most-admired-man/|title=Clinton Closes Gap with Bush As Nation's 'Most Admired Man'|date=December 26, 2007|publisher=CNN|access-date=February 23, 2011}}</ref> In a list compiled by the British magazine ''[[New Statesman]]'' in September 2010, she was voted 38th in the list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".<ref name="htanna">{{cite web|title=38. Oprah Winfrey – 50 People Who Matter 2010 {{!}}|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/broadcast/2010/09/host-oprah-obama-matter|work=New Statesman|location=UK|access-date=October 8, 2010}}</ref>
 
In 1989, she was accepted into the [[NAACP Image Award]] Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://articles.latimes.com/1989-11-08/entertainment/ca-1171_1_image-award |title=Winfrey accepted into Hall of Fame |last=McDougal |first=Dennis |date=November 8, 1989 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=August 5, 2016}}</ref>
 
==="Oprahfication"===
''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' coined the term "Oprahfication", meaning public confession as a form of therapy.<ref Name="Church of O">[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/april1/1.38.html "The Church of O"], ''Christianity Today'' April 1, 2002. Retrieved August 26, 2010.</ref> By confessing intimate details about her weight problems, tumultuous love life, and sexual abuse, and crying alongside her guests, Winfrey has been credited by ''Time'' magazine with creating a new form of media communication known as "rapport talk" as distinguished from the "report talk" of Phil Donahue: "Winfrey saw television's power to blend public and private; while it links strangers and conveys information over public airwaves, TV is most often viewed in the privacy of our homes. Like a family member, it sits down to meals with us and talks to us in the lonely afternoons. Grasping this paradox, ...&nbsp;She makes people care because she cares. That is Winfrey's genius, and will be her legacy, as the changes she has wrought in the talk show continue to permeate our culture and shape our lives."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080306191132/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988512-2,00.html "The TV Host"], ''Time'', June 8, 1998. Retrieved September 17, 2010.</ref>
 
Observers have also noted the "Oprahfication" of politics such as "Oprah-style debates" and [[Bill Clinton]] being described as "the man who brought Oprah-style psychobabble and misty confessions to politics".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/06/1019441475691.html|title=Clinton as TV host? The thought doesn't rate|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=May 7, 2002}}</ref> ''[[Newsweek]]'' stated: "Every time a politician lets his lip quiver or a cable anchor 'emotes' on TV, they nod to the cult of confession that Oprah helped create.<ref>{{cite web|last=Darman|first=Jonathan|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11079174/site/newsweek|title=The Story Behind Oprah's Riveting Show – Newsweek National News|publisher=MSNBC|access-date=August 26, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618174011/http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11079174/site/newsweek|archive-date=June 18, 2006}}</ref>
 
The November 1988 ''[[Ms. (magazine)|Ms.]]'' observed that "in a society where fat is taboo, she made it in a medium that worships thin and celebrates a bland, white-bread prettiness of body and personality [...] But Winfrey made fat sexy, elegant&nbsp;– damned near gorgeous&nbsp;– with her drop-dead wardrobe, easy body language, and cheerful sensuality."<ref>Kelley, Kitty. ''Oprah: A Biography'' ([[Crown Publishing Group|Crown Archetype]], New York, 2010); {{ISBN|978-0-307-39486-6}}.</ref>
 
====Daytime talk show's impact on LGBT people====
While [[Phil Donahue]] has been credited with pioneering the tabloid talk show genre, Winfrey's warmth, intimacy, and personal confession popularized and changed it.<ref name="TIME 100 1998" /><ref name="Coming Afer Oprah"/> Her success at popularizing the tabloid talk show genre opened up a thriving industry that has included ''[[Ricki Lake (TV series)|Ricki Lake]]'', ''[[The Jenny Jones Show]]'', and ''[[The Jerry Springer Show]]''.  In the book ''Freaks Talk Back'',<ref name="FTB UCPress">{{cite web|title=An interview and excerpt from Freaks Talk Back|publisher=University of Chicago Press|url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/280640.html|access-date =August 25, 2008}}</ref> Yale sociology professor [[Joshua Gamson]] credits the tabloid talk show genre with providing much needed high impact media visibility for gay, [[bisexual]], [[transsexual]], and [[transgender]] (LGBT) people and doing more to make them mainstream and socially acceptable than any other development of the 20th century. In the book's editorial review, [[Michael Bronski]] wrote, "In the recent past, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered people had almost no presence on television. With the invention and propagation of tabloid talk shows such as ''[[The Jerry Springer Show|Jerry Springer]]'', ''[[The Jenny Jones Show|Jenny Jones]]'', ''Oprah'', and ''[[Geraldo Rivera|Geraldo]]'', people outside the sexual mainstream now appear in living rooms across America almost every day of the week."<ref name="FTP Amazon">Gamson, Joshua (1999) University Of Chicago Press {{ISBN|0-226-28065-9}}</ref> Gamson credits the tabloid talk show with making alternative sexual orientations and identities more acceptable in mainstream society. Examples include a ''Time'' magazine article{{page needed|date=January 2017}} on early 21st-century gays coming out of the closet at an increasingly younger age and on plummeting [[Suicide among LGBT youth|gay suicide]] rates. Gamson also believes that tabloid talk shows caused gays to be accepted on more traditional forms of media.
 
In April 1997, Winfrey played the therapist in "[[The Puppy Episode]]" on the sitcom ''[[Ellen (TV series)|Ellen]]'' to whom the character (and the real-life [[Ellen DeGeneres]]) said she was a lesbian.
 
==="The Oprah Effect"<!--'Oprah effect' redirects here-->===
The power of Winfrey's opinions and endorsement to influence public opinion, especially consumer purchasing choices, has been dubbed "the '''Oprah Effect'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/29961298/|title=The Oprah Effect|last=Quintanilla|first=Carlos|publisher=CNBC|access-date=February 23, 2011}}</ref> The effect has been documented or alleged in domains as diverse as book sales, beef markets, and election voting. Late in 1996,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbookclub/pastselections/20080701_orig_list|title=Oprah's Book Club Archive|publisher=Oprah.com|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> Winfrey introduced the [[Oprah's Book Club]] segment to her television show. The segment focused on new books and classics and often brought obscure novels to popular attention. The book club became such a powerful force that whenever Winfrey introduced a new book as her book-club selection, it instantly became a best-seller; for example, when she selected the classic [[John Steinbeck]] novel ''[[East of Eden (novel)|East of Eden]]'', it soared to the top of the book charts. Being recognized by Winfrey often means a million additional book sales for an author.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/23/books/23oprah.html?scp=1&sq=%22oprah%27s+book+club%22&st=nyt "Oprah's Book Club to Add Contemporary Writers"] ''[[The New York Times]]'' article. September 23, 2005. Retrieved September 18, 2010.</ref> In ''Reading with Oprah: The Book Club that Changed America'' (2005), Kathleen Rooney describes Winfrey as "a serious American intellectual who pioneered the use of electronic media, specifically television and the Internet, to take reading – a decidedly non-technological and highly individual act – and highlight its social elements and uses in such a way to motivate millions of erstwhile non-readers to pick up books."
 
