Oprah Winfrey - Research Paper Example

(Andrew Malcolm, “A surprise: Oprah pays a real cost for supporting Barack Obama”): According to a survey conducted in 1999 for the most admired and respected women of the 20th century; Oprah got 26 % of the votes coming at second place. Mother Teresa was voted No.1 in this survey. Another poll was conducted in 2003 by Fox News and the poll results showed that 60% of the people thought that Oprah was the most powerful woman. Whereas Hillary Clinton, who is a former first lady and senator was able to influence only 28% of the people who took the poll.

(Thomas, “Oprah Winfrey- Bio Brief”) She was born on January 29, 1954 in Mississippi to Vernita Lee, a housekeeper, and Vernon Winfrey, who was a soldier. Her parents were not very rich people and she did not enjoy a luxurious lifestyle in her childhood. On the contrary, she saw many hard times which have made her the person she is now. Her full name is Oprah Gail Winfrey. (Thomas, “Oprah Winfrey- Bio Brief”) Her first job was of a news anchor at Nashvilles WTVF, she was the first African-American anchor there.

After some time she was asked to co-host a show “People are Talking”. This was her first step on the road of much bigger things. Then, she finally landed in Chicago to host a low rated morning show “AM Chicago”. Her personality and interpersonal skills earned that show first place within a span of 12 months. After years of small jobs, she got the job of her dreams to host her own show “The Oprah Winfrey Show” which is one now of the top-rated shows of the world. Her easy to talk attitude has earned her a great fan following.

The great part about her fame is that she uses it to influence people in doing well for the society and in making the planet a better place for everyone to live in. She is considered to be one of the richest people in the entertainment industry and is always involved in giving away donations and helping the poor. She has also made a charity