Editor’s Note: For every Kate Gosselin or Octomom, there is a woman like Oprah Winfrey or Maria Shriver who give us ladies something to strive for, whether it is their resilience, inspirational attitudes, or their work in helping others achieve their goals. And starting this week, Jenny Hudock will be writing about the amazing women who make all of us want to try just a little harder to become the best versions of ourselves.
Many of us face adversity. Life gets so tough that we can’t even begin to imagine rising out of the circumstances we’ve been dealt. For some women, rising above hardship feels like an impossibility, while others turn the downward spiral of their life upside down, riding that spiral straight to the top. Whenever I start to feel like life is too much for me to face, there is one woman whose rise to the top is a constant inspiration.
A lot of people think of Oprah Winfrey, and they only see her successes, but Oprah has always been open about the adversity she faced as a child. She may be one of the richest women in America today, but she wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
Oprah was born in 1954 in a poverty-stricken Mississippi neighborhood to unwed, teen parents. Her mother and father split up, leaving her alone with her mother for years. As a single mother, Vernita Lee struggled to support herself and her daughter, and left her daughter with her mother for several years. Oprah’s grandmother, Hattie Mae, did all she could to take care of her granddaughter, but times were tough, and more often than not, she couldn’t even afford to clothe the child. Attending school in dresses sewn from potato sacks, Oprah was teased and tormented by her classmates.
It was also during this critical time in her childhood that Oprah suffered repeated sexual abuse at the hands of multiple male family members, as well as friends of her mother. This sexual abuse became so difficult for her to bear, that she ran away from home at age 13, eventually winding up with her father in Tennessee.
Vernon Winfrey’s strict approach to parenting began to steer the course of his daughter’s life, but the sexual abuse she suffered eventually resulted in her becoming pregnant at just 14 years of age. The stress of discovering her pregnancy caused her to go into early labor, and the baby died shortly after delivery. It was her father’s support and wisdom during this difficult trial that would shape the course of Oprah’s life. Despite the horrors she had seen, he told her that she couldn’t change her past, but it was up to her to decide her future.
Taking her life into her own hands, Oprah went on to become an honors student in high school. Her ability to speak in front of crowds eventually captured the attention of a local news station, and for three years she worked onscreen as a weather reporter. Her experience and college education led to further news anchor jobs, which eventually landed her a hosting job on failing talk show, AM Chicago. After battling Phil Donahue in the ratings, she eventually surpassed his viewership and the network changed the title of the show to The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Around the time she was turning AM Chicago around, she was also cast in Stephen Spielberg’s film adaptation of “The Color Purple.” Her stunning performance as Sophia in the film gripped the hearts of viewers, and her upward climb toward the top was given an extra boost. After establishing Harpo Media, she gained control of The Oprah Winfrey Show, and began using her new-found power to alter not only the media, but to influence the law. During the 1990s, President Clinton signed the “Oprah Bill” which would establish a national database of convicted sexual predators.
One of the richest women in America today, Forbes Magazine revealed in 2003 that Oprah Winfrey was the first African-American woman to achieve billionaire status.
This information has been available to the public for decades now, so it’s no surprise to hear Oprah’s story again. It’s like a fairytale, her rags to riches ascent, and every time I read it, I can’t help but feel inspired. To have endured so many hardships, and risen to the top despite them, Oprah Winfrey is one of the most amazing women of our time. Not because she’s a billionaire, but because she’s used her influence and power to make the world a better place.
Always an inspiring story. You can be anything you’re willing to work hard enough at.