Oprah Winfrey

By Tom Kirvan

On September 8, 1986, the daughter of a poor unwed mother in Mississippi made it to the big time when her television talk show was broadcast nationally for the first time.

Her name was Oprah Winfrey, a former TV news anchor in Nashville and Baltimore before she moved to Chicago in 1984 to host a morning talk show program. Winfrey, within a matter of months, turned the show into a ratings winner, topping a popular program hosted by Phil Donahue in the Chicago market.

At the urging of movie critic Roger Ebert, of “Siskel and Ebert” fame, Winfrey signed a syndication deal with King World and “The Oprah Winfrey Show” was broadcast nationally for the first time on that late summer day in 1986, eventually becoming the highest-rated talk show in TV history.

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down,” said Winfrey of her long ride to the top of the TV world. “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.”

In addition to her TV stardom, Winfrey made her presence known in the cinematic sphere, earning an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Sofia in the 1985 movie “The Color Purple,” a Steven Spielberg movie based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name.

Oprah Winfrey*

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude,” Winfrey declared, noting that “the more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”

As her national profile grew, so did Winfrey’s impact on the media world, where a recommendation on her show could turn a book, a movie, a recipe, or virtually anything else into a bestseller. The phenomenon – in which she popularized the word “influencer” – became known as the “Oprah Effect.”

Now 72, Winfrey is currently focused on health advocacy, producing content, and expanding her digital footprint.

“Do the one thing you think you cannot do,” she said. “Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.”

^*^{Maxim Elramsisy (2024 August 21).}^{Chicago, Illinois - Oprah Winfrey at the Democratic National Convention}^{[Photograph]. Shutterstock. Retrieved August 27, 2026 from}^Shutterstock