Today marks the birthday of Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954,) media personality and philanthropist. She is one of the richest and most influential women in the United States.
Born into poverty, Winfrey ran away from home at age 13 after being subjected to domestic abuse. At 14, she had a son who was born prematurely and died shortly after birth. Winfrey then made education her top priority, worked as a radio reporter while in high school, and studied broadcasting at Tennessee State University.
At age 22, Winfrey co-anchored the evening news in Baltimore. Two years later, she started cohosting a talk-show called “People Are Talking.” In 1983, she moved to Chicago to host a 30-minute morning talk show called “AM Chicago” which was later renamed the “Oprah Winfrey Show” after her ratings skyrocketed. In 1986, her TV show became nationally syndicated and was broadcast in 138 cities. It became the most popular daytime talk show of all time and ended in 2011. In 1996, Winfrey started her televised book club; each book she selected for her club sold more than 500,000 copies.
Besides being a media mogul, Winfrey is also a prominent philanthropist and has donated to various educational and racial causes. She is the primary benefactor of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.
Winfrey publishes O, The Oprah Magazine and has co-authored five books. Her memoir, The Life You Want, is due in 2017.
Inspirational Quotations by Oprah Winfrey
The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
I will just create, and if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, I’ll create something else. I don’t have any limitations on what I think I could do or be.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody is going to know whether you did it or not.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
For every one of us that succeeds, it’s because there’s somebody there to show you the way out.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life, but in other people’s lives.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that’s how I operate my life.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
Living in the moment means letting go of the past and not waiting for the future. It means living your life consciously, aware that each moment you breathe is a gift.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
I am a woman in process. I’m just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
I believe that every single event in life happens as an opportunity to choose love over fear.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
If you want to accomplish the goals of your life, you have to begin with the spirit.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
Every time you suppress some part of yourself or allow others to play you small, you are in essence ignoring the owner’s manual your creator gave you and destroying your design.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
I believe that you tend to create your own blessings. You have to prepare yourself so that when opportunity comes, you’re ready.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
The whole point of being alive is to evolve into a complete person you were intended to be.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
I believe that one of life’s greatest risks is never daring to risk.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
Luck is preparation meeting opportunity.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
I don’t believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)
You can have it all. You just can’t have it all at once.
—Oprah Winfrey (American TV Personality)