Oprah Winfrey: The woman who rose from a deprived childhood marred by sexual abuse to hot tip for US president

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Eleanor Rose9 January 2018

Oprah Winfrey's long-term partner has said the media veteran would "absolutely" run for US president if she had public backing.

The comment - now being taken seriously by pundits - came after Winfrey's Golden Globes speech won a standing ovation on Sunday night as she became the first black woman to win the prestigious Cecil B DeMille Award for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.

In her rousing address, the talk show host hailed the women who came forward with stories of sexual harassment in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and viewers described her speech as "phenomenal".

Winfrey initially played down chances of a future presidential bid, but Stedman Graham, her partner of more than 30 years, told the Los Angeles Times: “It’s up to the people. She would absolutely do it.”

Bookies slashed the odds of Winfrey, 63, becoming Donald Trump’s successor in 2020 from 89/1 to 16/1.

Here's all you need to know about an African American woman raised in poverty who became a hot tip for next US president.

A deprived childhood

Born to a teenage single mother on a rural farm in Mississippi, the future media mogul spent her first six years living with her grandmother in the countryside, where - according to interviews with Winfrey - they were so poor she wore dresses made of potato sacks.

She then spent her early years moving around as her mother, a housemaid, struggled to provide for her. As well as deprivation, her childhood was also marred by sexual abuse; she has told how she was raped aged only nine.

Aged 13, Winfrey ran away from home before moving to live with her father who encouraged her education. After doing well at high school she won a scholarship to Tennessee State University where she studied communication.

Broadcasting success

After landing a part-time job with a local black radio station while still at high school, Winfrey launched her broadcasting career in Nashville, becoming the youngest black woman to anchor the news at WTVF-TV aged just 19.

She then moved to Chicago to host a morning talk show, which became the top local TV chat programme in just a month.

Within a year, the show was lengthened to an hour and renamed the iconic Oprah Winfrey Show.

As Winfrey built a reputation for listening to the problems of ordinary Americans, the show went national in 1986 and has since become the highest-rated talk programme in American television history, reaching more than 40 million viewers a week in the US and licensed to 150 countries around the world.

Media mogul

Winfrey established her own studios in 1988 and in 2011 debuted her own network, which is available in 85 million homes.

She has also launched a magazine with company Hearst, her own website and studio, Harpo Films, has produced award-winning films including Beloved, based on Toni Morrison’s novel.

She has also starred in films herself and voiced roles in animated movies including Charlotte’s Web and Bee Movie.

Natural successor? Oprah Winfrey with Barack and Michelle Obama
REUTERS

Through her charity, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, the talk show host has campaigned for better education and empowerment of women, children and families in the US and across the globe.

Her popularity as a media figure has led several high-profile to lend their backing to a future presidential bid.

Meryl Streep told the Washington Post after the Golden Globes speech: “She launched a rocket tonight. I want her to run for president. I don’t think she had any intention. But now she doesn’t have a choice.”

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