“The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complex person you were intended to be.” (“Oprah Winfrey,” 2017) Oprah Winfrey was born in Mississippi to an unwed teenage mother in 1954. Being initially raised by her grandmother until the age of six. A young Oprah was then sent to live with her mother across the country where she was molested from the ages of 9 to 13. After having a miscarriage at the age of 14, Oprah was sent to live with her father where she experienced great success in her high school career, eventually earning a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. Majoring in media, Oprah lands her first broadcasting job while attending college and soon becomes the first African American anchor for Nashville’s evening …show more content…
Spanning from the ages of birth to about one and a half years of age, for Oprah, although she was brought into world by a single, unwed housemaid, she was brought up and cared for by her maternal grand mother in a poverty stricken, rural area in Mississippi (“Oprah Winfrey,” 2017). Characterized by a general uncertainty about world in which they live, the infant in this stage looks towards their caregiver for somesort of stability and consistency in their environment, through which the basic sense of trust is gained if completed successfully. Since Oprah was given to her grandmother, which presented a more stable living situation than if she had remained with her mother, she was provided a stable environment through which she can be consistently cared. Successfully developing he basic virtue of hope, Oprah had the understanding that if a crises were to arise, that she will have a semblance of support from her provided environment …show more content…
In this stage, we see the child asserting themselves more and interacting with other children. The combination of these two results in the child wanting to intiate activities with others. This often times being seen as aggressive and wayward, leading to increased punishment by the caretaker (REFERENCE). This stage, unlike the previous two, is not as clear to discern. Oprah’s grandmother, although teaching her how to read, was also very strict and would beat frequently due to not being satisfied with her behavior or the completion of her chores. This coupled with their level of poverty characterized by Oprah often having to wear potatoe sacks as clothing to school, leading to her being ridiculed and ostracized by other children, resulted in feelings of guilt for Oprah (“Oprah Winfrey,” 2017). According to Erikson, the acquisition of guilt in this stage can make the child slow to interact with peers and may stifle one’s creativity. Erikson goes further to explain that some guilt may be beneficial in as much that it allows for the development of self-control and having a conscience
Around this time, Lee had given birth to another daughter ( Winfrey's half sister) she died at age 43 because of a cocaine addiction. After that tragic incident Oprah was sent to live with her dad in Nashville, Tennessee. While Oprah was living in Nashville, her mom gave birth to a 3rd child, also she gave birth to a boy named Jeffrey who later died of AIDS related causes in 1989. At 9 years old Oprah stated that she was molested by her cousin, uncle and a family friend. Oprah didn't want be a mother because she wasn't mothered well. At age 13, after suffering years of abuse, Winfrey ran away from home. When she was 14, she became pregnant but her son was born prematurely and he died shortly after birth. She began going to Lincoln High School, and soon got transferred to the affluent suburban Nicolet High School, where her poverty was rubbed in her face on the bus. Oprah began to steal money from her mom, her frustrated mother once again sent her to live with Vernam in Nashville, Tennessee, Vernam was strict, but encouraging and made her education a priority. She then became an honor student, she was
Oprah Winfrey, born January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, MS: is recognized a very popular talk show host and proprietor of HARPO Industries and actress. She stared in a key role in “The Color Purple” written by Alice Walker. This movie also depicted the life and times of people in the South and won many awards for the performances. Oprah retired her show after over ten years to return with the OWN TV (O...
Winfrey was born in rural Mississippi where her grandmother was so poor that she would sometimes dress Oprah in clothes made from potato sack and for that, she would get teased by her classmates. Grandma Lee was also rather strict as she would beat Oprah with a stick if she misbehaved or didn't sing the church hymns and choirs correctly. But despite being poverty stricken and strict, her grandmother was very encouraging and taught Oprah how to read the bible before the age of three.
Oprah’s childhood was not the greatest. Her unmarried parents split up, and she grew up on a farm with her grandmother. She developed rapidly and could read before she was three. Also, she was tested out of kindergarten and second grade, thus only taking first grade and skipping to third grade. When she turned six, she started to live with her mother and was very lonely. However, she began her speaking profession around that time. “She was invited to recite poetry at black social clubs and church teas, where she became known as ‘the little speaker.’ At 12, during a visit to her father in Nashville, she earned $500 for a speech she delivered at a church” (“Winfrey, Oprah”). As you can tell, Oprah started young in her profession and was determined to make a living off of this since her prior experiences.
Oprah Winfrey is an African-American woman who suffered and persevered through many challenges in her life. She was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi to a single mother (World Biography). However, as soon as Oprah was born, she moved in with her grandmother and lived with her until she was 6 years old. At 6 years old, she went to live with her mother in a rundown section of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which was an extremely poor and dangerous area to live in, and Oprah was new to the area. “I
Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi living with a poor Baptist family (Wikipedia). Her parents, Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee were unmarried and still teenagers during the time she was born (Wikipedia). She lived with her grandmother where she would learn how to read aloud and recite sermons by the young age of 3 (America's Beloved Best Friend). At the age of 13 she would move to Milwaukee with her mother and that's when the trouble would start (America's Beloved Best Friend). She would face sexual abuse and molestation from her family relatives as a teenager, by her cousin, family friends, and her uncle (Victoria Walker). Oprah would keep this a secret and would bottle up her anger, which lead to trouble (Victoria Walker). She would repeatedly run away from home and was sent to juvenile detention, but her admission would be denied because the detention's overcrowded area (America's Beloved Best Friend). At the age of 14 she was impregnated by one of her abusers, but the baby would become stillborn, and this would devastate Oprah (Victoria Walker). Her mother would send her to live with her father as a last resort. She vowed to change her life (Victoria Walker).
