Question 887: Woman Power

X was originally named after a Biblical character. Her family and friends' inability to pronounce the name caused them to put the "P" before the "R" in every place else other than the birth certificate.

X was born to unmarried teenage parents due to a single sexual encounter and the couple broke up not long after. After her birth, her mother traveled north and she spent her first six years living in rural poverty with her grandmother, who was so poor that she often wore dresses made of potato sacks. She has stated that she was molested by her cousin, her uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine years old.

At 13, after suffering years of abuse, she ran away from home. When she was 14, she became pregnant, her son dying shortly after birth. Her frustrated mother sent her to live with her father who made her education a priority. She became an honors student, was voted Most Popular Girl, joined her high school speech team , placing second in the nation in dramatic interpretation. She won an oratory contest, which secured her a full scholarship where she studied communication. She also attracted the attention of a local black radio station which hired her to do the news part-time.

Working in local media, she was both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at her place. And as they say, the rest is history...

Whom are we talking about?

Answer: Oprah Winfrey