Oprah Winfrey Biography

Fast Facts

• Won Miss Black Tennessee pageant and competed in Miss Black America pageant in 1971
• At age 19, became the first black anchor on a Nashville nightly newscast, working first at WVOL before moving to the CBS affiliate WTFV-TV in 1975
• Received the International Radio and Television Society's Broadcaster of the Year award in 1988, making her the youngest---and first black female---recipient
• Received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Morehouse College in 1989
• Received a total of 39 Daytime Emmy awards: seven for Outstanding Host; nine for Outstanding Talk Show; 21 in the Creative Arts categories
• After receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, she permanently withdrew her name from Daytime Emmy Award consideration
• Initiated a campaign to establish a national database of convicted child abusers, and testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of the National Child Protection Act in 1991
• As a result, President Clinton signed the "Oprah Bill" into law on Dec
• 20, 1993, establishing the national database used by law-enforcement agencies around the world
• First black woman named to Forbes magazine's billionaire list in 2003
• Formed her own production company, Harpo (Oprah spelled backwards), in 1986 to produce films, videos and television movies of social importance