Oprah Gail Winfrey (/ˈoʊprə/; born Orpah Gail Winfrey;[a] January 29, 1954), known mononymously as Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011.[3][4] Dubbed the «Queen of All Media»,[5] she was the richest African-American of the 20th century[6][7] and was once the world’s only black billionaire.[8] By 2007, she was often ranked as the most influential woman in the world.[9][10]
Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a single teenage mother and later raised in inner-city Milwaukee. She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teenage years and became pregnant at 14; her son was born prematurely and died in infancy.[11] Winfrey was then sent to live with the man she calls her father, Vernon Winfrey, a barber in Nashville, Tennessee, and landed a job in radio while still in high school.[4] By 19, she was a co-anchor for the local evening news. Winfrey’s often emotional, extemporaneous delivery eventually led to her transfer to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place,[12] she launched her own production company.