Oprah Winfrey's Real Name: Oprah Gail Winfrey

Quick answer: Oprah Winfrey's documented full name is Oprah Gail Winfrey. Encyclopaedia Britannica records that she was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She is an American television host, actress, and entrepreneur whose syndicated program The Oprah Winfrey Show became the highest-rated talk show in the United States (Britannica; Encyclopedia.com).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress heading is "Winfrey, Oprah." A 2001 CIP galley cited there gives "Oprah Gail Winfrey," born January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, a form also used in the African American National Biography and in a Contemporary Authors-style Encyclopedia.com entry ("Full name, Oprah Gail Winfrey"). Encyclopedia.com profiles also say she was originally named Orpah, from the Book of Ruth, and came to be known as Oprah after a mix-up around the birth record. Britannica does not use the Orpah form. This page records both the documented full name Oprah Gail Winfrey and that reported original spelling. Britannica says she moved to Milwaukee at age six to live with her mother and in her early teens was sent to Nashville to live with her father, who proved a positive influence. She received a full scholarship to Tennessee State University but left to pursue broadcasting, later earning her degree in 1986. At 19 she became a news anchor at a local CBS station, later a reporter and coanchor in Baltimore, and in 1977 cohost of the morning show People Are Talking.

Career highlights

In 1984 Winfrey moved to Chicago to host the faltering talk show AM Chicago. Her style quickly turned it into a success, and in 1985 it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. Syndicated nationally in 1986, it became the country's highest-rated television talk show. That same year she formed Harpo Productions; Harpo Films followed in 1990. In 1985 she appeared in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, a performance Britannica calls critically acclaimed, and she later produced and appeared in Selma (2014), nominated for the Academy Award for best picture. She launched an on-air book club in 1996, published O, The Oprah Magazine, and founded the cable channel OWN. Britannica notes that these ventures earned her the informal title "Queen of All Media." Honors listed by Britannica include the Kennedy Center Honors (2010), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2013), and the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2018).

Name notes for searchers

Oprah Gail Winfrey is the documented full name; she is known professionally as Oprah Winfrey or simply Oprah. Some reference works report that she was originally named Orpah. Searchers looking for the talk-show host or the founder of Harpo are usually aiming at the same person.