Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, and raised by her grandmother on a farm for the first six years of her life, then spent some years with her mother, during which time she was sexually abused. When she was 14 she had a baby who died, and later went to live with her father, who was very strict and put her on the path to success.

She acted in the film versions of The Color Purple and Native Son, but is best known for her television talk-show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which has made her the best-known Black woman in America, if not the world, and almost certainly the wealthiest self-made Black woman in the world.

She is also a major collector of Shaker furniture.

References

Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia, 1993-97
Who's Who in America, 1996
"Oprah Winfrey: Talk Show Queen," in: Great Women in the Struggle, edited by Toyomi Igus. (Orange: Just Us Books, 1991) (Book of Black Heroes; vol. 2)
Nicholson, Lois. Oprah Winfrey. (New York: Chelsea House, 1994) (Black Americans of Achievement)
Patterson, Lillie, and Wright, Cornelia H. Oprah Winfrey: Talk Show Host and Actress. (Hillside: Einslow, 1990) (Contemporary Women Series)
Woods, Geraldine. The Oprah Winfrey Story. (Minneapolis: Dillon Press, 1991) (Taking Park Books)
The Hall of Business. "Oprah Winfrey, Entertainment Executive: Biography." [Includes portraits]. Available at: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/win0bio-1
"Oprah Winfrey." Available at: http://www.davison.k12.mi.us/dms/projects/women/awinfrey.htm

Indexes

African
USA
20th Century
21st Century
Restaurants
Theater, Broadcasting, Cinema
Sexual
Birth or Infancy
Unmarried Mother, Single Parent (Mother or Father) Unable to Cope
Grandparents
Single Adopters or Fosterers
Temporary Care