Ken Lawrence - The World According to Oprah: An Unauthorized Portrait in Her Own Words

Your become what you believe.

Associated Press, November 9, 2002

O prah Winfrey rose out of hardship and poverty to become one of the most recognized and well-respected people in the world. Ken Lawrence profiles this successful woman through a collection of quotes that reveal her thoughts on such matters as life, love, family, fame, charity, and spirituality.

Since her start at a tiny Nashville radio station, Oprah has become a media mogul, a generous philanthropist, an advocate for abused children, an actress, and one of the richest women in the world. Through fame and fortune, she has kept in touch with her roots and maintained a positive, spiritual, and down-to-earth approach to life. Millions of people all over the globe know her by first name only, and in The World According to Oprah, Ken Lawrence captures this talented and multifaceted woman in her own words, as she expresses the ideas and beliefs that make her who she is today.

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The World According to Oprah copyright 2005 by Ken Lawrence. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews. For information, write Andrews McMeel Publishing, an Andrews McMeel Universal company, 1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

E-ISBN: 978-0-7407-9313-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

www.andrewsmcmeel.com

Lawrence, Ken.
The world according to Oprah: an unauthorized portrait in her own words / Ken Lawrence.
p. cm.
1. Winfrey, OprahQuotations. 1. Title.

PN1992.4.W56A25 2005
791.45028092dc22

2005045790

Design by Kelly & Company, Lees Summit, Missouri
Cover design by Tim Lynch
Cover photograph by Steve Sands / New York Newswire / Corbis

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O PRAH W INFREY is one of the most recognized people in the world. She has been on the covers of thousands of magazines and newspapers, has acted in hit movies, and has hosted the number-one-rated television talk show for almost twenty years. The Oprah Winfrey Show reaches more than thirty million viewers weekly in the United States and is broadcast to more than 110 countries.

This woman, who needs only one name to be identified by millions of people, is also one of the richest in the world, with an estimated worth of $ 1.3 billion, but this was not always the case.

Born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, on January 29, 1954, Oprah led an impoverished childhood-the farm had no indoor plumbing and the family used an outhouse. Oprahs parents were young and unmarried. Her father, Vernon Winfrey, was stationed at a local army base. Her mother, Vernita Lee, went to live in Milwaukee shortly after Oprahs birth to work as a maid, so Oprah spent her first few years with her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee.

Precocious and rebellious, Oprah went to live with her mother in Milwaukee at the age of six. At thirteen, she was sent to a juvenile detention home but was turned away because of a lack of room. No longer able to handle her daughter, Vernita Lee sent Oprah to live with her father and stepmother in Nashville, where Vernon Winfrey raised his daughter with strict discipline and the notion that she could accomplish great things in her life with education and a belief in her abilities. He insisted that Oprah read books, and she often relied on them as an escape from her harsh life. I dont know if my father has read a book in his entire life nor my stepmother. But they were educated enough to know that reading was important, she later told Life magazine.

At seventeen, Oprah had her first break. Nashville radio station WVOL hired her, and two years later she moved to WTVF-TV as a reporter and anchor. While anchoring the evening news there, she studied speech communication and performing arts at Tennessee State University.

In 1976, Oprah had an even bigger career opportunity, joining WJZ-TV in Baltimore as a coanchor of the Six OClock News. A few years later she became cohost of People are Talking, a local talk and interview show. Her popularity grew, especially among women, who identified with her because of her empathy and common touch.

In 1984, executives at Chicagos WLS-TV were looking for a personality to rescue AM Chicago from declining viewership. They took a chance on Oprah, and she didnt disappoint them. With Oprahs special gift for reaching an audience, the show not only became the most popular talk show in Chicagoeclipsing Donahuebut was expanded to one hour. It became The Oprah Winfrey Show.

In September 1986, The Oprah Winfrey Show went into national syndication and quickly became the countrys most popular talk show. The following year, the show received three Daytime Emmy Awards. More awards followed, including the coveted Broadcaster of the Year Award from the International Radio and Television Society.

Oprah didnt confine herself to TV. In 1985, she began her acting career, playing Sofia in The Color Purple, Steven Spielbergs adaptation of Alice Walkers novel. Again, she earned accolades, including Best Supporting Actress Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. Her later film accomplishments include the production of the film Beloved, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Toni Morrison, and performances in the made-for-TV movies The Women of Brewster Place in 1989, There are no Children Here in 1993, and Before Women Had Wings in 1997.

In 1988, Oprah established Harpo Studios, making her only the third woman in American entertainmentMary Pickford and Lucille Ball were the first twoto own her own production facilities. With this move, she gained control of her financial and business future.

With her fortunes rising, Oprah founded the Oprah Winfrey Foundation in 1987 to support education for children, women, and families throughout the world. Ten years later, she established Oprahs Angel Network, a public charity that has raised nearly $20 million to help establish scholarships and support womens shelters and youth centers.

She was instrumental in the passage of the National Child Protection Act, which, partly due to her high-profile Congressional testimony and program of public awareness, was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Nicknamed the Oprah Bill, it protects children from abuse by establishing a national database of convicted child molesters.

Building on her reputation and name recognition, Oprah launched O, The Oprah Magazine in April 2000, describing it as a different way for people to be informed and inspired. The magazine boasts a circulation of more than two million readers each month and has an international edition based in South Africa. Proceeds from the South African edition go toward scholarships and other causesespecially AIDS treatment and preventionin that nation.