Oprah Winfrey, (born January 29, 1954, Kosciusko, Mississippi, U.S.

), American

television personality, actress, and entrepreneur whose syndicated daily talk show was among the most popular of the genre. She became one of the richest and most influential women in the United States.

Early life
Winfrey moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at age six to live with her mother. In her early teens she was sent to Nashville to live with her father, who proved to be a positive influence in her life. At age 19 Winfrey became a news anchor for the local CBS television station. Following her graduation from Tennessee State University in 1976, she was made a reporter and coanchor for the ABC news affiliate in Baltimore, Maryland. She found herself constrained by the objectivity required of news reporting, and in 1977 she became cohost of the Baltimore morning show People Are Talking.

Television
Winfrey excelled in the casual and personal talk-show format, and in 1984 she moved to Chicago to host the faltering talk show AM Chicago. Winfreys honest and engaging personality quickly turned the program into a success, and in 1985 it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. Syndicated nationally in 1986, the program became the highest-rated television talk show in the United States and earned several Emmy Awards.

Film
In 1985 Winfrey appeared in Steven Spielbergs adaptation of Alice Walkers 1982 novel The Color Purple. Her critically acclaimed performance led to other roles, including a performance in the television miniseries The Women of Brewster Place (1989). Winfrey formed her own television production company, Harpo Productions, Inc., in 1986, and a film production company, Harpo Films, in 1990. The companies began buying film rights to literary works, including Connie May Fowlers Before Women Had Wings, which appeared in 1997 with Winfrey as both star and producer, and Toni Morrisons Beloved, which appeared in 1998, also with Winfrey in a starring role. She later lent her voice to several animated films, including Charlottes Web (2006) and The Princess and the Frog (2009), and appeared in Lee Daniels The Butler (2013).

Publishing and writing

Winfrey broke new ground in 1996 by starting an on-air book club. She announced selections two to four weeks in advance and then discussed the book on her show with a select group of people. Each book chosen quickly rose to the top of the bestseller charts, and Winfreys effect on the publishing industry was significant. Winfrey further expanded her presence in the publishing industry with the highly successful launch of O, the Oprah Magazine in 2000 and O at Home in 2004; the latter folded in 2008.

Personal life Homes

Winfrey currently lives on "The Promised Land 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 property on Maui, Hawaii and Antigua. Her base during filming of Winfrey's show is Chicago, so she spends time in the neighborhood of Streeterville.

Reference 1. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/645 317/Oprah-Winfrey 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey