Up Close: Oprah Winfrey

by Ilene Cooper

Oprah Winfrey has been called the Queen of All Media for good reason—during her more than thirty-year career, she has left an indelible mark on radio, television, film, theater, magazines, and books. Oprah is also a committed humanitarian.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2007

Reviews

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well everyone has always wondered what a day in Oprah's shoes would be like. Well as a fan and a reader of her biography I have learned so many things about Oprah Winfrey that I never knew about. And I'm sure others also. She started life just like a regular human being. Born in Mississippi,raised by grandma Hattie Mae,and discovered the beautiful things that the world has to offer. As the years went by Oprah went through some tough things that not every American goes through. From a miscarriage, to being the only African American on a daily news show she learned about life the hard way. Leaped from place to place in the media world, Oprah found her golden ticket in something she loved to do, and that's TALK!. She has done some en credible stuff to help out people in needs such as: AIDS, HIV, Debt, kids in Africa, and even homeless people. Oprah Winfrey is truly UP Close in depth in this book. I recommend you read the book and also learn q a few things about the famous and quite of an over achiever.

[Maria Villarreal · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Up Close: Oprah Winfrey" was originally published in 2018. It was written by Ilene Cooper and it was incorporated to a series of different biographies of famous people. This book discusses Oprah’s life, from how she was raised by her grandma Hattie Mae to how she found her passion in life and reached success. The author's thorough research of Oprah’s life allowed her to narrate Oprah's life; including interesting details and quotes from Oprah herself.
Oprah’s life was never perfect and it certainly wasn’t a fairytale. Oprah was born in 1954, at the beginning of the civil rights movement. She was raised in Mississippi where segregation still affected African American lives. Evidently, her life was predetermined to be hard. Nonetheless, Oprah expressed she never believed her future was limited,

“I never believed that would be my life. I believed I belonged to someone or something bigger than myself, my family, even Mississippi. I believed I was God’s child. Therefore, I could do anything.”

Her childhood was very unstable, living in three different states in just eight years. Nevertheless, she was successful at school as a child, considering her grandmother had taught and encouraged her to read since she was very young. On the other hand, her teenage years were not the best. Due to family issues and her integration to school, that had previously only been for whites, she became a rebel. She suffered a miscarriage in her teenage years and went through other tough situations in her life.

"I hid my pregnancy until the day the child was born. And I named all the people who could possibly have been responsible."

Oprah’s life was a constant rollercoaster, full of ups and down. Nevertheless, through life’s hardship, she found her passion in life. This led her to grow as a person and reach the success she has today.
I decided to read this book because Oprah Winfrey is an icon that I wanted to learn more about. I was very oblivious about her life and didn't know much. This book not only taught me about her life, but it also made me reflect upon mine. I realize that every storm or hard situation in my life comes with a learning experience. It is hard to see now, but life teaches you many lessons in order for you to thrive. Oprah taught me that you can still reach success and happiness even if at the time it doesn’t feel like it. I highly recommend this book to everyone because it will teach you different life-lessons that will be useful for your personal growth.

[Kailee F · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of Oprah Winfrey is one of the most inspirational biographies I have ever read. The biography includes many interesting facts from her life but transitions to Oprah’s point of view and gives some of her inspirational insight on the event. As a child, Oprah had always seemed positive and she already knew exactly where she was going in life. Growing up in a strict family was one of the main things that shaped her into being one of the most inspirational women. Even through the bad times in her life she always looked on the bright side and continued to spread positivity even if she wasn’t feeling as positive about her self. As the book goes on Oprah slowly overcomes these obstacles and continues to “exemplify America’s can-do spirit” (quote from the book). I think it’s truly amazing how the author can make you feel all the inspiration that Oprah has to offer, without her being there to say it to your face. Everything in the book is worded simply and runs at a brisk pace. Although the biography is quite short, I’m glad the author chose not to drag out most of her life events. Oprah has overcome many things in her life that would more than likely bring others down. But because of her positivity and inspirational kindness, many other women in America (and other countries) have also learned healthy ways to deal with these problems and keep themselves in a positive attitude. She isn’t just another inspirational idol. She’s a leader, to many people around the world.

