Oprah Winfrey is an inspiration to me because she embodies the ambitious, self-driven woman that I aspire to become. Her career in the entertainment industry has spanned over two decades including her television show The Oprah Winfrey Show which ran for a remarkable twenty-five years. Not only was it one of the longest running shows in America but it also captured an international audience. Her longstanding success with the show is a credit to her natural ability to engage with people through television leading her to be labelled as one of the most influential women onscreen.
Oprah Winfrey is acts as a chameleon in the entertainment industry. Not only is she an actress who has starred in a range of films (some which have raised issues about gender and race such as The Colour Purple and her most recent film Selma) she is also a producer and owns the production company Harpo Studios. The media empire that she has built for herself is a phenomenal achievement, not only as a woman, but as a black woman. She has broken down the barriers of a male dominated industry and paved the way for other women to follow in her footsteps.
Oprah uses her status as a platform to highlight global issues such as poverty and child abuse. Through her charity organisation, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation she has donated millions of dollars to provide help for people in countries across the globe.
