Women Leaders: Oprah Winfrey

Who else that walks this earth is any more generous than Oprah Winfrey? Who else holds record numbers in daytime talk show hosting? Oprah Winfrey has defied all odds and grown into a powerhouse entertainment executive, actress, and philanthropist. She is also a billionaire but that seems to be a minor detail that she is still unimpressed by as she forever remains ‘real people’ to the millions of people who watch her show.  

Oprah Winfrey should have been a long way from where she is today. She began life on a Mississippi farm where her grandmother helped nurture her desire to ‘broadcast’ with performances both Oprah and her grandmother enjoyed. Later, she lived with her mother in Milwaukee and endured molestation from family members while her mother turned a cheek to the activity. After she ran away from it all, she landed in Nashville with her father and began to build a life with him.  

Oprah’s father expected her to make something out of herself. He required her to be an achiever asking her to do things to encourage her intellectually. He knew that Oprah had the ability to do anything she wanted to do and he wasn’t willing to let her ‘slip through the cracks’ just because of the place where she was in her life when he welcomed her to his home. Oprah’s father wanted more for her and was strict enough to enforce that she see all that she could achieve.  

At seventeen, Oprah was given the opportunity to work for WVOL in Nashville. Later she signed with WTVF-TV in Nashville while she attended school at Tennessee State University. She later moved to Baltimore and enjoyed a co-anchor position. While in Baltimore, she discovered that she had a knack for talk show hosting.  

In 1984, Oprah Winfrey became the hottest radio show in town with a talk show on the radio which was appropriately named “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” And of course, that show became a national daytime talk show in 1986 and has continued to thrive since then. 

Worldwide, Oprah Winfrey is known as ‘Oprah’ to all of those who welcome her into their homes for an hour each day. She is notably, “America’s Best Friend” but she has never forgotten those friends who were with her along the way. Her lifelong friend, “Gail” and the man in her life, “Steadman” have been influences that she carried with her through all aspects of her famous career showing that you can be humble and famous all at the same time while never forgetting those who were with you along the way. Oprah also contributes her dedication to reading to her father and other successes as well.  

Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in America which is evident in her Oprah Book Club. Oprah Winfrey’s Book club selections instantly become best sellers and she has received much publicity for her work to bring authors and their books to the public eye.  

To give a true account of Oprah Winfrey’s life would take an entire book to successfully capture her greatness. This woman is not just a tough act to follow but an act that will never be imitated by another. Her charitable contributions alone could fill the interior pages of a large novel. Oprah Winfrey is a leader who will never be surpassed by another. She is genuine and genuinely, she is Oprah.