Custom «Oprah Winfrey» Essay Paper Sample

Our case study is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah is one of best known Hollywood stars that has enjoyed along time of stardom. Having been born in 1954, Oprah comes from a very humble back ground. Her success is fancied by many as she overcame all odds; poverty, racism among others to storm into a celebrity status. As a child, she could not afford to own a pair of shoes and lived in a poor urban setting. The fact that she was black, the probability of her succeeding in life was almost zero. It is also interesting to note that she was able to know how to read without attending school. Even after enrolling into school, she skipped kindergarten and second grade. These apart, Oprah is now a celebrated African American woman who has hit news headlines for enviable talent and achievements as a Hollywood star and even globally (The Washington Informer, 5)

The Washington Informer (6) notes that it can be easily acknowledged that Oprah has uncountable identities so to say; but those that strike the interest of many people who get to know her are that she is a female, African American democrat ands a Talk Show Host.

According to NNDB (2), it is unimaginable that besides being female Oprah managed to overcome the challenges in her life to make where she is now. First she did not give up school despite the fact she was from a poor background. Oprah also managed to overcome the sexual abuse as a girl child. She was sexually abused, had teenage pregnancy and gave birth to a baby boy at 14. The baby died after two weeks but this did not deter her from pursuing of her dreams. As a female, Oprah is endowed with beauty and at the age of 18 years, she was a model and won after won Tennessee beauty contest. This marked the beginning of success, fame and stardom that was to come her way. Today, she is ranked number one powerful woman in the world by CNN and also she has been named the world's influential woman.

Being an African American Democrat has played a big role for Oprah to achieve her admirable celebrity status in Hollywood, the whole of America and even globally. This factor has made her outstanding bringing a number of great attributes to her name. First, Oprah is rated among the richest people in the world. She was also the first African American woman billionaire. She is believed to be about 2.4 billion dollars rich as reported by Forbes magazine of 2010.Oprah owns a number of companies among them Harpo group of companies, Oprah Winfrey network, O Magazine among others. Additionally, as an African American Democrat, Oprah was in full support for Obama campaigns that led to him winning in preliminary and even in the final elections US elections in 2008 (The Washington Informer, 5).

The NNDB (3) asserts that Oprah is a celebrated Talk Show Host. This is way back in 1986 when her show was first televised countrywide. Oprah was a house hold name from then and her talk has been listed among the best day-time talk shows since then. Her talk show is estimated to have a whooping 14 million followers by 1998. It is projected to have reduced by almost half in a period of ten years. However it is the popular talk show globally as it shows in 140 countries.

The insight into Oprah's popularity is that she is a person who has used her status to touch the lives of other people. As seen from her talk shows and interviews, her funs have labeled her as genuine, moving and warm. Her talk show is likened to a therapy that helps followers to solve stalemates in their lives.

Through her work as a talk show host and a philanthropist, Oprah sends out a very strong indicator to her desired culture in America. Over time, Oprah has come out as an outstanding successful woman from a very poor background, philanthropist and talk show host who has inspired and influenced people way of life in world and specifically America. This has had an effect on the American culture. She is philanthropist. This won her the annual Kennedy Center Honors for her input to the American way of life through television (NNDB, 1)

In conclusion, Oprah is one of the most celebrated Hollywood stars. She is not only the most successful African American woman in the world but also very influential. Hers is a success that is attributed to the fact that she is a woman doing extra ordinary things, her massive talent as a television talk show host and his uncountable charitable works. Oprah is one Hollywood star that has had a great influence on the American way of life as a philanthropist.