When author [[Jonathan Franzen]]'s book was selected for the Book Club, he reportedly "cringed" and said selected books tend to be "schmaltzy".<ref>{{cite web|last=Elliot|first=Jane|url=http://bitchmagazine.org/article/franzen|title=Jonathan Franzen and Oprah|work=Bitchmagazine.org|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> After [[James Frey]]'s ''[[A Million Little Pieces]]'' was found to contain fabrications in 2006, Winfrey confronted him on her show over the breach of trust. In 2009, Winfrey apologized to Frey for the public confrontation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/News/Oprah-Apologizes-Author-1006075.aspx|title=Oprah Apologizes to Author James Frey|work=TV Guide|access-date=May 14, 2009}}</ref> During a show about [[mad cow disease]] with [[Howard Lyman]] (aired on April 16, 1996), Winfrey said she was stopped cold from eating another burger. Texas cattlemen sued her and Lyman in early 1998 for "false defamation of perishable food" and "business disparagement," claiming that Winfrey's remarks sent cattle prices tumbling, costing beef producers $11&nbsp;million. Winfrey was represented by attorney [[Chip Babcock]] and, on February 26, after a two-month trial in an [[Amarillo, Texas]], court, a jury found Winfrey and Lyman were not liable for damages.<ref>{{cite news|title=Oprah: 'Free speech rocks'|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9802/26/oprah.verdict/|publisher=CNN|date=February 26, 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006060345/http://www.cnn.com/US/9802/26/oprah.verdict/|archive-date=October 6, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sandusky jury has strong Penn State ties |first1=Susan|last1=Snyder |first2=Jeremy |last2=Roebuck |url=http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-09/news/32125098_1_judge-john-m-cleland-jury-room-sandusky-jury |work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=June 9, 2012 |access-date=July 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061809/http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-09/news/32125098_1_judge-john-m-cleland-jury-room-sandusky-jury |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> During the lawsuit, Winfrey hired [[Phil McGraw]]'s company [[Phil McGraw#Oprah Winfrey and the Dr. Phil show|Courtroom Sciences, Inc.]] to help her analyze and read the jury.<ref>[http://networthcity.com/oprah-winfrey-net-worth/ "Oprah Winfrey Net Worth – From Abused Little Girl to a Powerful Woman"], NetWorthCity.com. Retrieved May 25, 2014.</ref> Winfrey's ability to launch other successful talk shows such as ''[[Dr. Phil (TV series)|Dr. Phil]]'', ''[[The Dr. Oz Show]]'', and ''[[Rachael Ray (talk show)|Rachael Ray]]'' has also been cited as examples of "The Oprah Effect".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.accesshollywood.com/the-oprah-effect-how-oprahs-endorsement-helps-companies_article_18508|title='The Oprah Effect' – How Oprah's Endorsement Helps Companies|date=May 27, 2009|access-date=February 23, 2011|publisher=Access Hollywood}}</ref>
 
===Politics===
Matthew Baum and Angela Jamison performed an experiment testing their hypothesis, "Politically unaware individuals who consume [[Soft media|soft news]] will be more likely to vote consistently than their counterparts who do not consume soft news".<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Baum|first1=Matthew A.|last2=Jamison|first2=Angela S.|year=2006|title=The Oprah Effect: How Soft News Helps Inattentive Citizens Vote Consistently|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=68|issue=4|pages=946–959|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2508.2006.00482.x|s2cid=32777635}}</ref> In their studies, they found that low-awareness individuals who watch soft news shows, such as ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' are 14% more likely to vote consistently than low-awareness individuals who only watch hard news.<ref name=":0" />
 
[[File:Oprah Winfrey with Barack and Michelle Obama.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Winfrey joins [[Barack Obama|Barack]] and [[Michelle Obama]] on the campaign trail (December 10, 2007)]]
Winfrey states she is a political independent who has "earned the right to think for myself and to vote for myself".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/01/oprah-winfrey-stacey-abrams/1846850002/|title=Oprah Winfrey says if you don't vote, you are 'dishonoring your family' at Stacey Abrams rally|work=USA Today}}</ref> [[Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Barack Obama|She endorsed presidential candidate]] [[Barack Obama]] in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3565754&page=1|title=Can the Oprah Effect Make Obama President?|date=September 6, 2007|access-date=February 23, 2011|publisher=[[ABC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/the-oprah-effec.html|title=The Oprah Effect on Obama|date=August 6, 2008|access-date=February 23, 2011|publisher=ABC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011083652/http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/the-oprah-effec.html|archive-date=October 11, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/08/the-oprah-effect-one-mill_n_117685.html|title=The Oprah Effect: One Million Votes, Study Says|date=August 8, 2008|access-date=February 23, 2011|website=HuffPost}}</ref> On September 25, 2006, Winfrey made her first endorsement of Obama for [[President of the United States|president]] on ''[[Larry King Live]]'', the first time she endorsed a political candidate running for office.<ref>{{cite news|last=Zeleny|first=Jeff|date=May 3, 2007|title=Oprah Endorses Obama|work=The New York Times|url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/oprah-endorses-obama-2/}}</ref> Two economists estimate that Winfrey's endorsement was worth over a million votes in the [[2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries|Democratic primary race]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Levitt|first=Steven D.|date=August 6, 2008|title=So Much for One Person, One Vote|work=The New York Times|url=http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/so-much-for-one-person-one-vote/|access-date=May 7, 2010}}</ref> and that without it, Obama would have lost the nomination.<ref>[http://www.econ.umd.edu/~garthwaite/celebrityendorsements_garthwaitemoore.pdf The Role of Celebrity Endorsements in Politics: Oprah, Obama, and the 2008 Democratic Primary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205214204/http://www.econ.umd.edu/~garthwaite/celebrityendorsements_garthwaitemoore.pdf |date=February 5, 2009 }}.</ref> Winfrey held a fundraiser for Obama on September 8, 2007, at her [[Santa Barbara County, California|Santa Barbara]] estate. In December 2007, Winfrey joined Obama for a series of rallies in the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. The [[Columbia, South Carolina]], event on December 9, 2007, drew a crowd of nearly 30,000, the largest for any political event of 2007.<ref>{{cite web|last=Anburajan|first=Aswini|url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/12/09/506930.aspx|title=About 30,000 see Obama-Oprah In SC|publisher=NBC News|date=December 9, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210125348/http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/12/09/506930.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 10, 2007|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> An analysis by two economists at the [[University of Maryland, College Park]] estimated that Winfrey's endorsement was responsible for between 420,000 and 1,600,000 votes for Obama in the Democratic primary alone, based on a sample of states that did not include Texas, Michigan, North Dakota, Kansas, or Alaska. The results suggest that in the sampled states, Winfrey's endorsement was responsible for the difference in the popular vote between Barack Obama and [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~gelman/stuff_for_blog/celebrityendorsements_garthwaitemoore.pdf|title=The Role of Celebrity Endorsements in Politics: Oprah, Obama, and the 2008 Democratic Primary|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> The governor of Illinois, [[Rod Blagojevich]], reported being so impressed by Winfrey's endorsement that he considered offering Winfrey Obama's vacant senate seat, describing Winfrey as "the most instrumental person in electing Barack Obama president," with "a voice larger than all 100 senators combined".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,485046,00.html|title=Blagojevich on 'Glenn Beck'|publisher=Fox News Channel|date=January 29, 2009|access-date=August 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207105509/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,485046,00.html|archive-date=February 7, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Winfrey responded by stating that although she was absolutely not interested, she did feel she could be a senator.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/26/oprah-blagojevich-respons_n_160906.html|title=I Think I Could Be Senator Too|date=January 26, 2009|work=HuffPost|access-date=September 17, 2010}}</ref> The [[Topps]] trading card company memorialized Oprah's involvement in the campaign by featuring her on a card in a set commemorating Obama's road to the White House.<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 20, 2009|title=President Obama Trading Card Set|url=https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/obama-card-set-providing-industry-boost/|access-date=March 29, 2021|website=Sports Collectors Daily|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
In April 2014, Winfrey spoke for more than 20 minutes at a [[fundraising|fundraiser]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington, Virginia]], for Lavern Chatman, a candidate in a [[Primary election|primary]] to nominate a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] candidate for election to the  [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]].  Winfrey participated in the event even after reports had revealed that Chatman had been found liable in 2001 for her role in a scheme to defraud hundreds of [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] nursing-home employees of at least $1.4 million in owed wages.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news|last1=Andrews |first1=Helena |author-link=Helena Andrews |last2=Heil |first2=Emily |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/wp/2014/04/07/oprah-attends-fundraiser-for-arlington-candidate-lavern-chatman/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422110428/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/wp/2014/04/07/oprah-attends-fundraiser-for-arlington-candidate-lavern-chatman/ |archive-date=April 22, 2014 |url-status=live |date=April 7, 2014 |title=Oprah attends fundraiser for Arlington candidate Lavern Chatman |newspaper=The Washington Post |publisher=The Reliable Source |access-date=April 18, 2014 }}</ref>
 
