She became the first black female news anchor before the age of 20 in Nashville, starting with a few gigs as a local anchor before landing a co-anchor position in Baltimore. She was sexually harassed and humiliated at her job in Baltimore, according to DailyWorth, but didn't need to quit — she was fired seven and a half months after joining.

Winfrey didn't stay down for long. She landed a gig hosting the then-stagnant morning talk show, "AM Chicago."

Within a few months, Winfrey turned "AM Chicago" from the lowest-rated talk show in Chicago to the highest-rated one, writes the Academy of Achievement. Three years later the show would be renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

She made a savvy, career-transforming move in 1986 when she founded Harpo Productions and negotiated ownership of the "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which brought in $300 million a year during its peak. Her company later produced lucrative spinoff shows, including "Dr. Phil" and "Rachael Ray."

While best known for her award-winning talk show, Winfrey has also been involved in films, television series, and plays. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1985 drama "The Color Purple."

She also published her own magazine, The Oprah Magazine; started a radio channel, Oprah Radio; and most recently partnered with Discovery Communications to launch a cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network.