ChronoFive
Play today’s puzzle
Setting the scene
Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954, in rural Kosciusko, Mississippi, to an unwed teenage mother. She lived with her grandmother, then moved to Milwaukee and Nashville, surviving abuse and teenage pregnancy loss.
What happened
Winfrey became Nashville's youngest news anchor at 19, then hosted AM Chicago, renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986. Syndication made her a billionaire media mogul with Harpo Productions, OWN network, and O Magazine.
Why it still matters
Her book club could send novels from obscurity to millions of sales overnight; her 2008 endorsement of Barack Obama drew enormous attention. Memorable detail: Winfrey once gave an audience 276 cars—Pontiac G6s—while shouting 'You get a car!' in one of television's most famous giveaway episodes.
Background
Her book club could make novels bestsellers overnight.