Born on: 29th Jan 54
Born in: United States
Marital status: Single
Occupation: Chairwoman and CEO of Harpo Productions

Born Oprah Gail Winfrey has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion. Oprah Winfrey was born in Mississippi to unwed teenage mother in 1954. After a difficult adolescence with her mother, where she suffered from sexual and physical abuse, she came under the supervision of her strict father in Nashville. Things improved for Oprah when she turned 18 and won the Miss Black, Tennessee beauty pageant, a win that led to a part time job at a radio station. In 1976 she moved to Baltimore to host a show called People are talking. By 1986, the Oprah Winfrey show was syndicated over more than 100 channels across the country and she was a phenomenon. A year later her talk show which was owned by her production company Harpo productions, was bringing 125 million USD annually. Considering that Oprah was born into poverty, she managed to become a millionaire by the time she was 32 years old. Considered the richest woman in entertainment, till recent years she was the only African American on the Forbes 400 list. However what makes Oprah truly unique is the influence she has over her fans. When she started Oprah book club, just about every title she selected instantly shot to the bestsellers’ list. The power of Winfrey’s opinions and endorsement to influence public opinion, especially consumer purchasing choices, has been dubbed “”The Oprah Effect””. She was named as the one of the most influential person by Time right from 2004 to 2011. In 1999, the oprah brand continued to grow as she co founded Oxygen media and introduced O magazine which was an instant success. Her success also partly reflected in her swelling bank account as she became the America’s richest self-made billionaire woman. As her empire continues to grow with magazines, radio channels and Oprah Winfrey Network, this media icon has achieved a level of success and influence like nothing ever seen before in popular culture. The girl from Mississippi dedicates her success to her black female forerunners: author Maya Angelou (now a close friend), 19th-century abolitionist Sojourner Truth, and entrepreneur Madame CJ Walker.