Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the “Queen of All Media”, she has been ranked the richest African-American of the 20th century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and is currently North America’s first and only multi-billionaire black person. Several assessments regard her as the most influential woman in the world. In 2013, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama and honorary doctorate degrees from Duke and Harvard.
12 Interesting Facts About Oprah Gail Winfrey
1.The name of her production company is Harpo, which is Oprah spelled backward. It’s also the name of the character she was married to in “The Color Purple,” her first film role for which she was nominated for an Oscar.
2. She considers starting a girls’ school in Africa to be one of her greatest accomplishments.
3. She launched her famous book club with “The Deep End of the Ocean” by Jacquelyn Mitchard in 1996. It was later made into a movie.
4. In 2002, she became the first recipient of the Television Arts & Sciences’ Bob Hope Humanitarian award.
5. She once gave away Pontiac vehicles to her entire studio audience.
6. Every year for eight years, she made a Favorite Things list, and gave the members of the audience each item.
7. Oprah is the first African-American star to be on the cover of Vogue.
8. Oprah’s name was supposed to be Orpah, but it was misspelled on her birth certificate.
9. At 29, Oprah co-hosted a Chicago morning show, and later took it over completely. It became “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
10. Her 1993 interview with Michael Jackson was the fourth most-watched event in TV history at the time.
11. She’s North America’s only black billionaire.
12. She launched Dr. Phil’s TV career, She launched Gayle King’s TV career, She launched Nate Berkus’ TV career.
