GIRLS WHO GET IT-OPRAH WINFREY

6:28 AM Posted by MS.NOVA

Let’s be honest: You can’t really talk about Girls Who Get It without mentioning Oprah. If there’s one person who epitomizes the theme, it’s the poor country girl turned television tycoon turned most powerful woman in the world.

Born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage mother, Oprah was not off to an easy start. Raped and impregnated as a child, followed by the loss of her baby, Oprah overcame the mountain of obstacles in front of her and took hold of what she called her second chance.

Dedicated to her studies, Oprah later became an Honours student and secured a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. This Communication major put her degree to good use, eventually becoming a household name and media mogul.

An enormous public influence, Oprah has fast-tracked the careers of countless authors by giving their novels her Book Club stamp of approval. The co-author of five books herself, Oprah also publishes two magazines and appears on XM Radio to host a talk show on her own channel, Oprah Radio. An expert in building her personal brand, she continued the expansion of her empire with the launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) earlier this year. It’s her honesty, however, that keeps us coming back, as she candidly reveals pieces of herself while encouraging us to do the same.

Oprah also earned herself an Academy Award nomination in 1985 for her supporting actress role in The Color Purple. Twenty years later, she revisited the story and became the producer for the movie’s musical version on Broadway. Worth over $2 billion, the only Black female billionaire in history, Oprah is involved in countless philanthropic endeavours, including the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, where she routinely gives back to communities worldwide. Never married, Oprah maintains a steady relationship with longtime boyfriend Stedman Graham.

Because it’s practically impossible to cover her robust life in one blog post, check out Time Magazine’s “Top 10 Oprah Moments”. From her recent endorsement of President Barack Obama’s 2007 campaign to the unforgettable “You get a car!” episode of her show, I’m sure you’ll enjoy looking back on her history.

A natural leader who turned her life around and made a career out of inspiring others,