Oprah's Popularity

Born into poverty in Mississippi in 1954 with no real chance to get ahead in the world, Oprah Winfrey overcame almost every obstacle that a person might face. Oprah’s grandmother, who taught her to read at an early age, instilled in her a love of books that she retains today. She would say that she wanted to make her living by talking, for she was a gifted, quick-witted speaker.

Winfrey was an honors student, voted Most Popular Girl, joined her high school speech team at East Nashville High School, and placed second in the nation in dramatic interpretation. In 1977 she became co-host of a Baltimore morning chat show. With her gift of gab and her knack for asking the questions most listeners wanted to have answered, the station began to see an increase in their audience.

She turned a failing Chicago talk show into one of the most popular talk shows ever: The Oprah Winfrey Show. She combined compassion, vulnerability and an unashamed expression of emotion to become the nation's most popular talk show host. The years went by and as Winfrey dealt with issues of health, love and relationships on her show, the nation embraced her.

In an effort to promote reading, she founded in 1996 Oprah's Book Club, which recommends books to her viewers. The Oprah Winfrey Book Club became such a powerful force that whenever she introduced a new book as her book-club selection, it instantly became a best seller (known as the Oprah Effect).

Oprah has a loyal following; she has credibility, talent and an extraordinary career. She has managed to amass a sizable fortune, become one of the most powerful people in the entertainment industry, and yet maintains a sense of humility and compassion we all should strive to achieve.