[56], Online Winfrey's company created the Oprah.com website to provide resources and interactive content relating to her shows, magazines, book club, and public charity. At the announcement of a weight loss book in 2005, co-authored with her personal trainer Bob Greene, it was said that her undisclosed advance fee had broken the record for the world's highest book advance fee, previously held by the autobiography of former U.S. President Bill Clinton. at the same time he met a staple. The Winfrey family is a remarkable story of building productive lives for themselves out of the ashes of slavery, starting with virtually nothing but determination and drive, and an almost irrational embrace of hope. Her birth name is Orpah, after the biblical figure, in the Book of Ruth. Image: Oprah Winfrey Family: Father Vernon Winfrey, Stepmother Barbara Winfrey, boyfriend Stedman Graham Unfortunately, her baby died soon after birth. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/ancestry-of-oprah-winfrey-1421636. Oprah Gail WINFREY was born on 29 Jan 1954 on in the small town of Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi to Vernon WINFREY and Vernita LEE. DNA testing has taken some amazing leaps forward since Oprah took her test. She uses the name Oprah, as people usually mispronounced it that way. Geneastars | Facebook. In 2009, Winfrey provided the voice for the character of Eudora, the mother of Princess Tiana, in Disney's The Princess and the Frog and in 2010, narrated the US version of the BBC nature program Life for Discovery. She herself became pregnant at the age of fourteen. The hourlong show is part biography -- most . At the time of her birth, she had a sister who was 4 1/2 years old, a brother who was 2 and a 9-year-old sister, who lived with her father in Nashville. Her mother was Vernita Lee, who lived on a small family farm. Constantine likely took his surname from a slave owner, Absalom F. Winfrey. Oprahs story is a rags-to-riches one. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. "[50] In 2005, Harpo Productions released a film adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ive got to say, when it happened to me, it was absolutely empowering to know the journey of my entire family, Oprah said. Patricia Lofton:Oprah's mother had a third daughter in 1962 and named her Patricia as well, she was given up for adoption and Oprah didn't know she had a sister until 2010. Her grandmother taught her to read before the age of three and took her to the local church, where she was nicknamed "The Preacher" for her ability to recite Bible verses. Try again. women). Oprah was raised by her single mother. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Harvard professor and current host of Finding Your Roots, has written about why Oprahs DNA shows such diversity within Africa. with Unknown, View Oprah Winfrey's Family Tree and History, Ancestry and Genealogy, Oprah Winfrey's father is Vernon Winfrey Oprah Winfrey's mother is Vernita Lee Oprah Winfrey's step-mother is Velma Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey's son was Son Of Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey is the fiance of Stedman Graham, Oprah Winfrey's half-sister was Patricia Lee, Oprah Winfrey's grandfather is Earless Lee Oprah Winfrey's grandmother is Hattie Mae Lee, HM Queen Elizabeth II She was the host of The Oprah Winfrey Show from 1986 to 2011. Major children and living persons must directly contact the. 1933, Princess Diana Oprah's mother Vernita Lee worked as a house cleaner. The map below shows the places where the ancestors of the famous person lived. She experienced considerable hardship during her childhood, including being raped at the age of nine and becoming pregnant at 14; her son died in infancy. in the south it have been told that hattie mother miss staplie had a daughter by Henry guilford of Alabama.i think hattie might be my grandfather aunt. In accordance with the legal provisions, you can ask for the removal of your name and the name of your minor children. ", https://achievement.org/achiever/oprah-winfrey/#interview, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey, https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/oprah-winfrey-reveals-her-dad-170142761.html, Academy Award Nominees of the 20th Century, US Black Heritage Project Managed Profiles. She's acute. Oprah was moving out of Nashville for her career, she tried to persuade him to go with him and unfortunately it didn't work out for them, Oprah still fondly remembers her relationship with Mr. Taylor fondly. It is not clear if these lineages have been verified/documented genealogically. Her mother, Vernita Lee (born c. 1935), was a housemaid. On the birth certificate it is Orpah, but then it got translated to Oprah, so here we are. Oprahs links to Zambia are most likely part of the Bantu migrations, he says, when a group of Bantu-speaking Africans long ago migrated out of southern Cameroon and peopled huge sections of central and southern Africa. Her first child was Oprah. In the early years of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the program was classified as a tabloid talk show. ToS Winfrey's biological father is usually noted as Vernon Winfrey (born 1933), a coal miner turned barber turned city councilman who had been in the Armed Forces when she was born. Her test results showed her to be correct about the European ancestry (she had 0 percent), but wrong about the Native American part (8 percent). Oprah also discovered a big secret in her family that changed her life: a unknown half-sister. [23] She worked there during her senior year of high school, and again while in her first two years of college. In 2002 Fortune called O, the Oprah Magazine the most successful start-up ever in the industry. Shes a property owners daughter. Her self-help books earned her appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show She ran for president