Oprah Winfrey was born in 1954 in Mississippi and raised by her grandmother. She suffered abuse as a child. She began her career in media in the 1970s as a radio host and news anchor in Tennessee, becoming the youngest and first Black woman in that role. In 1984, she moved to Chicago to host a morning TV show, which led to the launch of her highly successful The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986. She founded Harpo Productions in 1986 to produce the show. Harpo expanded into magazine publishing, film and television production, and launched a satellite radio channel and TV network. Oprah's show aimed to uplift and empower viewers through storytelling and conversation.

3. OPRAH GAIL WINFREY
Born January 29, 1954 in
Kosciusko, Mississippi.
Raised by her grandmother
on a farm
Suffered sexual abuse from
a number of male relatives.
Moved to Nashville, TN to
live with her father, Vernon, a
barber and businessman.
Attended TSU in 1971.

4. At the age of 17, began
working at WVOL radio in
Nashville
At 19 years old, she
became youngest person
and 1st African-American
woman to anchor the news
at WTVF-TV
Co-anchor the Six O-Clock
News in Baltimore
Co-host of local talk show,
People Are Talking

5. THE RISE OF THE
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
In 1984, moved to Chicago
to host WLS-TV’s morning
show, A.M. Chicago
After a month on air,
began surpassing ratings of
her major competitor, Phil
Donahue
Launched The Oprah
Winfrey Show on Sept. 8,
1986

6. HARPO
PRODUCTIONS OR
HARPO STUDIOS
Harpo production
(also referred to as
Harpo Studios) is
an incorporated
US-based
multimedia
production
company founded
by Oprah Winfrey
in 1986.

7. The name
"H-A-R-P-O"
is
"O-P-R-A-H"
spelled backwards…

8. DIVISIONS
Harpo Radio, Inc. is the holding
company for the Oprah &
Friends channel (156 on XM Satellite
Radio). Oprah & Friends features a
broad range of daily and weekly
programming on a variety of topics
including self-
improvement, nutrition, fitness, parenti
ng, health, home, finance and current
events hosted by personalities from The
Oprah Winfrey Show and O, The Oprah
Magazine.
On January 1, 2011, the Oprah
Winfrey Network (OWN) launched. It
is co-owned by Harpo Productions
(50%) and Discovery Communications,
Inc (50%). The network replaced
the Discovery Health Channel, a cable
channel previously owned by
Discovery Communications, Inc.

9. OPRAH’S MISSION
“Originally, our goal was to uplift, enlighten, encourage and
entertain through the medium of television. Now, our mission
for The Oprah Winfrey Show is to use television to transform
people’s lives, to make viewers see themselves differently and
to bring happiness and a sense of fulfillment into every home.”
Oprah Winfrey

11. Oprah and HARPO Productions, Inc.
Magazine Creator/Editorial Director/Author
O, The Oprah Magazine- April 2000,
international version to
South Africa launched April 2002
O at Home- newsstand-only quarterly
magazine launched
in 2004
Co-authored five books
Satellite Radio Programmer
XM Satellite Radio channel, Oprah and Friends
launched Sept. 2006
Broadway Producer
The Color Purple, December 1, 2005 at the
Broadway Theatre in NYC
Television Program Creator
Dr. Phil- Sept. 2002
Rachael Ray- Sept. 2006

12. HONORARY
ACHIEVEMENTS
Time magazine- 100 Most Influential
People in the World
Time magazine- 100 Most Influential
People of the 20th Century
Newsweek- Most Important Person
in Books and Media
Life magazine- Voted most influential
woman and influential black person
of her generation
Bob Hope Humanitarian Award
Lifetime Achievement Award from
the National Academy of Television
Arts and Sciences
Forbes magazine- published in 2003,
first African-American woman to
become a billionaire
Received more than 40 daytime
Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk
Show and Outstanding Talk Show
Host
2013: Presidential Medal of Freedom