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introduction essays on oprah winfreys life
introduction essays on oprah winfreys life
how does Oprah Winfrey impact society today
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In Oprah Winfrey’s early life her name on her birth certificate was actually spelled like “Orpah,” but many people just kept mispronouncing it and so she stuck with it. Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, with a teen mother. Her mother, Vernita Lee, was a housemaid and her biological father, Vernon Winfrey, was originally a coal miner, and had many positions throughout his life, at the end, he had been in the Armed Forces when she was born. Later on, Mississippi farmer and World War II veteran, Noah Robinson Sr., has claimed, then, to be her biological father. After her birth, Winfrey’s mother traveled north while Winfrey spent six years living in poverty with her grandmother. They were so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made out of potato sacks, and was repeatedly made fun of by the children. Hattie Mae Lee, was a humble grandmother, though, she had taught Winfrey how to read before the age of three! She often took her to the local church where she was soon nicknamed “The Preacher” for the ability to recite Bible verses. Of course with every guardian, there were rules, and Lee’s rules were that if Winfrey did not do her chores or misbehaved in any way shape or form, Lee would hit her with a stick. At the age of six Winfrey had to frequently …show more content…
She did not even let people get in the way of her dreams. She had trauma along her journey but she looked passed that. She got rejected multiple times simply because she was defined as an African American but, again, that did not stop her from following her passion. Winfrey even donates money to help those in need, and so with this, she chased her dream until she got what she wanted. Oprah Winfrey is an inspiration to not just me, but to any girl who has been rejected and has gone through a non consensual sexual act - nothing stands her way as a woman. I would definitely say she is the most successful African American woman out
Winfrey’s early life was filled with arduous hurdles from the beginning, she was raised in a small podunk town in Mississippi that was anything but safe for a young girl, but on top of that she was raised by a single mother who was not around nearly enough. However the most formidable part of her upbringing was, she was sexually abused by ‘family friends’ and relatives on multiple occasions starting from the age of just nine. At twelve she was sent away to middle Tennessee to live with her father, there she realised her passion, she began giving speeches in front of her church and ultimately came to the conclusion that she wanted to speak for a living. Without her parents divorce Winfrey might have never figured out her passion of speaking to people until it was too late, this was a hidden advantage in the making of her success. However all too soon she had to leave the comfort of her father’s home where she could pursue her interest and journey back to her mother, where she was sadly yet again
Perhaps the most notable triumph of Oprah Winfrey is her job as host of her own television show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show". Because anyone is free to decide what they choose as a career, she had the opportunity to create this show. The viewings and acceptance of the consumers to her show allowed it's prosperity. Keep in mind that Oprah had no control of the success her show would receive, although she had free decision to do what she pleased with it, it was the decision of the consumers
Oprah was born on January 29th, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to her mother Vernita Lee, a single teenager who works as a maid, and her father Vernon Winfrey, a coal miner, barber, and city councilman. Her name was supposed to be pronounced as ‘Orpah’, from the bible, but because of the difficulty as the pronunciation, she was known as Oprah almost from her birth. Oprah’s parents were unmarried and soon separated after she was born, then left her in the care of
“If I were white, I could capture the world!”, she complained. Dorothy Dandridge was the first African-American to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the first African American to be on the cover of Life. This did not exclude her from prejudice. Searching for strong leading roles in movies that fit her talents was impossible, but positions as extras and background characters were always available. Directors offered Dandridge supporting roles as a slave, servant, or savage, but Dorothy declined. When Dandridge performed there were strict rules she had to follow. For example, she was forbidden to speak to the audience, ride the elevator, pass through the hotel lobby, gamble in the casino, and use the bathrooms. At nightclubs, Dorothy was given a storage space as a dressing room and a dixie cup as a makeshift bathroom. After a long day of work, Dorothy was not given the chance to relax in the swimming pool or else it would have to be drained for “health issues”. Dorothy Dandridge proved that on the road of life, many people will try to stop or prevent you from reaching your goal. She advises us to ignore that and keep moving
Oprah Winfrey is not only the richest woman in the world, but she is also is known to be one of the most influential black women to ever live in the United States. She is a person “who has become successful and spread it around to those who need it the most” (Oprah 76). She has opened many different foundations to help others, For example, the Oprah Winfrey foundation. As if that already wasn’t enough she made a networking site called Oprah angel, what it does is help raise money for charitable causes around the world. In 2000 Oprah Decided to not only help others with Physical and financial problems, she wanted to go one step further. She published her own magazine called “O” that would give woman advice with how she deals with the same situations that woman do in their everyday lives. One of Oprahs greatest works is a leadership Academy that she established. It is a school in Africa that will prepare students for what awaits them on the other side of those doors. “It is a place where young girls will have the opportunity improve the quality of life for their sisters, and for generations to come” (Owla 12-13).