Winfrey endorsed [[Hillary Clinton]] in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 election]], and referred to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate [[Donald Trump]] as a "demagogue".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/oprah-winfrey-on-clinton-230148|title=Oprah: 'You don't have to like her'|first=Nolan|last=McCaskill|date=October 26, 2016|work=Politico}}</ref> In 2018, Winfrey canvassed door-to-door for [[Georgia gubernatorial election, 2018|Georgia gubernatorial]] Democratic nominee [[Stacey Abrams]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.com/politics/oprah-winfrey-campaigns-stacey-abrams-georgia-not-running-president/|title=Knock Knock — It's Oprah! Winfrey Campaigns for Stacey Abrams as Mogul Says She Won't Run in 2020|work=People}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/01/politics/oprah-stacey-abrams-call-to-vote/index.html|title=Stumping for Abrams, Oprah makes impassioned plea for turnout|date=November 2018|publisher=CNN}}</ref> and donated $500,000 to the [[March for Our Lives]] student demonstration in favor of gun control in the United States.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/20/entertainment/oprah-march-for-our-lives-donation/index.html | title= Oprah, Steven Spielberg also donating to March For Our Lives, following George Clooney's pledge | publisher=CNN | first=Sandra | last=Gonzalez | date=February 21, 2018 | access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>
 
Winfrey has at times been the subject of media speculation that she may run for president herself, most notably in the lead-up to the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 election]] in which some reports claimed that she was actively considering launching a campaign for the [[2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries|Democratic nomination]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/01/08/media/oprah-golden-globes/index.html|title=Sources: Oprah Winfrey 'actively thinking' about running for president|first=Brian|last=Stelter|date=January 8, 2018|publisher=CNN}}</ref> Winfrey ultimately denied any plans to run for president, saying in 2018 that while it was "a humbling thing to have people think you can run the country", she "would not be able to do it. It's not a clean business. It would kill me."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/03/entertainment/oprah-winfrey-vogue-trnd/index.html|first1=Elizabeth|last1=Elkin|first2=Brandon|last2=Griggs|date=July 3, 2018|website=CNN | title=Oprah Winfrey tells Vogue that a 2020 presidential run would "kill me" }}</ref> Winfrey suggested that she would publicly endorse a candidate in the 2020 Democratic primaries, however she ultimately did not do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=Oprah 'quietly figuring out' how to wield her political clout in 2020|title=The Latest: Winfrey boosts Biden at get-out-the-vote event|date=May 1, 2019|publisher=Reuters}}</ref> She later campaigned for [[Joe Biden]] during the general election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/latest-trump-supporters-delayed-cold-rally-73878759|title=The Latest: Winfrey boosts Biden at get-out-the-vote event|date=October 29, 2020|publisher=ABC News}}</ref>
 
In early 2018, Winfrey met with [[Mohammad bin Salman]], the crown prince and de facto ruler of [[Saudi Arabia]], when he visited the United States.<ref>"[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/saudi-prince-mohammed-us-tour-hollywood-harvard-silicon-valley-dwayne-johnson-rupert-murdoch-oprah-a8293456.html Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman toured Hollywood, Harvard and Silicon Valley on US visit]". ''The Independent''. April 7, 2018.</ref>
 
===Spiritual leadership===
In 2000, she was awarded the [[Spingarn Medal]] from the [[NAACP]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naacp.org/pages/spingarn-medal-winners |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707184346/http://www.naacp.org/pages/spingarn-medal-winners |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 7, 2010 |title=NAACP Spingarn Medal |publisher=Naacp.org |access-date=August 22, 2014}}</ref> In 2002, ''[[Christianity Today]]'' published an article called "The Church of O" in which they concluded that Winfrey had emerged as an influential spiritual leader. "Since 1994, when she abandoned traditional talk-show fare for more edifying content, and 1998, when she began 'Change Your Life TV', Oprah's most significant role has become that of a spiritual leader. To her audience of more than 22 million mostly female viewers, she has become a postmodern priestess—an icon of church-free spirituality."<ref Name="Church of O"/> The sentiment was echoed by Marcia Z. Nelson in her book ''The Gospel According to Oprah''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/books/jej_marciaznelson1105.aspx|title=Books – Marcia Z. Nelson: 'The Gospel According to Oprah'|publisher=Cbn.com|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> Since the mid-1990s, Winfrey's show has emphasized uplifting and inspirational topics and themes and some viewers say the show has motivated them to perform acts of altruism such as helping [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese]] women and building an orphanage.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/opinion/04kristof.html?_r=1 "From 'Oprah' to Building a Sisterhood in Congo"], ''The New York Times''. February 3, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2010.</ref> A scientific study by psychological scientists at the University of Cambridge, [[University of Plymouth]], and [[University of California]] used an uplifting clip from The Oprah Winfrey Show in an experiment that discovered that watching the 'uplifting' clip caused subjects to become twice as helpful as subjects assigned to watch a British comedy or nature documentary.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 4, 2010 |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/spirituality/self-help/A-positive-elevating-emotion/articleshow/5535211.cms |title=A positive 'elevating' emotion |work=The Times of India |access-date=August 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214221252/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/spirituality/self-help/A-positive-elevating-emotion/articleshow/5535211.cms |archive-date=February 14, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emaxhealth.com/1020/7/35392/elevation-has-positive-effect-promotes-altruistic-behavior.html|title=Emaxhealth.com|publisher=Emaxhealth.com|date=February 4, 2010|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref>
 
In 1998, Winfrey began an ongoing conversation with [[Gary Zukav]], an American spiritual teacher, who appeared on her television show 35 times.<ref name=PubWeekly>{{cite journal|title=Zukav Rides Oprah's Spiritual Wave|journal=Publishers Weekly|date=October 26, 1998}}</ref> Winfrey has said she keeps a copy of Zukav's ''The Seat of the Soul'' at her bedside, a book that she says is one of her all-time favorites.<ref name=OprahWinfreyShow>{{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Forging-a-Spiritual-Relationship|title=Forging a Spiritual Relationship|publisher=Harpo Productions|date=January 24, 2007}}</ref>
 
