Oprah Winfrey (1954- ) has the top television talk show in America, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. It has made her the richest black person in America and a leading opinion-maker, especially among American women.
When her show started in 1986, it stood out from the rest: she seemed like a real person, like one of your friends. She was not stiff and self-important. In the 1990s, as she became the queen of the talk shows, she began to lose that, she started to become self-important. In the past few years, though, she has got back to her old self.
While she does have film stars and singers on her show, she also covers serious subjects that she feels women should know about. In this she follows Phil Donahue, who had the top talk show in the 1980s when she was starting out. But unlike Donahue and most other talk shows she does not give in to cheap sensation. (Well, on one show she did give away cars.)
Also unlike Donahue, by the way, she got control of the money her show was making. This is what has made her fabulously rich.
At root she is a good high school English teacher with a talk show.
The clearest sign of this is her book club, which ran regularly from 1998 to 2004. She would choose a book and mention it on her show and then a month later talk about it. The book industry loved it. She is one of the few people in public life in America who loves books and makes it plain.
In addition to her talk show, Oprah has a company that produces television shows, Harpo Productions, and another, Harpo Films, which turns books that she likes into films.
Oprah has appeared in films herself. She is best remembered for being in “The Color Purple” (1985) and “Beloved” (1998).
In 1998 she helped to start Oxygen, a cable television network in America aimed at women.
In 2000 she started a magazine, O.
In 2007 she started a girls’ school in South Africa.
She has had a long and public battle against her weight and hair. She now looks great.
She is not the richest woman in America – the Walton women of Wal-Mart are much richer. But she is one of richest self-made women in the country.
She lives in a grand, white house by the sea in California. It looks like something out of a storybook.
Her name comes from the Bible. She was supposed to named Orpah, after Ruth’s sister, but they got the name wrong in the records, so she became Oprah. “Harpo” is Oprah backwards.
She was born a poor black child, but her love of books, her father’s rod, her likeability and belief in herself put her on the road to riches.
She has never married and has no children.
In 2007 she came out in support of Barack Obama for president.
Postscript (2015): Oprah was among the first public figures to come out in support of two things that have shaped our age: Barack Obama and Twitter.
– Abagond 2007, 2015.
See also:
Dear Madame Oprah Winfrey,
I was thrilled with your show about bio. female hormone replacement.
I have put on 30 kg without changing my eating habits.
Please could you send me your magazine about this topic and were I could get these hormones in Europe.
I live in Amsterdam Netherlands and I could help a lot of female friends who suffer the same problems and can not get help.
Thank you very much for your time, but I would like to help people on a small scale too.
I do now a lot of volonteer work to make this earth a better place for our “Furry Friends”
Fondly,
Linda Leigh
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I do not know Oprah. I just wrote a blog post on her.
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Did I just read that Oprah is open to running for president in 2020?
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Oprah made a riveting speech at the Golden Globe awards and the media is going insane. Oprah has not desire to be President this is truly some fake news.
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I believe it’s what they call ‘a thing,’ or ‘floating a balloon’.
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I have already had my fill of celebrities who become president.
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Indeed, it would help if the President has some experience not only with politics, but also history, law, statistics, economics and foreign policy, possibly also military.
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Reagan, the terminator, jesse ventura, …
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Both Reagan and Ventura had elected public executive office (governor) before running for / elected as president of the US.
Trump has not.
Oprah has not.
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im just saying cult of popularity like you know something bc you were an actor
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https://www.biography.com/people/sonny-bono-9542076
what did he hit a tree skiing or something?
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https://giphy.com/gifs/oprah-bees-dcubXtnbck0RG
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If you want to go further down the chain, then perhaps hundreds of celebrity artists have run for and held political office, eg,
Al Franken
Clint Eastwood
They did not run for president.
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Yep thats what we need or should i say what they will use this time a billionare by catering to white america black female,slightly similar to the first black female millionare (via hair straighting) rarely if ever hear who and by what mean the first black male millionare(if they did how much you wanta bet he would be so lacking in pigment as to be able to pass)
And as to op’ policies check her mag and its articles that advise on dealing with your workplace and/or job;now close your eyes and try to imagine anything about unions organizing or even asking for a raise.
More on the mammy stereotype to come.
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