My Hero, Oprah Winfrey By Mary Beaton

Oprah Winfrey WebDone By Mary Beaton I choose Oprah Winfrey as my hero because I find her very inspiring and a great role model. I think that Oprah is a smart and respectable woman. I choose to read the book Rags To Riches. My book is a biography, was published in 2017. Rags To Riches is 64 pages long and covers the time span starting when Oprah was a girl until now.

Oprah Winfrey PortraitDrawn by Mary BeatonOprah was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Oprah's father, Vernon Winfrey, was an American military private. Oprah's mom, Vernita Lee, wanted to name Oprah after a character from the bible, Orpah. The name was misspelled giving Oprah quite a unique name. Oprah's Grandmother taught Oprah to read and write at the age of three. Oprah's family was so poor she sometimes had to dress in potato sacks and was made fun of by the local kids. Eventually, when Oprah was six, she moved to Wisconsin with her Mom. She was taken from her mom to be with her dad for a long time. But even though all the crazy things in their lives, Oprah's dad made going to school a huge priority for Oprah.

Oprah had a couple of personal problems growing up, her mom had an issue with drugs making it difficult for Oprah. She was bounced around a lot between her mom’s and her dad’s for a long, long time. Her dad made sure she got a good education and he helped to feed her love of reading. She absolutely LOVED to read. When Oprah was in college she got a phone call from the CBS station in Nashville. They were offering her the news anchor position! She couldn't believe this was happening! In 1976 Oprah went from Nashville to Maryland to get a job at a television station there, she did enjoy being a news anchor, but she found it wasn't quite the thing for her.

Oprah Winfrey Action PictureDrawn By Mary BeatonWhen Oprah was in Maryland she was the host of the talk show, People are talking. It was a match made in heaven for her! Oprah worked on that show for eight years and after her first episode she said doing the show felt easy as breathing. After her success as a talk show host, she decided to give acting a try, she decided to audition for the Steven Spielberg film, The Color Purple. At first when she auditioned, the casting director turned her down saying the she wasn't an actress. Oprah could not stop thinking about this, shortly after, Spielberg's office called telling her that they wanted her to play the part of Sofia! This was a huge opportunity for Oprah!

In 2011 president Barack Obama gave her the highest award that you can receive in the United States, The Presidential Medal Of Freedom.

And on that happy note I will end my book report. Thank you for reading!