On the season premiere of Winfrey's 13th season, [[Roseanne Barr]] told Winfrey "you're the African Mother Goddess of us all" inspiring much enthusiasm from the studio audience. The animated series ''[[Futurama]]'' alluded to her spiritual influence by suggesting that "Oprahism" is a mainstream religion in 3000&nbsp;AD.<ref name="Gospel">{{cite book|last=Pinsky|first=Mark|title=The Gospel According to the Simpsons. Bigger and possibly even Better! edition|orig-year=2003|isbn=978-0-664-23265-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/gospelaccordingt0000pins/page/229 229–235]|year=2007|publisher=Gardners Books|url=https://archive.org/details/gospelaccordingt0000pins/page/229}}</ref> Twelve days after the [[September 11 attacks]], New York mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]] asked Winfrey to serve as host of a Prayer for America service at New York City's [[Yankee Stadium]], which was attended by former president [[Bill Clinton]] and New York senator [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2001/US/09/23/vic.yankee.service.report/index.html|title=Prayer service: 'We shall not be moved'|date=September 23, 2011|access-date=February 23, 2011|last=Anderson|first=Porter|publisher=CNN|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309153753/http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2001/US/09/23/vic.yankee.service.report/index.html|archive-date=March 9, 2012}}</ref> Leading up to the U.S.-led [[2001 invasion of Afghanistan]], less than a month after the September 11 attacks, Winfrey aired a controversial show called "Islam 101" in which she portrayed Islam as a [[religion of peace]], calling it "the most misunderstood of the three major religions".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://old.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-dreher100801.shtml |title=Islam According to Oprah: Is Oprah Winfrey a threat to national security? |last=Dreher |first=Rod |date=October 8, 2001 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |work=[[National Review]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528022249/http://old.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-dreher100801.shtml |archive-date=May 28, 2011}}</ref> In 2002, [[George W. Bush]] invited Winfrey to join a US delegation that included adviser [[Karen Hughes]] and [[Condoleezza Rice]], planning to go to Afghanistan to celebrate the return of Afghan girls to school. The "Oprah strategy" was designed to portray the [[War on Terror]] in a positive light; however, when Winfrey refused to participate, the trip was postponed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/Entertainment/SouthAfrica/No-thanks-Oprah-tells-Bush-20020330|title=No thanks, Oprah tells Bush|publisher=News24|date=March 30, 2002|access-date=May 27, 2011}}</ref>
 
Leading up to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|U.S.-led invasion]] of Iraq, Winfrey's show received criticism for allegedly having an [[anti-war]] bias. [[Ben Shapiro]] of [[Townhall.com]] wrote: "Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in America. She decides what makes ''The New York Times'' Best Seller lists. Her touchy-feely style sucks in audiences at the rate of 14 million viewers per day. But Oprah is far more than a cultural force, she's a dangerous political force as well, a woman with unpredictable and mercurial attitudes toward the major issues of the day."<ref>{{cite news|last=Shapiro|first=Ben|title=The Oprah schnook club|date=March 19, 2003|publisher=Townhall.com|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/BenShapiro/2003/03/19/the_oprah_schnook_club}}</ref> In 2006, Winfrey recalled such controversies: "I once did a show titled ''Is War the Only Answer?'' In the history of my career, I've never received more hate mail – like 'Go back to Africa' hate mail. I was accused of being un-American for even raising the question."<ref>''O, The Oprah Magazine'', October 2006 pg. 367<!-- publisher needed --></ref> Filmmaker [[Michael Moore]] came to Winfrey's defense, praising her for showing antiwar footage no other media would show<ref>Moore (2003) pg. 87</ref> and begging her to run for president.<ref>Moore (2003) pp. 255–58</ref>
 
A February 2003 series, in which Winfrey showed clips from people all over the world asking America not to go to war, was interrupted in several East Coast markets by network broadcasts of a press conference in which President [[George W. Bush]] and [[Colin Powell]] summarized the case for war.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fletcher|first=Dan|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1939460_1939452_1939457,00.html|title=Top 10 Oprah Controversies|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091119125754/https://time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1939460_1939452_1939457,00.html|archive-date=November 19, 2009|url-status=dead |magazine=Time|date=November 13, 2009|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=President Bush: "World Can Rise to This Moment"|publisher=Office of the [[White House Press Secretary]]|date=February 6, 2003|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030206-17.html|access-date=August 25, 2008}}</ref>
 
In 2007, Winfrey began to endorse the self-help program ''[[The Secret (2006 film)|The Secret]]''. ''The Secret'' claims that people can change their lives through positive thoughts or 'vibrations', which will then cause them to attract more positive vibrations that result in good things happening to them. Peter Birkenhead of ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]'' magazine argued that this idea is [[pseudoscience]] and psychologically damaging, as it trivializes important decisions and promotes a quick-fix material culture, and suggests Winfrey's promotion of it is irresponsible given her influence.<ref>Birkenhead, Peter. [http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/03/05/the_secret/ Oprah's ugly secret], ''Salon Life'', March 5, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2008.</ref> In 2007, skeptic and magician [[James Randi]] accused Winfrey of being deliberately deceptive and uncritical in how she handles paranormal claims on her show.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://randi.org/jr/2007-03/030207harpo.html#i1|title=An Oprah Fiasco|last=Randi|first=James|work=Swift|date=March 2, 2007|publisher=Randi.org|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> In 2008, Winfrey endorsed author and spiritual teacher [[Eckhart Tolle]] and his book, ''[[A New Earth|A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose]]'', which sold several million extra copies after being selected for her book club. During a Webinar class, in which she promoted the book, Winfrey stated "God is a feeling experience and not a believing experience. If your religion is a believing experience [...] then that's not truly God."<ref name=ChPost2008-04-23>{{cite news|title=Oprah's 'Church' Video Draws Over 5 Million to YouTube|work=The Christian Post|date=April 23, 2008|url=http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080423/oprah-s-church-video-draws-over-5-million-to-youtube.htm|access-date=April 23, 2008}}</ref> [[Frank Pastore]], a Christian radio talk show host on KKLA, was among the many Christian leaders who criticized Winfrey's views, saying "if she's a Christian, she's an ignorant one because Christianity is incompatible with [[New Age]] thought".<ref name=ChPost2008-04-23/>
 
Winfrey was named as the 2008 Person of the Year by animal-rights group [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]] (PETA) for using her fame and listening audience to help the less fortunate, including animals. PETA praised Winfrey for using her talk show to uncover horrific cases of cruelty to animals in [[puppy mill]]s and on [[intensive animal farming|factory farms]], and Winfrey even used the show to highlight the cruelty-free vegan diet that she tried.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET_Cetera/Oprah_Winfrey_named_PETAs_Person_of_the_Year/articleshow/3867001.cms|title= Oprah Winfrey named PETA's 'Person of the Year'|work=The Times of India|date=December 20, 2008|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref>
 
[[File:Oprah Winfrey in Strøget, Denmark on 30 September 2009.jpg|thumb|Winfrey filming in Denmark in 2009]]
 