in 2020, then ultimately endorsed Biden By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Oprah Winfrey Longterm partner: Stedman Graham (since 1992) Stedman Graham Children: Canaan (one son, which died after two weeks from birth) Very often famous people come from rich well known families. Oprah Winfrey bought the Nashville barbershop her father, Vernon Winfrey, has run. Oprah Winfreys Surprising DNA TestANCESTRYDNA, LIFESTYLE, MOST POPULAR27 May 2014BY LESLIE LANGWhen billionaire media producer Oprah Winfrey took a DNA test for the PBS show African American Lives a few years back, she learned that her DNA had three exact matches with the Kpelle people, who lived in western Africa in whats now Liberia; the Bamileke people in Cameroon; and a Bantu-speaking tribe in Zambia. Oprah's recent purchase came at a price of nearly $6.6 million for the 870 acres of agriculturally-zoned land from Hawaii-based seller Ulupalakua Ranch, according to the sales deed obtained by . [12][13] By the mid 1990s, she had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, and spirituality. Oprah wasborn in 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi. [55] The audience for her magazine is considerably more upscale than for her TV show, the average reader earning US $63,000 a year (well above the median for U.S. [51] Oprah voiced Gussie the goose for Charlotte's Web (2006) and the voice of Judge Bumbleden in Bee Movie (2007) co-starring the voices of Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger. Geni requires JavaScript! ThoughtCo, Jul. Oprah Gail WINFREY was born on 29 Jan 1954 on in the small town of Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi to Vernon WINFREY and Vernita LEE. Oprah Winfrey is a part of US Black history. [30] At age 17, Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant. (Her Family Tree Explained): https://youtu.be/T1-oG20pf348) Empress Sisi was Extremely Inbred: https://youtu.be/ln3NpEUNCCI9) How Did Elizabeth I Look in Real Life- With Scars \u0026 All:10) How Did King Henry VIII Look in Real Life- From Sexy to Ugly: SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE FAMILY TREES \u0026 RECREATIONS:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLkN9aa7m2J4PKtSTs4DrlQ#Oprah #FamilyTree #Ancestry However herfamily had problems to pronunce it and ended up calling her Oprah. She gave birth prematurely at age fourteen, to a son, Canaan, who died shortly after. Oprahs maternal grandmother was Hattie Mae Presley/Pressley (the daughter of Nelson/Milton Alexander Presley/Pressley and Amanda Winters). Forget about the potato sack theory. The Brown Family Tree It's not your typical family tree. Their much publicized contest was the subject of enormous scrutiny. https://www.thoughtco.com/ancestry-of-oprah-winfrey-1421636 (accessed March 4, 2023). That's about 19%. Gayle was born in1954, she has her own show called "Gayle King show". The pair met at Tennessee State University and it is understood Oprah helped him get a job at WVOL radio station. I might have to disagree about this not being a good tool for aopfessionrl genealogists. In a field dominated by white males, she is a black female of ample bulk. Anthony Otey: Anthony was Oprah's First known Boyfriend. Family tree of Oprah Winfrey Family tree of Oprah Winfrey - EntiTree Visualize the family tree on a dynamic, navigable tree diagram. In late 2008, Winfrey's company Harpo Films signed an exclusive output pact to develop and produce scripted series, documentaries and movies for HBO. Within months after Winfrey took over, the show went from last place in the ratings to overtaking Donahue as the highest rated talk show in Chicago. She won an oratory contest, which secured her a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, a historically black institution, where she studied communication. Please try again. Categories: USBH Notables, Needs More Sources | USBH Notables, Needs Biography | USBH Notables, Needs Connection | Talk Show Hosts | United States, Philanthropists | American Actors | Academy Award Nominees of the 20th Century | Golden Globe Award Nominees | Presidential Medal of Freedom | 100 Greatest African Americans | African-American Notables | This Day In History January 29 | Notables | US Black Heritage Project Managed Profiles | Spingarn Medal, WIKITREE HOME | ABOUT | G2G FORUM | HELP | SEARCH. She was named after a biblical character in the Book of Ruth ( Bible) and her original name isOrpah. She is regarded as one of the most influential women in the world, and possibly the wealthiest African-American of the 20th century. As many of us,Oprah also got interested to discover moreabout her family history and decided to do a genetic test in 2006. This information, together with historical data found at Ancestry, can be a powerful tool to help break through difficult genealogical brick walls.. See the Elon Musk family tree here at FameChain. Due to the limitations of genetic testing this is unsure. [17], Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi to unmarried teenage parents. [27] She later said she felt betrayed by her family member who had sold the story to the National Enquirer in 1990. Added by Janet Milburn 8/5/22 According to Geni, Oprah is my 16th cousin, four times removed. View Oprah Winfrey's Family Tree and History, Ancestry and Genealogy Oprah Winfrey's parents: Oprah Winfrey's father is Vernon Winfrey Oprah Winfrey's mother is Vernita Lee Oprah Winfrey's step-mother is Velma Winfrey Oprah Winfrey's children: Oprah Winfrey's son was Son Of Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey's current partners: After I tested uploading my gedcom, each person had a page for pictures, written documents, biographical sketch. Place of Birth: Kosciusko, Mississippi, U.S. Oprah had a son born to her prematurely, she named him Canaan, unfortunately the baby did not survive and died soon after. Explore how the celebrity world connects.