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Oprah Winfrey

by Amanda from Barrie

"As strict as he was he had some concerns about me making the best of my life, and would not accept anything less than what he thought was my best."

Not only is Oprah Winfrey a celebrity, she is a leader and a hero known all around the world. She has had a rough childhood, jumping through different households and not having the proper parent role model in her life. She has definitely had her downs in life but it all ended up great in the end. She has now become one of the richest women in the world and with that is one of the most well-known philanthropists, so she uses her money to help people around the world. The Oprah Winfrey Show has helped make people aware of global issues and gets all her fans involved. She inspires many people to do their part to help out too.

Oprah Winfrey had a very tough childhood. She went through a lot but it made her a stronger person today. Oprah’s mother gave birth to her at a very young age so she lived with her grandmother on her farm for her first few years of her life. There she taught her how to read and by age 3 she was considered a gifted child in the community. At age six she then moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother who started a new job and worked very long days. Oprah was home alone for many hours during the day and when her mother was absent she was repeatedly molested by male family members and lasted from age 9-13. Everything started to go downhill from here because she ran away and was sent to a juvenile detention home, then to be denied because all beds were full. After all that she was out of the house and on her own and about a year later she ended up pregnant but after giving birth she lost the baby to unknown reasons. She then moved to Nashville, Tennessee to live with her father and started to turn her life around. He gave her the strict family home she needed with a curfew and made her stay on top of her school work. In this structured environment, Oprah became an honour student, winning prizes for oratory and dramatic recitation and at 17 she became Miss Black Tennessee and was then offered her first real job at WVOL radio station. In the end, everything was in her favour but everything that happened made her the lady she is today.

Oprah Winfrey’s career began in high school, when she worked in the radio station at her school as a newscaster. After high school, she worked as a reporter for a Nashville television station. She then moved to a position as an early morning talk show host for "People are Talking" in Baltimore. Her career took off after she moved to Chicago to host "AM Chicago", one year later it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her show became one of the most successful and highest ranked television talk show programs in history. Over 20 million Americans view the program every week and is broadcasted to worldwide.


Oprah Winfrey supports and donates to many different types of charities and causes. She has been known to be one of the most giving celebrities. She supports women and children's charities, animal rescue charities, AIDS cure charities, and disaster relief. In 1998 she funded her own charity called Oprah’s Angle Network, this helps unfortunate families every year have a better life. This charity has done things like build homes, help children be able to attend school and funding for scholarships. She also helps support the Clinton Foundation, which helps support the treatment of HIV and AIDS and fighting climate change. She also supports Project Cuddle, Project Cuddle helps rescue hundreds of babies from abandonment and abuse every year. Oprah also helps build schools for children in developing countries. She donates to the to the Mississippi Animal Rescue League. Oprah is probably one of the most generous and kindhearted celebrities there is. She cares so much about everyone and wants to do everything and anything to help in what ever way possible, to ensure that they can live their lives to the fullest.

Oprah Winfrey is an extraordinary human being. She gives generously to other people in need without expecting anything in return. She is more concerned with other people and how they live their life, if they look back she wants them to be happy and not have regrets. She is one of those people who would do anything and everything to help those in need. She helps and donates a lot of time and money to charities. Part of the reason may be because she feels that she feels it’s the right thing to do and isn’t as much concerned about how she lives her life.

Page created on 1/21/2011 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 1/21/2011 12:00:00 AM

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