In 2009, Winfrey filmed a series of interviews in Denmark highlighting its citizens as the happiest people in the world. In 2010, [[Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]] of Fox News criticized these shows for promoting a left-wing society.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583149,00.html|title=Foxnews.com|publisher=Fox News Channel|date=January 15, 2010|access-date=August 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605221359/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583149,00.html|archive-date=June 5, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Following the launch of the ''[[Super Soul Sunday]]'' and ''SuperSoul Sessions'' programs on [[Harpo Productions|Harpo Productions']] SuperSoul TV, in 2016 Winfrey selected 100 people for the ''SuperSoul 100'' list of "innovators and visionaries who are aligned on a mission to move humanity forward".<ref>{{cite news |date=August 1, 2016 |title=Meet the SuperSoul100: The World's Biggest Trailblazers in One Room |url=http://www.oprah.com/spirit/supersoul100-the-worlds-biggest-trailblazers-in-one-room |work= O Magazine|access-date=July 5, 2018 |quote="the SuperSoul 100—innovators and visionaries who are aligned on a mission to move humanity forward"}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.supersoul.tv/category/supersoul-100/the-complete-list|title=THE COMPLETE LIST: A COLLECTION OF 100 AWAKENED LEADERS WHO ARE USING THEIR VOICES AND TALENT TO ELEVATE HUMANITY |author=<!--Not stated--> |year=2018 |website=supersoul.tv|publisher=[[Harpo Productions]]|access-date=July 21, 2018}}</ref>
 
On using the [[Nigger#The N-word euphemism|N-word]], Winfrey said, "You cannot be my friend and use that word around me. ... I always think of the...people who heard that as their last word as they were [[lynching|hanging from a tree]]."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.parade.com/58556/katherineheintzelman/oprah-winfrey-forest-whitaker-talk-lee-daniels-the-butler-racism-and-the-n-word/|title=Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker Talk Lee Daniels' The Butler, Racism, and the N-word|magazine=[[Parade (magazine)|Parade]]|date=July 31, 2013}}</ref>
 
===Fan base===
The viewership for ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' was highest during the 1991–92 season, when about 13.1 million U.S. viewers were watching each day. By 2003, ratings declined to 7.4 million daily viewers.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,89493,00.html|publisher=Fox News Channel|title=Jane Pauley to Go Head-to-Head With Oprah|date=December 1, 2011|access-date=April 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513180052/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,89493,00.html|archive-date=May 13, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ratings briefly rebounded to approximately 9 million in 2005 and then declined again to around 7.3&nbsp;million viewers in 2008, though it remained the highest rated talk show.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cockcroft|first=Lucy|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2037083/Oprah-Winfrey-Show-suffers-ratings-slump.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529074820/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2037083/Oprah-Winfrey-Show-suffers-ratings-slump.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 29, 2008|title=Oprah Winfrey Show suffers ratings slump – Telegraph|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=UK|access-date=November 30, 2008|date=May 27, 2008}}</ref>
 
In 2008, Winfrey's show was airing in 140 countries internationally and seen by an estimated 46&nbsp;million people in the US weekly.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSN0329753620080903|title=Oprah throws party for U.S. Olympic medalists|work=Reuters|date=September 3, 2008|access-date=November 30, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=James|last=MacIntyre|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/oprah-earns-pound128m-to-lead-tv-earnings-403883.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/oprah-earns-pound128m-to-lead-tv-earnings-403883.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Oprah earns £128m to lead TV earnings|work=The Independent|location=UK|access-date=November 30, 2008|date=September 29, 2007}}</ref> According to the [[Harris poll]], Winfrey was America's favorite television personality in 1998, 2000, 2002–06, and 2009. Winfrey was especially popular among women, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], political moderates, [[Baby Boomer]]s, [[Generation X]], Southern Americans, and East Coast Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris-Interactive-Poll-Research-Entertainment-Television-Oprah-2010-01.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717202446/http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris-Interactive-Poll-Research-Entertainment-Television-Oprah-2010-01.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 17, 2011|title=Oprah Regains Her Position as America's Favorite Television Personality|publisher=Harris Interactive|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref>
 
Outside the U.S., Winfrey has become increasingly popular in the [[Arab world]]. ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported in 2007 that [[MBC 4 (Middle East)|MBC 4]], an Arab satellite channel, centered its entire programming around reruns of her show because it was drawing record numbers of female viewers in [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref>''NewsMax'', May 2007, p. 65.</ref> In 2008, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', with Arabic subtitles, was broadcast twice each weekday on [[MBC 4 (Middle East)|MBC 4]]. Winfrey's modest dress, combined with her attitude of triumph over adversity and abuse has caused some women in Saudi Arabia to idealize her.<ref>{{cite news|last=Zoepf|first=Katherine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/world/middleeast/19oprah.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1|title=Dammam Journal – Saudi Women Find an Unlikely Role Model – Oprah|work=The New York Times|date=September 18, 2008|access-date=November 30, 2008}}</ref>
 
===Philanthropy===
[[File:FEMA - 15330 - Photograph by Andrea Booher taken on 09-09-2005 in Texas.jpg|thumb|Winfrey visits evacuees from [[New Orleans]] temporarily sheltered at the Reliant center in Houston following [[Hurricane Katrina]]]]
 
In 2004, Winfrey became the first black person to rank among the 50 most generous Americans<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-11-28/online-extra-a-talk-with-oprah-winfrey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830064940/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-11-28/online-extra-a-talk-with-oprah-winfrey |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 30, 2012 |title=Online Extra: A Talk with Oprah Winfrey |magazine=Bloomberg BusinessWeek |date=November 28, 2004 |access-date=August 22, 2014 }}</ref> and she remained among the top 50 until 2010.<ref>[http://philanthropy.com/article/The-Philanthropy-50-Americans/64019/ Top 50 2010], January 11, 2012.</ref> By 2012, she had given away about $400 million to educational causes.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2012/09/18/the-education-of-oprah-winfrey-how-she-saved-her-south-african-school/2/ |work=Forbes |first=Clare |last=O'Connor |title=The Education Of Oprah Winfrey: How She Saved Her South African School}}</ref>
 
As of 2012, Winfrey had also given over 400 scholarships to [[Morehouse College]] in Atlanta, Georgia.<ref name="forbes.com"/> Winfrey was the recipient of the first [[Bob Hope Humanitarian Award]] at the 2002 [[Emmy Awards]] for services to television and film. To celebrate two decades on national TV, and to thank her employees for their hard work, Winfrey took her staff and their families (1,065 people in total) on vacation to Hawaii in the summer of 2006.<ref name="Oprah's Back">{{cite web|last=Boykin|first=Keith|title=Oprah's Back|publisher=keithboykin.com|date=September 19, 2006|url=http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2006/09/19/oprahs_back|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061101021534/http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2006/09/19/oprahs_back|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 1, 2006|access-date=August 25, 2008}}</ref>
 
In 2013, Winfrey donated $12 million to the [[National Museum of African American History and Culture|Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Oprah Winfrey donates $12 million to Smithsonian|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/oprah-winfrey-donates-12-million-to-smithsonian/2013/06/11/3fe63b4a-d20c-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 11, 2013|date=June 12, 2013}}</ref> President [[Barack Obama]] awarded her the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] later that same year.<ref name="Medal of Honor">{{cite news|title=Obama awards Medal of Freedom to Clinton, Oprah, others|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/11/20/obama-clinton-oprah-winfrey-dean-smith-ernie-banks/3650113/|work=USA Today|access-date=November 20, 2013|first1=David|last1=Jackson|date=November 20, 2013}}</ref>
 
