Oprah Winfrey Biography (1954-)

Full name Oprah Gail Winfrey; born January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, MS; daughter of Vernon Winfrey (a barber and city council representative) and Vernita Lee (a maid); companion of Stedman Graham (a sports marketing executive). Education: Tennessee State University, B.A. (speech and drama), 1976. Addresses: Office-- Harpo Productions, 110 North Carpenter St., Chicago, IL 60607-2101. Agent-- Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212-1825. Career: Talk show host, actress, producer, and executive. WVOL-Radio, Nashville, TN, worked as a reporter and newscaster; WTVF-TV, Nashville, worked as reporter and news anchor; WJZ-TV, Baltimore, MD, news anchor, 1976-77, host of morning talk show, 1977-83; WLS-TV,Chicago, IL, talk show host, beginning in 1985. Harpo Entertainment Group, founder and chairperson, 1986--; Oprah's Book Club, founder, 1996; OxygenMedia, Inc. (cable television and interactive network for women), cofounder,1998; founder of the lifestyle magazine O, 2000; owner of Eccentric Restaurant. Northwestern University, lecturer at Kellogg Graduate School of Management, 1999. Appeared in television commercials for Cease Gun Fire, 1999, and the city of Philadelphia, PA, 2000. Awards, Honors: Named Miss Black Tennessee, 1971; named one of twelve "promising new actors of 1985," John Willis's Screen World, 1985; Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe Award nomination, both best supporting actress, 1986, for The Color Purple; Woman of Achievement Award, National Organization for Women, 1986;selected one of Playgirl magazine's ten most admired women, 1986;Emmy Award, outstanding direction, 1987, Emmy Awards, outstanding talk or service program, 1987 and 1988, Emmy Awards, outstanding host of a daytime talkor service show, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1995, and 1998, Emmy Award nominations, outstanding host of a talk or service show, 1988 and 1991, Emmy Award nominations, outstanding daytime talk or service show, 1991 and 1999, and Emmy Awards,outstanding daytime talk or service show, 1994, 1995, and 1998, all for The Oprah Winfrey Show; Broadcaster of the Year Award, International Radioand Television Society, 1988; honorary degree, Tennessee State University, 1988; Image Award, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,entertainer of the year, 1989; Image Awards, best dramatic actress, best executive producer (with Carole Isenberg), and best dramatic episode, 1989, forThe Women of Brewster Place; Image Award, best news/information seriesor special, 1989, for Prime Time Oprah: No One Dies Alone; CEBA Awards, 1989, 1990, and 1991; America's Hope Award, 1990; Industry AchievementAward, Broadcast Promotion Marketing Executives/Broadcast Design Association, 1991; Emmy Award, outstanding daytime children's special, 1992, for "Shades of a Single Protein," ABC Afterschool Specials; inducted into Television Academy Hall of Fame, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1994;George Foster Peabody Individual Achievement Award, 1996; Gold Medal, International Radio and Television Society, 1996; People's Choice Award, favorite female television performer, 1997 and 1998, and People's Choice Award nomination, 1999; named "one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world,People Weekly, 1997; Lifetime Achievement Award, Academy of TelevisionArts and Sciences, 1998; Image Award nomination, outstanding lead actress ina motion picture, and Black Film Award nomination, Acapulco Black Film Festival, best actress, 1998, for Beloved; named one of the "100 Hundred Most Influential People of the Twentieth Century" by Time magazine, 1998; Emmy Award nomination (with others), outstanding movie made for television,and Golden Laurel Award, Producers Guild of America, "long-form" televisionproducer of the year, both 1999, for Tuesdays with Morrie; honorary National Book Award, 1999; 50th Anniversary Medal, National Book Foundation, 1999; elected to National Women's Hall of Fame; Salute to Greatness Award,King Center, 2000. Addresses: Office: Harpo Productions, 110 North Carpenter St., Chicago, IL 60607-2101.; Agent: Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212-1825.

Nationality
American
Gender
Female
Occupation
Talk show host, actress, producer, executive
Birth Details
January 29, 1954
Kosciusko, Mississippi, United States

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