Although she was with her mother, she had very little mother and daughter time. She, unfortunately, was neglected and at the age of nine, she began to be sexually abused by many men. After this occurred, Winfrey began to act out. She faked a robbery, stole from her mother, and much more, causing her to go live in Nashville with her father and stepmother. This change saved her life. She lived under the household of her father who had very high expectations of her. She started to excel in high school and won a contest that granted a full scholarship to Tennessee State University after her graduation. She worked at...
The term Renaissance Man or Renaissance Individual refers to a person that is skilled in many talents and/or has extensive knowledge. Through the centuries, there have been many people who have fit this description. People like Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein and Galileo Galilei.
On January 29,1954, Oprah Winfrey was born to Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Winfrey lived with her mother and was sexually abused by older men (biography.com). When Winfrey was just 14 years old when she was pregnant and sent to live with her father but later the baby died. Winfrey was her father and
Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman, was born Loretta Pleasant on August 1, 1920. No one knows at this time why she changed her name to Henrietta later in life. She was born in Roanoke Virginia. Her family was extremely poor and life was not easy for the Lacks family. After, Henrietta’s mothers died while giving birth to her tenth child, the family then moved to a tobacco farm in Clover, Virginia. The children were then disbursed throughout the family and Henrietta was sent to live with her grandfather, Tommy Lacks, on the farm, who was caring at the time for her older cousin David Day Lacks. At the age of fourteen she gave birth to her first of five children by her first cousin David Lacks. Education at that time was not a priority for the Lacks family. Henrietta only had a six grade education. Now that we have some basic background on Henrietta Lacks, let’s take a look at her diagnosis and death.
Oprah Winfrey is an African American woman who is known as a U.S. media celebrity. She has done so much to contribute to society as we know it and her legacy will forever live on. Mrs. Winfrey is well known and she uses her platform for positivity and love, which is a huge reason for her success. She is an intelligent leader who worked hard for the spot she has in life and strives to encourage others to be successful also. Mrs. Winfrey has written books, acted and produced films, hosted an infamous television show, and given to charities. Her hard work and dedication has made her one of the most influential women of all time. She strived for greatness and accomplished what she wanted out of life, despite various obstacles that had been in the
Oprah Winfrey, who is born in January 29, 1954, is an American Tv broadcaster, with African origins. She lived with her mother and endured physical and mental abuse; she fled at 13, just to be dismissed from an adolescent imprisonment and sent to live with her cruel dad in Nashville (Kirkwood, 2013). This heroin lived her life and still experienced it with wide achievements and significant impacts on the global level. She brought great changes to various countries in the world. Oprah influenced many people who watched her shows by the great deeds she did and by listening to them and helping them. Accordingly, I have chosen her because she inspired me to follow her ideas and beliefs to reach the high standards she acquires today as a humanitarian individual.
On January 29, 1954 Oprah Gail Winfrey was born to unwed, teenage parents in Mississippi. Her parents originally planned to name her Orpah, but the midwife made a mistake on the birth certificate. Oprah had many obstacles already in front her as
One of the reasons Oprah is a modern renaissance woman is for all the good deeds she does. She made her first debut as a news anchor which then turned into her own talk show. In her show The Oprah Winfrey Show she talked with celebrities, like Michael Jackson who had not been interviewed in 14 years. She also premiered in her first acting gig in the movie, The Color Purple. Her performance was so great that she got nominated for both a Golden Globe and
Winfrey’s early life was mentally, physically, and financially unstable. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29,
Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, was only 18 years old whenever she gave birth. Winfrey’s father, Vernon Winfrey, was unaware that he had a child until months after she was born. He was excluded from Winfrey’s life originally, for he was a soldier away in Mississippi. That meant that Oprah would be receiving care from her mother and grandmother in the deepest of poverty (Weston 13). Winfrey said, “I am grateful for living in poverty because it makes success so much more rewarding” (“Dave and Oprah Recap”).