====Oprah's Angel Network====
In 1998, Winfrey created the [[Oprah's Angel Network]], a charity that supported charitable projects and provided grants to nonprofit organizations around the world. Oprah's Angel Network raised more than $80 million ($1&nbsp;million of which was donated by [[Jon Bon Jovi]]). Winfrey personally covered all administrative costs associated with the charity, so 100% of all funds raised went to charity programs. In May 2010, with Oprah's show ending, the charity stopped accepting donations and was shut down.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/26/oprah-winfreys-angel-netw_n_590941.html|title=Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network Charity To Close Down|date=May 26, 2010|work=HuffPost|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529175959/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/26/oprah-winfreys-angel-netw_n_590941.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 29, 2010|access-date=February 24, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://oprahsangelnetwork.org/how-to-help/thank-you-donors|title=How to Help – Thank You to Our Donors|date=May 24, 2010|publisher=Opera's Angel Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809132838/http://oprahsangelnetwork.org/how-to-help/thank-you-donors|archive-date=August 9, 2011|access-date=February 24, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
In the wake of [[Hurricane Katrina]], Oprah created the Oprah Angel Network Katrina registry which raised more than $11&nbsp;million for relief efforts. Winfrey personally gave $10&nbsp;million to the cause.<ref name="LAStarz">{{cite web|last=Mirabella|first=Linda|title=Cash Donations, Benefit Concerts, Celebrity Auctions and Celebrity Volunteers to Benefit Victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita|publisher=LAStarz|url=http://www.la-starz.com/HurricaneKatrina_CelebrityEfforts.html|access-date=August 25, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622181458/http://www.la-starz.com/HurricaneKatrina_CelebrityEfforts.html|archive-date=June 22, 2008}}</ref> Homes were built in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama before the one-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/article/angelnetwork/uyl_katrina_main/1|title=Building Oprah Katrina Homes|publisher=Oprah.com|date=January 15, 2006|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref>
 
====South Africa====
{{Main|Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls}}
In 2004, Winfrey and her team filmed an episode of her show, ''Oprah's Christmas Kindness'', in which Winfrey travelled to South Africa to bring attention to the plight of young children affected by poverty and AIDS. During the 21-day trip, Winfrey and her crew visited schools and orphanages in poverty-stricken areas, and distributed Christmas presents to 50,000 children,<ref Name="Christmas Kindness">{{cite web|title=Christmas Kindness|publisher=Harpo Productions|url=http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/ChristmasKindness-Inspiration|access-date=September 18, 2010}}</ref> with dolls for the girls and soccer balls for the boys, and school supplies. Throughout the show, Winfrey appealed to viewers to donate money to Oprah's Angel Network for poor and AIDS-affected children in Africa. From that show alone, viewers around the world donated over $7 million. Winfrey invested $40&nbsp;million and some of her time establishing the [[Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls]] in [[Henley on Klip]] south of [[Johannesburg]], South Africa. The school set over 22 acres, opened in January 2007 with an enrollment of 150 pupils (increasing to 450) and features state-of-the-art classrooms, computer and science laboratories, a library, theatre, and beauty salon. [[Nelson Mandela]] praised Winfrey for overcoming her own disadvantaged youth to become a benefactor for others. Critics considered the school elitist and unnecessarily luxurious.<ref name=timesonline>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1288597.ece|location=London|work=The Times|first1=Elsa|last1=McLaren|title=Oprah Winfrey opens school for poor South African girls|date=January 2, 2007}}</ref> Winfrey rejected the claims, saying: "If you are surrounded by beautiful things and wonderful teachers who inspire you, that beauty brings out the beauty in you."<ref name=timesonline /> Winfrey, who has no surviving biological children, described maternal feelings towards the girls at Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.<ref Name="Samuels">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/01/07/oprah-goes-to-school.html|title=Oprah goes to school|last=Samuels|first=Allison|work=Newsweek|date=January 8, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913121426/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/01/07/oprah-goes-to-school.html|archive-date=September 13, 2011|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Jeff|last=Koinange|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/01/05/btsc.koinange/index.html|title=CNN.com|publisher=CNN|date=January 8, 2007|access-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> Winfrey teaches a class at the school via satellite.<ref Name="Samuels"/>
 
==Filmography==
{{BLP sources section|date=January 2018}}
{{main|Media works of Oprah Winfrey}}
 
===As actress===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
! style="width:160px;"|Title
!Role
!class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1985
| ''[[The Color Purple (1985 film)|The Color Purple]]''
| Sofia
|Film debut<br />Nominated – [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]<br />Nominated – [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]<br />Nominated – [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress]]
|-
| 1986
| ''[[Native Son (1986 film)|Native Son]]''
| Mrs. Thomas
|
|-
| 1989
| ''[[The Women of Brewster Place (miniseries)|The Women of Brewster Place]]''
| Mattie Michael
|Television miniseries
|-
|1990
| ''[[Brewster Place]]''
| Mattie Michael
|Television series
|-
|rowspan=2|1992
| ''Lincoln''
| [[Elizabeth Keckley]]
|Voice role; television movie ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]])
|-
| ''[[There Are No Children Here]]''
| LaJoe Rivers
|Television movie (ABC)
|-
|rowspan=2|1997
| ''[[Ellen (TV series)|Ellen]]''
| Therapist
|"[[The Puppy Episode]]: Part 1" (#4.22)<br />"The Puppy Episode: Part 2" (#4.23)
|-
| ''[[Before Women Had Wings]]''
| Zora Williams
|Also producer<br />Television movie (ABC)
|-
|1998
| ''[[Beloved (1998 film)|Beloved]]''
| Sethe
|Also producer<br />Nominated – [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture]]
|-
|1999
| ''[[Our Friend, Martin]]''
| [[Coretta Scott King]]
|Voice role; direct-to-video film
|-
|2006
| ''[[Charlotte's Web (2006 film)|Charlotte's Web]]''
| Gussy the Goose
| rowspan=3|Voice role
|-
|2007
| ''[[Bee Movie]]''
| Judge Bumbleton
|-
|2009
| ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]''
| Eudora
|-
|2010
| ''[[Sesame Street]]''
| O (voice)
| "The Camouflage Challenge"
|-
|2013
| ''[[The Butler]]''
|Gloria Gaines
|[[African-American Film Critics Association|African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress]]<br />[[Santa Barbara International Film Festival|Santa Barbara International Film Festival — Montecito Award]]<br />Nominated – [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]<br />Nominated – [[Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress]]<br />Nominated – [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress]]<br />Nominated – Denver Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated – [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture]]<br />Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated – [[Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]<br />Nominated – [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role]]<br />Nominated – [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture]]
|-
|2014
| ''[[Selma (film)|Selma]]''
|[[Annie Lee Cooper]]
|Also producer<br />[[Women Film Critics Circle|Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Female Action Star]]<br />Nominated – [[Academy Award for Best Picture]]<br />Nominated – [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Film]]<br />Nominated – [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture]]
|-
| 2016–17
|''[[Greenleaf (TV series)|Greenleaf]]''
| Mavis McCready
| Television series; also executive producer
|-
| rowspan=2|2017
| ''[[The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (film)|The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/oprah-winfrey-star-hbo-films-889379|title=Oprah Winfrey to Star in HBO Films' 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'|date=May 2, 2016|first=Kate|last=Stanhope|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=May 3, 2016}}</ref>
|[[Henrietta Lacks|Deborah Lacks]]
|Television movie; also executive producer<br />Nominated – [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special]]<br />Nominated – [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie]]
|-
| ''[[The Star (2017 film)|The Star]]''
| Deborah the Camel
| Voice role<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2017-movies-biggest-gambles-justice-league-mummy-960935/item/sony-what-watch-2017-960933|title=Studios' 2017 Forecast: Big Bets, Franchise Fears and Executive Intrigue|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=January 5, 2017|access-date=January 11, 2017}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan=2| 2018
| ''[[A Wrinkle in Time (2018 film)|A Wrinkle in Time]]''
| Mrs. Which
|
|-
| ''Crow: The Legend''
| The One Who Creates Everything by Thinking
|rowspan=2| Voice role<ref>{{cite news |year=2018 |title=Crow: The Legend (2018)|url=https://www.baobabstudios.com/crow-the-legend |access-date=November 25, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="hand">{{cite news |last=Lauder |first=Ed |date=July 4, 2018 |title=The Handmaid's Tale Season Two: Oprah Winfrey's cameo sparks celebrity debate |url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/983624/The-Handmaid-s-Tale-Season-2-Spoilers-Oprah-Winfrey-Cameo-Elisabeth-Moss |work=Express |access-date=July 5, 2018 }}</ref>
|-
| 2018–19
| ''[[The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)|The Handmaid's Tale]]''
| Radio Free America Announcer
|}
 
