They mistreated Oprah Winfrey, beat her, and abused her. But none of that stopped her.
From her humble beginnings in a poor family in Mississippi to her rise to the top of television, Oprah has overcome numerous obstacles to become the influential and empowering figure she is today. She did not have an easy path at all, her moving story deserves to be told well to understand that it is possible to move forward and achieve great achievements with perseverance and determination.
A difficult childhood in extreme poverty with beatings and abuse
When she was born, she was given the name “Orpah Gail Winfrey,” but because people often mispronounced her, she ended up as what she is known today: “Oprah.” She was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, to a teenage single mother. The first six years of her life were spent with her maternal grandmother, as her mother went to work in the northern United States. They lived in such extreme poverty that her grandmother used to make her dresses out of potato bags, for which other children made fun of her.
Thanks to her grandmother, she learned to read before she was three years old. Her ability to speak and function existed from that moment on, she even spoke to her dolls. In the church she attended she was called “the Preacher.” But her grandmother was also an abusive disciplinarian.
In her book What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience and Healing, Oprah explained: “I was hit for the smallest of reasons. Spilled water, broken glass, the inability to stay quiet or still... The long-term impact of being hit—and then forced to keep quiet and even smile about it—turned me into a world-class pleaser for most of it. of my life".
Oprah Winfrey's life with her mother exposed her to the most terrible traumas
When Oprah was six years old, her grandmother became ill, and little Oprah was sent to live with her mother, who lived in a boarding house. Oprah remembers that the night she arrived, the owner of her place looked at her and said, “You're going to have to sleep on the porch.” As she remembers, there she felt a deep loneliness. At just nine years old, her 19-year-old cousin abused her. Then a family friend and uncle also did it several times over the years.
Oprah's mother worked as a maid for fifty dollars a week, doing what she could to survive. She didn't have time for anyone and, besides, she had just given birth to another girl, Oprah's younger half-sister.
With no one to trust or know how to seek help, Oprah rebelled, fighting with her mother, staying away from her all night, and not understanding that she could set limits on her body. Not knowing the consequences of being active, she became pregnant at the age of 14.
Oprah Winfrey's pregnancy changed her life
Her mother's first reaction was to take her to a girls' detention center. “I remember having a moment where I thought, 'I'm officially a bad girl now'... and I thought to myself, sitting there, waiting to be processed, that 'I really don't belong here,'” Oprah recalled.
It was then that she went to live with her father, Vernon Winfrey. Out of shame, Oprah hid her pregnancy from him until her swollen ankles and belly eventually gave her away. The same day she told her father the truth, her baby was born. Sadly, she died within a week.
Being so young, Oprah didn't really understand what had happened nor did she feel any connection to the baby at the time. But her father knew that her daughter now had more options than she would have had if she had been a teenage mother. “When that child died, my father told me: 'This is your second chance. This is your chance to take advantage of this moment and make something of your life,’” Oprah said. “And I took advantage of that opportunity. And I understood for myself… that I can do better.”
