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Let's Talk About Hair
O, The Oprah Magazine - January, 2014
photo by Ruven Afanador
One of my favorite magazine covers of all time is the January, 2014 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine which featured a fantastic photo by Ruven Afanador of Oprah Winfrey. The joyous exhilaration of it just makes me want to smile every time I look at it.
January is also the birthday of Winfrey. She was born on the 14th in rural Mississippi as Orpah Gail Winfrey; her first name was spelled Orpah on her birth certificate after the biblical figure in the Book of Ruth, but people mispronounced it regularly and "Oprah" stuck.
I used to enjoy watching her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show,
broadcast from Chicago,
in the afternoon; it was fun, entertaining and usually educational in one way or another. Her show was the highest-rated television program
of its kind in history and ran in national syndication for 25 years from
1986 to 2011.
A genetic test in 2006 determined that her matrilineal line originated among the Kpelle ethnic group, in the area that today is Liberia. Her genetic makeup was determined to be 89% Sub-Saharan African, 8% Native American,
and 3% East Asian. However, given the imprecision of genetic testing,
the East Asian markers may actually be Native American
Her mother was a single teenager. After Winfrey's birth, her mother traveled north, and Winfrey spent her
first six years living in rural poverty with her maternal grandmother,
Hattie Mae (Presley) Lee who was reportedly abusive. Her
grandmother was so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato
sacks, for which other children made fun of her.
Her grandmother taught her to read before the age of three and took her
to the local church, where she was nicknamed "The Preacher" for her
ability to recite Bible verses.
She has stated that she was molested during her childhood and early teens and became pregnant at 14; her son was born prematurely and died in infancy. Winfrey was then sent to live with Vernon Winfrey, a barber in Tennessee,
and landed a job in radio while still in high school. By 19, she was a
co-anchor for the local evening news which led to her transfer to the daytime
talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk
show to first place, she launched her own production company and became internationally syndicated.
In 1985, Winfrey co-starred in the Steven Spielberg film The Color Purple and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. The Alice Walker novel went on to become a Broadway musical which opened in late 2005, with Winfrey credited as a producer.
She has co-authored five books and she has published the magazine: O, The Oprah Magazine from 2004 to 2008. She also published a magazine called O At Home. In 2002, Fortune called O, The Oprah Magazine the most successful start-up ever in the industry.
Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she was the richest
African American of the 20th century and North America's first black
multi-billionaire, and she has been ranked the greatest black
philanthropist in American history. By 2007, she was sometimes ranked as
the most influential woman in the world. In 1994, she was inducted into
the National Women's Hall of Fame.
I think this is pretty amazing for a woman with such a discouraging start to life! But, after all, she IS a pretty amazing woman!
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
ABC News ~ Oprah articles
The Guardian ~ Oprah: from poverty to America's First black billionaire
Harper's Baazar ~ A Day In the Life of Oprah
Newsweek ~ Oprah articles
NY Times ~ Oprah articles
People ~ Oprah articles
Time ~ The Titan: Oprah Winfrey The Washington Post ~ Oprah debunks QAnon conspiracy
WBEZ Chicago ~ Let's Talk About Oprah's Hair
photo by Ruven Afanador