===As herself===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
! style="width:160px;"|Title
!Role
!class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1986
| ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''
| Herself (host)
| Episode: "Oprah Winfrey/[[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]]"
|-
| 1986–2011
| ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]''
|rowspan=7| Herself
| Television talk show
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Throw Momma from the Train]]''
| Film
|-
| 1990
| ''[[Gabriel's Fire]]''
| Episode: "Tis the Season"
|-
| 1992
|''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]''
| Episode: "A Night at the Oprah"
|-
| 1995
| ''[[All-American Girl (TV series)|All-American Girl]]''
| Episode: "A Night at the Oprah"
|-
|rowspan=2|1999
|''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]''
| Episode: "Home Alone"
|-
|''[[The Hughleys]]''
| Episode: "Milsap Moves Up"
|-
| 2005
|''[[Desperate Housewives]]: Oprah Winfrey Is the New Neighbor''
| Herself, Karen Stouffer
| Segment for ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', aired February 3, 2005
|-
| 2007
| ''[[Ocean's Thirteen]]''
| Herself
| Film
|-
| 2008
| ''[[30 Rock]]''
| Herself/Pam
| Episode: "[[Believe in the Stars]]"
|-
| 2011–18
| ''[[Oprah's Master Class]]''
| rowspan="15" | Herself
| OWN reality show
|-
| 2011–14
| ''[[Oprah's Lifeclass]]''
| OWN self-help show
|-
| 2011–present
| ''[[Super Soul Sunday]]''
| OWN spirituality show
|-
| 2012–15
| ''[[Oprah Prime]]''
| OWN interview show
|-
| 2012–17
| ''[[Oprah: Where Are They Now?]]''
| OWN reality show
|-
| 2019
| ''[[A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood]]''
| Archive footage
|-
| 2019–present
| ''[[Oprah's Book Club (TV series)|Oprah's Book Club]]''
| [[Apple TV+]] book club show
|-
| 2020–present
| ''Oprah Talks [[COVID-19]]''
| Apple TV+ interview show
|-
| 2020–present
| ''The Oprah Conversation''
| Apple TV+ talk show
|-
| 2020
| ''[[Between the World and Me]]''
| HBO Special - adaptation of the book
|-
| rowspan=4| 2021
| ''[[Tina (2021 film)|Tina]]''
| Documentary
|-
| ''[[Oprah with Meghan and Harry]]''
| [[CBS]] Primetime Special
|-
| ''[[The Me You Can't See]]''
| Apple TV+ docuseries
|-
| ''[[Adele One Night Only]]''
| CBS Primetime Special
|-
| TBD
| ''Oprah Winfrey Documentary''
| Apple TV+<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 15, 2021|title=An Oprah Winfrey Documentary Is Being Produced For Release On Apple TV+|url=https://www.blackenterprise.com/an-oprah-winfrey-documentary-is-being-produced-for-release-on-apple-tv/|access-date=January 16, 2021|website=Black Enterprise|language=en-US}}</ref>
|}
 
===As producer only===
* 1989 – ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' (supervising producer – 8 episodes, 1989–2011)
* 1989 – ''[[The Women of Brewster Place (miniseries)|The Women of Brewster Place]]'' (TV miniseries) (executive producer)
* 1992 – ''Nine'' (TV documentary) (executive producer)
* 1992 – ''Overexposed'' (TV movie) (executive producer)
* 1993 – ''[[ABC Afterschool Special]]'' (TV series) (producer – 1 episode "Shades of a Single Protein") (producer)
* 1993 – ''Michael Jackson Talks to... Oprah Live'' (TV special) (executive producer)
* 1997 – ''[[Before Women Had Wings]]'' (TV movie) (producer)
* 1998 – ''[[The Wedding (miniseries)|The Wedding]]'' (TV miniseries) (executive producer)
* 1998 – ''[[Beloved (1998 film)|Beloved]]'' (producer)
* 1998 – ''[[David and Lisa]]'' (TV movie) (executive producer)
* 1999 – ''[[Tuesdays with Morrie (film)|Tuesdays with Morrie]]'' (TV movie) (executive producer)
* 2001 – ''Amy & Isabelle'' (TV movie) (executive producer, producer)
* 2002 – ''[[Oprah After the Show]]'' (TV series) (executive producer)
* 2005 – ''[[Their Eyes Were Watching God]]'' (TV movie) (executive producer)
* 2006 – ''Legends Ball'' (TV documentary) (executive producer)
* 2007 – ''[[Oprah's Big Give]]'' (TV series) (executive producer)
* 2007 – ''The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special'' (TV movie) (executive producer)
* 2007 – ''Building a Dream: The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy'' (TV documentary) (executive producer)
* 2007 – ''Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day'' (TV movie) (executive producer)
* 2007 – ''[[The Great Debaters]]'' (producer)
* 2009 – ''[[The Dr. Oz Show]]'' (TV series) (executive producer)
* 2009 – ''[[Precious (film)|Precious]]'' (executive producer)
* 2009 – ''Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special'' (TV special) (executive producer)
* 2010 – ''The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special'' (TV movie) (executive producer)
* 2011 – ''[[Your OWN Show]]'' (TV series) (executive producer)
* 2011 – ''Extraordinary Mom'' (TV documentary) (executive producer)
* 2011 – ''Serving Life'' (TV documentary) (executive producer)
* 2014 – ''[[The Hundred-Foot Journey (film)|The Hundred-Foot Journey]] ''(producer)
* 2014 – ''[[Selma (film)|Selma]] ''(producer)
* 2016–present – ''[[Queen Sugar]]''<ref name=ddl>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/02/oprah-winfrey-selma-filmmaker-ava-duvernay-queen-sugar-own-drama-series-1201364863/|title=Oprah Winfrey To Co-Star In & Co-Create With 'Selma' Filmmaker Ava DuVernay 'Queen Sugar' OWN Drama Series|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=February 2, 2015|access-date=February 2, 2015}}</ref> (co-creator and executive producer)
* 2016–2020 – ''[[Greenleaf (TV series)|Greenleaf]]'' (executive producer)
* 2017 – ''[[The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (film)|The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks]]'' (TV movie) (executive producer)
* 2018 – ''[[Love Is (TV series)|Love Is]]'' (executive producer)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vibe.com/2018/06/oprah-heartbreak-can-bring-joy-love-is-premiere/|title=Oprah On How Heartbreak Can Bring Joy At 'Love Is' Premiere|first=Shenequa|last=Golding|date=June 12, 2018|work=Vibe|access-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/love-is-premiere-oprah-winfrey-wanting-work-mara-brock-akil-1119447|title=Oprah Winfrey on Wanting to Work With Mara Brock Akil on 'Love Is'|first=Marc|last=Malkin|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=June 12, 2018|access-date=June 14, 2018|language=en}}</ref>
* 2019 – ''[[When They See Us]]'' (executive producer)
* 2019 – ''Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland'' (executive producer)
* 2019 – ''[[David Makes Man]]'' (executive producer)
* 2020 – ''[[The Water Man (film)|The Water Man]]'' (executive producer)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/03/david-oyelowo-the-water-man-directing-oprah-winfrey-ep-1202583417/|title=David Oyelowo Sets 'The Water Man' As Feature Directorial Debut With Oprah Winfrey As EP|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Amanda|last=N'Duka|date=March 27, 2019|access-date=August 25, 2020}}</ref>
* 2023 – ''[[The Color Purple (2023 film)|The Color Purple]]'' (producer)
 
