For many people of the 80s-early 2000s, she’s Oprah Winfrey of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest-rated program of its kind in history, lasting a strong 25 years. She might be Sofia from The Colored Purple, or your leading spokesperson for the democratic elections of (now President) Barack Obama back in 2008 and 2012.
For others, she’s Oprah Winfrey the wealthy philanthropist, ranked the richest African-American of the 20th century and greatest black philanthropist in history. She can be known as the woman who has the “Oprah” effect, where her stamp of approval almost GUARANTEES monetary success for a business, or she can be seen as the “Queen of All Media”, where she now spends her days (among other things) working on the OWN Network. Whatever you know her as, all we can say is Oprah is in every sense of the word a Powerhouse.
Born into poverty and later recalling intense stories of abuse and molestation as a child, Oprah was an extremely devout student in school, solidifying a full scholarship to Tennesse State University, where she would attend and major in Communication.
While at Tennesse State, she would snag a part-time gig with the local black radio station, WVOL, which would be the eventual stepping stones into Ms. Winfrey’s transition into media and hosting for talk shows. Fast-forward to 1986, where high ratings and revenue percentages demanded to see more of the bubbly, commanding Oprah. What you get is The Oprah Winfrey Show, which took on to cover health, spirituality, sex, social issues, celebrity talk and giveaways (Remember when everyone got the car?!) Pretty much, she’s too fabulous for us to even handle it and a huge inspiration for anyone out there with a dream.
Ms. Winfrey may be the “Queen of All Media” but we’ve equally enjoyed watching her style evolution over the years. In the celebration of Oprah’s #BlackGirlMagic she just exudes to each of us, above, check out our style evolution of Ms. Winfrey from her earlier years in the 80s to present day.
