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Oprah Winfrey: Vernita Lee
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Oprah Gail Winfrey was born in 1954 in rural Mississippi, the child of a love affair between Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee. Her parents never married, and Oprah spent much of her youth being shuttled between various relatives. From her troubled childhood, Oprah Winfrey has grown into a household name, achieving success as a talk show host, actress, producer, publisher, and activist.
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Winfrey was born January 29, 1954, on a farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi, the product of a fleeting tryst between 20-year-old Vernon Winfrey and 18-year-old Vernita Lee. Since her father was in the service when she was born and her mother was eager to leave Mississippi, Winfrey lived on the farm with her maternal grandparents until the age of six. Her father apparently learned of her birth when he received a printed baby announcement in the mail with a scribbled note: "Send clothes!" Originally named "Orpah," from the book of Ruth in the Bible, Winfrey came to be known as "Oprah" shortly after her birth because of the difficulty most people had spelling and pronouncing "Orpah" properly.
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At the age of six, her mother, Vernita Lee, decided that she could care for her young daughter and Oprah was sent to live with her mother in Milwaukee. From ages six to thirteen, Oprah stayed with her mother. She was raped by a cousin when she was nine years old and later molested by a male friend of her mother's and by an uncle. The young girl never told anyone about the abuse that she was suffering. Instead, she held her anger and pain inside and she rebelled. She repeatedly ran away and got into trouble.
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Vernita Lee