==Bibliography==
'''By Oprah Winfrey'''
*Winfrey, Oprah (1996). ''The Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey: A Portrait in Her Own Words''
*Winfrey, Oprah (1998). ''Journey to Beloved'' (Photography by Ken Regan)
*Winfrey, Oprah (1998). ''Make the Connection: Ten Steps to a Better Body and a Better Life'' (co-authored with Bob Greene)
*Winfrey, Oprah (2000). ''Oprah Winfrey: The Soul and Spirit of a Superstar''
*Winfrey, Oprah (2014). ''What I Know for Sure''
*Winfrey, Oprah (2016). ''Mr. or Ms. Just Right'' (co-authored with B. Grace)
*Winfrey, Oprah (2017). ''Food, Health and Happiness''
*Winfrey, Oprah (2017). ''The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations''
**Winfrey, Oprah (2017). ''The Wisdom Journal: The Companion to The Wisdom of Sundays''
*Winfrey, Oprah (2019). ''The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose''
*Winfrey, Oprah (2021). ''What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing'' (co-authored with B. Perry)
 
'''About Oprah Winfrey'''
* Mair, George (2001). ''Oprah Winfrey: The Real Story''. Citadel Press. {{ISBN|1-55972-250-9}}.
* Cooper, Irene (2007). ''Oprah Winfrey''. Viking. {{ISBN|0-670-06162-X}}.
 
==Awards and honors==
{{main|List of awards and nominations received by Oprah Winfrey}}
 
==See also==
*[[African Americans in Mississippi]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{sisterlinks|d=Q55800|c=category:Oprah Winfrey|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|wikt=no|s=no}}
{{Commons category|Oprah Winfrey}}
* {{Official website}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb name|1856}}
* {{Official website|http://www.oprah.com/index}}
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124285128 NPR "Oprah: The Billionaire Everywoman". Audio file, video and biography]. Retrieved September 17, 2010
* {{Britannica|645317}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124285128 NPR "Oprah: The Billionaire Everywoman". Audio file, video and biography]. Accessed September 17, 2010
* {{OL author}}
* {{OL author}}
* [http://www.makers.com/oprah-winfrey Oprah Winfrey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216040131/http://www.makers.com/oprah-winfrey |date=February 16, 2013 }} Video produced by ''[[Makers: Women Who Make America]]''
* [http://www.makers.com/oprah-winfrey Oprah Winfrey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216040131/http://www.makers.com/oprah-winfrey |date=2013-02-16 }} Video produced by ''[[Makers: Women Who Make America]]''
* {{C-SPAN|21013}}
* {{C-SPAN|Oprah Winfrey}}
* ''[https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/watchingoprah  Watching Oprah]'' – Smithsonian exhibition on the ''Oprah Show'' and Winfrey


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{{Cecil B. DeMille Award}}
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{{Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Talk Show Host}}
{{International Emmy Founders Award}}
{{Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award}}
{{Jefferson Award Winners}}
{{Kennedy Center Honorees 2010s}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Entertainer of the Year}}
{{NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture}}
{{National Women's Hall of Fame}}
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{{TCA Career Achievement Award}}
{{1994 Television Hall of Fame}}
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[[Category:Women radio producers]]

Revision as of 04:50, 26 August 2022

Oprah Winfrey
Winfrey at the 2013 Women in the World Conference.
Born
Orpah Gail Winfrey[1]

(1954-01-29) January 29, 1954 (age 72)
Kosciusko, Mississippi, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materTennessee State University
Occupation
Years active1983–present
Net worthIncrease US $ 3 billion (September 2017)[3]
Political partyDemocratic Party
Partner(s)Stedman Graham (1986–present)
ChildrenCanaan (born c. 1968, died c. 1968)[4]
Websiteoprah.com
Signature

Oprah Winfrey (born Orpah Gail Winfrey;[1] January 29, 1954) is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist.[1] Winfrey is best known for her multi-award-winning talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show which was the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011. She has also acted in several movies including The Color Purple, The Butler and A Wrinkle in Time.[5]

Early life

Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Winfrey was named "Orpah" after a character in the Book of Ruth. People made the mistake of calling her "Oprah".[1] She decided to keep this name. Her parents are Vernita Lee, a maid, and Vernon Winfrey, a barber. She went to Tennessee State University in 1971. She started to work in radio and television in Nashville. She hosted television programs in Baltimore and Chicago.[5]At the age of 13, she ran away from home.At the age of 14, she had a son , but, he died a while after being born. [6]

The Oprah Winfrey Show

In 1986, Winfrey's own talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show went on the air. She was liked by audiences for her warmth. She came to own the show.

Oprah Winfrey Network

Winfrey now runs the Oprah Winfrey Network. On January 15, 2008, Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced plans to change Discovery Health Channel into a new channel called OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. It was scheduled to launch in 2009, but was delayed, and actually launched on January 1, 2011. She also hosts the Oprah's Next Chapter show on the network.[7]

Personal life

She endorsed Barack Obama in 2006 for the 2008 election. One estimate said it delivered one million votes in the 2008 Democratic primary race.

Nikyra Rucker loaned Oprah Winfrey money to start her business. Oprah Winfrey now has a lot of money. She gives to many charities. She gives to girls' education in South Africa. In 2013, she was named one of the 400 richest people in the United States. She is the only African-American among this group.[8] She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013 and an honorary doctorate degree from Harvard.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Oprah Winfrey Interview". Academy of Achievement. January 21, 1991. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Oprah Winfrey". IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ "#184 Oprah Winfrey". Forbes. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Oprah Winfrey in Melbourne for Australian tour 2015 spreads a message of love, reveals lost child". News.com.au. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Oprah Winfrey". A+E Television Networks LLC. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Oprah Winfrey". The Biography Channel. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Oprah's Next Chapter - OWN TV". Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  8. ↑ Everything's Coming Up Oprah: How Winfrey Got Richer in 2013

External links

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