Oprah Winfrey--the best "Rags to Riches" story

She may be the only Black woman in history to be a billionaire, and one of the most powerful and influential women in the world, but the life of Oprah Winfrey was not always so rosy.

Childhood and early adolescence was hard for the would be talk-show queen. She was born into rural Mississippi and was so poor that she wore dresses made of potato sacks.  (Dobby Winfrey?)

Her mother had her own problems, being a single teenage mother and working as a housemaid just to survive, she didn't have a lot of time to watch over the young Oprah.  As a result, starting at the age of 9, Oprah was being sexually molested and raped by relatives and a family friend.

This must have been a dark period in Oprah's life; young, helpless, terrified, desperate and with no end in sight to her sufferings.


Treated so badly, Oprah's self-esteem and sense of self-worth was severely damaged, which explains her history of abusive relationships.  She once said that "I needed everyone to like me, because I didn't like myself much.  So I'd end up with these cruel self-absorbed guys who'd tell me how selfish I was, and I'd say 'Oh thank you, you're so right.'"

Things got so bad that Oprah ran away from home numerous times. Not surprisingly, with such an insecure childhood, Oprah became a rebellious teenager, stealing money from her mom and dating older boys.  She became pregnant at 14 and gave birth to a baby boy, but to only see him die in infancy.

So at such a young age, Oprah had already suffered poverty, neglect, sexual abuse, and a major death in her life.  That's more suffering than most people experience in their entire lifetime!

But instead of letting her life spin off into drugs, sex, and delinquency, she chose to lead a life like no other.  Oprah's saving grace came when she was sent off to live with her father, who instilled discipline in Oprah and made sure she got good grades.

Oprah's potential quickly shone through; she became an honor student and was even voted Most Popular Girl! As a gifted orator, Oprah landed a job at a local black radio station while still in high school, then worked as the youngest anchor at a Nashville TV station.

She had the uncanny gift of turning around low-rated shows which eventually landed her the talk show that would come to define her life, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the rest, shall we say, is history.

It is mind-boggling what this woman has achieved in her life, especially in view of where she started. So if ever you find yourself saying "I can't do it," look to Oprah and be inspired by how a poor, black girl from rural Mississippi with no connections, resources and a world of odds against her was able to land on top of the world!