Oprah Winfrey is a true myth for many Americans. This woman, whose life as a child was not at all easy, was able to overcome a traumatic childhood and eventually become a brilliant communicator and the country's most respected icon.

Oprah: The Number One Talk Show Host

In 1986, The Oprah Winfrey Show was already the number one talk show on American television, and for the next twenty-five years, it would continue to hold a privileged media position: almost thirty million viewers followed its broadcasts in the United States alone and it would earn several Emmys for best talk show. 

Oprah and Her Film Career

Oprah ended her time at the helm of The Oprah Winfrey Show and founded in 2011 her own television network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which would soon know stellar moments. Oprah also contributed to the dissemination of reading with Oprah's Book Club section, included in her program; she has written books and practiced literary criticism, runs her own website and is the editor of The Oprah Magazine, a magazine that since 2004 followed the line of her television program.

She has also made huge strides into the world of cinema: she starred in such well-known films as The Color Purple, by Steven Spielberg, for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress; other notable titles in her filmography are Beloved, The Butler and Selma.

Oprah Winfrey Fun Facts

• She was crowned Miss Black Tennessee in 1972!
• Oprah's childhood nickname was "The Preacher."
• She earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013!