Oprah’s Difficult Childhood and How She Became Who She Is Now
Oprah Winfrey is known as one of the most successful people in the world and she managed to become that even after a troubling childhood. Right now, Winfrey has a net worth of 3 billion dollars (USD). Her fame and success was very surprising to most because she is a black woman who came from poor conditions on a farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Winfrey was originally a wildly successful talk show host and has recently quit being a talk show host but still has her own television network, The Oprah Winfrey Network. She is an inspiration to many black women in America, that they can be successful no matter their skin color or their childhood. Winfrey is one of the richest and most successful …show more content…
The first time she was raped was when she was left in the care of her nineteen year old cousin at the age of nine (Street). Her cousin took her out for ice cream afterwards and told her not to tell anyone what he did to her that day (Fry). The rape continued after that for many years scarring Winfrey. The people that raped her were all people that she knew, such as, male relatives and her mother’s boyfriend, she suffered through the abuse until she ran away from home at the age of thirteen (Street). Every time she was raped she was told to never tell and she never did tell because she was not confident or brave at a young age (Oprah Winfrey Biography). She returned back home after running away and became pregnant at fourteen (Street). After she became pregnant she moved to Tennessee to live with her father. Her child died after she gave birth to it and she never knew who the father was. From her sexual abuse she learned and figured out that what the older men in her life did to her when she was young was wrong. Once she started one of her wildly popular talk shows she made a special episode centered on victims of sexual abuse during their childhood (Kelley). After that episode many people were appalled with how she talked openly about sex on national television but she eventually became an advocate on childhood sexual assault
Oprah Winfrey is known as one of the most successful people in the world and she managed to become that even after a troubling childhood. Right now, Winfrey has a net worth of 3 billion dollars (USD). Her fame and success was very surprising to most because she is a black woman who came from poor conditions on a farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Winfrey was originally a wildly successful talk show host and has recently quit being a talk show host but still has her own television network, The Oprah Winfrey Network. She is an inspiration to many black women in America, that they can be successful no matter their skin color or their childhood. Winfrey is one of the richest and most successful …show more content…
The first time she was raped was when she was left in the care of her nineteen year old cousin at the age of nine (Street). Her cousin took her out for ice cream afterwards and told her not to tell anyone what he did to her that day (Fry). The rape continued after that for many years scarring Winfrey. The people that raped her were all people that she knew, such as, male relatives and her mother’s boyfriend, she suffered through the abuse until she ran away from home at the age of thirteen (Street). Every time she was raped she was told to never tell and she never did tell because she was not confident or brave at a young age (Oprah Winfrey Biography). She returned back home after running away and became pregnant at fourteen (Street). After she became pregnant she moved to Tennessee to live with her father. Her child died after she gave birth to it and she never knew who the father was. From her sexual abuse she learned and figured out that what the older men in her life did to her when she was young was wrong. Once she started one of her wildly popular talk shows she made a special episode centered on victims of sexual abuse during their childhood (Kelley). After that episode many people were appalled with how she talked openly about sex on national television but she eventually became an advocate on childhood sexual assault