Oprah Winfrey is an American actress, journalist, narrator, host, publisher, and producer of TV shows, films, and theatre. She was born in poverty and grew up experiencing violence and sexual abuse, but her talent and persistence helped her achieve a career beyond her wildest dreams. She has turned everything she touches into gold, becoming the richest and most influential woman in the US and beyond.
She first experienced fame as an actress in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, for which she was nominated for an Oscar. Since then, she has carefully built her reputation as one of the most successful brands in the world.
Winfrey is also a long-time host of a TV talk show that has won numerous Emmy awards. She is often called the queen of media, as she single-handedly manages a multimedia empire, Harpo Productions, which is valued at $1.5 billion.
Her main mission is to serve others, especially the underprivileged, disabled, and marginalized, by uplifting, enlightening, encouraging, and transforming the way people view themselves. She shows a post-conventional level of moral thinking and responsible behavior towards marginalized communities through her activism and advocacy for their rights. Instead of listening to the “voice of the world,” she says she listens to the “still small voice,” which serves as her compass in her actions, grounded on her moral values and standards of integrity. She usually acts alone, but she listens to and values every idea from her not-so-small team in realizing her mission.
Winfrey’s TV show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which started in the mid-80s, was the cornerstone of her brand. This was a perfect platform for Oprah to communicate with guests in the studio (celebrities, writers, psychologists, and people with personal problems who were helped within the show) and her audience in her Chicago studio. Her brand had authenticity, and viewers knew what her house looked like, they were acquainted with her husband, chef, and nutritionist, and knew all about her dieting yo-yo effects because the whole show was dedicated to it. She quickly became the voice of the middle class in America, as her annual income reached the billion dollar mark. The show itself won a total of 38 Emmy awards.
Her brand was built with a strong sense of business acumen. As a producer of her own show, she made sure it was never too simple or too sensitive, even when other talk shows like those of Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake moved the genre towards the lower classes. In fact, her TV show enabled her to influence American law and highlight serious issues. In 1991, she campaigned for the American National Child Protection Act to establish a national database of convicted child abusers. Two years later, President Clinton signed it into law, which became known as the “Oprah Act.” Thus, through her persistence and unwavering commitment, she first became influential, then powerful over time.
Moreover, what sets her apart is her business acumen. She founded a massive corporate empire called Harpo (Oprah spelled backwards), which not only produces her TV work but also includes divisions
