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Oprah Winfrey: South Africa
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Winfrey had her DNA tested for the 2006 PBS program African American Lives. The genetic test determined that her maternal line originated among the Kpelle ethnic group, in the area that today is Liberia. Her genetic make up was determined to be 89% Sub-Saharan African. She is part Native American (about 8% according to the test) and East Asian (about 3% according to the test).
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Winfrey was born out of wedlock to an impoverished young woman, Vernita Lee, in Mississippi at a time when segregation in that state denied basic civil rights to African Americans. Her mother named several different men as potential fathers to Winfrey, but only one man, Vernon Winfrey, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, took responsibility for the child. Throughout her life, Winfrey would refuse to have the tests done that would determine whether Vernon was her biological father.
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In April 2000, Oprah and Hearst Magazines introduced O, The Oprah Magazine, a monthly magazine that has become one of today's leading women's lifestyle publications. It is credited as being the most successful magazine launch in recent history and currently has a circulation of 2.3 million readers each month. In April 2002, Oprah launched the first international edition of O, The Oprah Magazine in South Africa, extending her live your best life message to another broad audience.
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According to Forbes magazine, Oprah was the richest African American of the 20th century and the world's only Black billionaire for three years running. Life magazine hailed her as the most influential woman of her generation. In 2005, Business Week named her the greatest Black philanthropist in American history. Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $51,000,000 for charitable programs, including girls' education in South Africa and relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
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Born in a small town in Mississippi in 1954 and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Oprah began her career in broadcasting at age 17 at radio station WVOL. By 19, she was anchoring the news at WTFV-TV, both the the first African-American woman and the youngest person ever to do so. In 1976 she moved to Baltimore, where she co-anchored WJZ-TV's Six O'Clock News. She soon made the switch to doing talk shows, hosting the local People Are Talking.
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A further controversy stemmed from the Hip Hop industry feeling Winfrey looked down her nose at them as bad influences in the African-American community. In 2006, hardcore rappers such as Ludacris, 50 Cent and Ice Cube joined together to say Winfrey had an anti hip–hop bias on her show, after Ludacris’ air time promoting the movie “Crash†(2004) was edited because the host was not a fan of his misogynistic lyrics. Winfrey responded by saying she was opposed to rap that marginalized women but enjoyed hip–hop as an art form.
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