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
At the age of six her mother, Vernita Lee, decided that she could care for her daughter and Oprah was sent to live with her mother in Milwaukee. From the age of six to thirteen, Oprah stayed with her mother. During this time a cousin raped her when she was nine years old and later she was molested by a male friend of her mother’s and by an uncle. She never told anyone about the abuse that she was suffering. Instead, she held her angry and pain inside and she rebelled. She repeatedly ran away and got into trouble.
Oprah Winfrey lived a very rough early life until Vernon Winfrey took her into good hands. She lived in Kosciusko, Missippi for the first 6 years of her life, and then she moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother who was a housemaid. When Oprah lived with her mother she was sexually molested during the daytime when her mother would work the long days. This abuse went on everyday possible for 4 years until she was out on her own at age 14. Oprah had given birth to a baby, which had unexpectedly died during infancy. After the baby had died she moved in with her Father who lived in Tennessee. “Vernon Winfrey was a strict parent, but he gave his daughter the secure home that Oprah needed. He saw to it that she met a curfew, and he required her to read a book and write a book report as well. “As strict s he was,” says Oprah, “ he had some concerns about me making the best of my ...
Oprah Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954. (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). Oprah had a rough childhood (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). She constantly moved from her mother’s house to her father’s house (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). When Oprah lived with her mother she was raped (Lies, 2011). When Oprah lived with her father, she excelled (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). Oprah’s rough childhood and thriving high school and college years definitely influenced her contributions to the world later showing ethical leadership (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”).
Oprah Winfrey is as American entrepreneur and a popular talk show host. She was born on January 29 1954 in Kosciusko Mississippi. She was the result of a broken teenage relationship and teenage pregnancy so as you can imagine it had quite an impact on her development as she grew up. Against all odds she became a very successful woman and is currently worth 2.8 billion USD.
Oprah was born on a farm in 1954 to a poor family. Winfrey enjoyed reciting African American poetry, and became known as the "little speaker" in her town. When she was 12, Winfrey won $500 for a speech she gave at her father 's church. From then on she wanted to "be paid to talk." When Winfrey was a teenager, her dream was put on hold. Some of the trusted men of her family began to sexually abuse her. She lashed out in anger at the world by lying to her mother, running away from home, and stealing. Unaware of what Winfrey was going through, her mother sent her away to live with her father. If her mother never sent her away, Oprah 's life would have been much different. At age 17, Oprah Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant and was offered an on-air job at WVOL, a radio station for the African American community in Nashville. Oprah continued to work at WVOL in her first years of college, but her broadcasting career was already taking off. She left school and signed on with a local television station as a reporter and anchor. In 1976, she moved to Baltimore to join WJZ-TV News as a co-anchor. There, she co-hosted her first talk show, People Are Talking, while continuing to serve as anchor and news reporter. In January 1984, she was invited to Chicago to host a half-hour morning program on WLS-TV. In less than a year, she turned AM Chicago into the hottest show in
Her father was very strict and cared a lot about school and wanted her to get high marks. At high school she was a brilliant student, she loved being in the drama club and the student council. After she graduated in 1971 she received a four year scholarship to Tennessee State University. She began to develop broadcasting career at seventeen while working for WVOL radio in Nashville. While still at university Oprah at nineteen became the youngest and the first African-American female news anchor at WTVF-TV in Nashville, this shows us today that you can conquer anything you put your mind to, I mean she went through such a hard childhood but yet still conquered this. In 1976 Oprah took the job to be a co-host on an early morning talk show called People are Talking. In 1984 Oprah moved to Chicago and got chosen to host a talk show called AM Chicago. The show became really popular during the time of seven months and was then extended to be a one-hour show. In September 1985 after all the show’s success it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. It was on TV for twenty five years. Oprah interviewed and engaged with her audience a lot and talked about her childhood on the show. Her show ended in 2011. After her show ended Oprah published the Oprah Magazine and then set up her own cable television network named Oxygen in 1999. Oprah started collecting funds for charities and children that couldn’t afford to go to school and then established the Family for Better Lives
For most people growing up is filled with memories of joy and happiness. A childhood should be filled with affection and care, but Oprah did not always feel those things. Oprah did not have such a great upbringing, but despite the odds she rose up and became who she had wanted to be. Oprah had dealt with many accounts of sexual abuse, the lack of attention from her mother, and moving from place-to-place for most of her early years (Fry, web). Not only was Oprah faced sexual abuse, but she also became pregnant from one of the instances (Fry, web). This made things even more difficult for the young Oprah.
One of the most powerful women in the world is Oprah Gail Winfrey. Oprah is one of the richest businesswomen in the world, but she wasn’t always rich and successful. She had a very tough life growing up and didn’t have much money. She has always been a hard worker, and she had a passion for hosting and acting. Oprah is very good at what she does and that’s how she raised to the top of being one of the most influential women in the media.