TELEVISION STAR AND PRODUCER
Host of her own top-rated talk show and founder of Harpo Production, Inc., actress Oprah Winfrey (1954–) is the most powerful African American woman in the entertainment business. AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.
Changing the Format.
Oprah Winfrey changed the format of the daytime television talk show in the 1980s, scoring huge ratings success with frank discussions of sensitive, sometimes controversial topics. Her nationally syndicated Oprah Winfrey Show was one of the most popular of the decade, and she earned honors as an actress as well.
Rough Childhood.
Winfrey came from a troubled childhood that included sexual abuse and a pregnancy when she was fourteen. Determined to rise above her unhappy circumstances, she...
Source: American Decades: 1980-1989, ©1995 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
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