She is one of the most popular names in the entertainment industry and is now worth $2.9 billion, but back in 1983, Oprah Winfrey was just like any other woman trying to crack into the television industry.
After hearing that a Chicago-based morning show needed a new host, she was determined to make that job hers and stayed up through the night putting her audition tape together.
Her hard work paid off. Now, 30 years later her original audition tape has resurfaced (watch above).
Oprah landed the role as the host of AM Chicago and went on to dominate the morning time slot. In 1986 the morning news show was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and was broadcast nationally.
“In a field dominated by white males, she is a black female of ample bulk,” TIME magazine wrote at the time.
Oprah was praised as one of the best in the business for her hard hitting questions and, above all, her empathy.
“Guests with sad stories to tell are apt to rouse a tear in Oprah’s eye […] They, in turn, often find themselves revealing things they would not imagine telling anyone, much less a national TV audience. It is the talk show as a group-therapy session.”
Oprah’s long running TV stint lasted an incredible 25 years, before wrapping up in 2011. She now runs her network called OWN.
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