Oprah Winfrey

 Winfrey was born in poverty in rural Mississippi to an unmarried teenage mother, and later moved to inner-city Milwaukee. She claims to have been molested during her childhood and teens. When she was 14, she became pregnant. Her son was born prematurely, and died within the first year of his life. Winfrey was transferred to Nashville, Tennessee to live with Vernon Winfrey. She landed an interview as a radio DJ while she was still in high school. When she turned age 19, she was co-anchor for the local evening news. Her exuberant and emotional style made her an anchor for the local news at night. She also became a first-place talk show host in Chicago. In the mid-1990s Winfrey started her own production company. Her show focuses on literature, self-improvement and mindfulness. Though she has been criticized for her embracing a confessional culture, promoting controversial self-help ideas and a purely emotional approach to her work, she is also acknowledged for her ability to overcome hardship and make a difference to the lives of others. Winfrey also emerged as an important political player in the 2008 presidential campaign as she endorsed Barack Obama estimated to have earned her around 1 million votes in the 2008 Democratic primary. In 2013, Winfrey was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama and also received honorary doctorate degrees from Duke and Harvard. In 2008, she established her own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).