[aarifa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oprah Winfrey 2020

[Elaini Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished "Up Close: Oprah Winfrey" by Ilene Cooper, and I thought it was a great book. The book starts with early parts of OPrah childhood. She was born on January 24, 1954 in Kosciusko Mississippi. Her mother left her with grandmother while she traveled North to find work and her father didn't really know her since he was at war. There Oprah began geeting a talent for doing public speaking, mainly in her church. By the age of six, Oprah's mother came back for her and took her to Milwaukee Wisconsin. But, by the age of eight, Oprah's mother decided that things were not working out so well and started to make contact with Oprah's estranged father. Oprah stayed with her father and her step mother for just one year, until her mother demanded that she come back to Wisconsin. During which time Oprah began to act out until finally her mother had had enough and sent her back to her father's. Sadly though, Oprah behaviors continued after she went back to her dad's. And by the age of fourteen Oprah had found herself pregnant, by most likely male relative, and, tragically, the baby past away after just two week. After the death of her son, Oprah started to turn her life around. She started doing better in school and went back to doing public, something she always had an intrest for. Eventually she got a part-time job a local radio station when she was in High Schol and soon enough more and more entertainment departments wanted Oprah. But she turned them downed and her part-time job continued while she went to college at a local University. Eventually Oprah was offered a coanchor job in Baltimore at a news broadcasting station, and she accepted. However, due to the racsim it was hard for her to get many people to favor her, not to mention the ridicule she recieved for her looks and weight. But then Oprah got her big break through and landed a job on the "People Are Talking" talk show. It soon out ranked "The Phil Donahue Show", the most popular talk show in the united states. Oprah then got a new talk show, for her self, on January 2,1984, named AM Chicago, which soon evolved itself into the "Oprah Winfrey Show". While working on her talk show, OPrah landed the role as "Sofia" in the 1985 film "The Color Purple". This landed Oprah an Oscar nomination and a lot more popularity. And soon Oprah's show took off, she was interviewing many famous celebrities from Halle Berry to Tom Cruise. By the 21st Century Oprah had becomed a very wealthy women and she started spending the money to better the world. She made many donations to AIDS fountations in South Africa and eventually statred making an AIDS fountation of her own for South Africa, she has also helped with the poor and mal-nurished and has recently built a school for girls in South Africa.

I enjoyed reading this book very much and it mainly has to do with the writing style that the author chose. I think thats the authors purpose for writing this book is because she wanted the readers to know about Oprah in a different way other then what they saw on T.V. I think she also wanted us to read this while still keeping engaged in the story and not feel like the audience was reading a history book of somekind. I believe that this was the authors intention because of the way she added in the specific details of Oprahs life, even the darker parts. Such as her grandmother wiping her with a tree brach when she miss behaves and her being wrapped by her male cousin when she was very young. And also by using characteristic words such as unhappy. I think that the genre of this story is an Biography. Due to the fact that it is basically addressing Oprah's life, from birth to 2007, in explict details.

[Judy Khalifa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography was very interesting because I usually don't read biographies, but as I read this book I realized that biographies are not that bad. I still wouldn't go read a biography in my free time out of free will, but this book changed my opinion about biographies. I found this book very descriptive of Oprah's life, and it got right to the point. The problem is that sometimes I would get mixed up and I wouldn't exactly be sure how old she was or what point of her life they were talking about (mainly because they keep referring to events that supposedly would happen to her in the future or have already happened). Another thing I enjoyed about this book is that the story was told from the start of her early childhood till now, in great detail (but not boring detail) and I learned a lot about her life and her experiences. Sometimes it was frustrating, though, trying to remember all the people's names, and I would have to start that specific section all over again. Reading this book was a new experience to me, but I still prefer fiction over non fiction. I would recommend this book to someone who wants to learn about Oprah's life or is interested in reading about people's accomplishments and failures, but otherwise, I would not recommend this book.

[Kolton Kolton]

This book was a pretty good book. It talks about oprahs life from when she was young to present day. It talks about her as a teenager being pregnant and how she hid her pregnancy until she had been pregnant for 8months. The child then died 2 weeks after birth. It talks about her struggling family life and about her growing up with different family members and how each of those people influenced her life. It talks about her weight problems and her diet of drinking only liquids for 4 months and losing 67 lbs and then gaining it all back because the diet altered her bodies metabolism. It talks about her show in the early stages when it was not very popular, then how it grew and grew into what it is today. It was a very interesting book and I learned alot about her that most people didnt know. No good quotes.

[Maddie Carver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers Oprah's childhood and her life growing up in Tennessee and Milwaukee. There are so many fascinating things I learned about Oprah throughout this book. Some of the struggles that came her way were problems with weight, rape, and lack of money to go through school. Oprah's talents of speaking and broadcasting came apparent and her career from then on skyrocketed. I would highly recommend this book to ages 13+.

[Alexis Kremer]

I liked this book and thought that it was inspiring because this book talks about how Oprah has left an impact or magazines and radio/television. This book also talks about how she was on a radio show and how she got to have her own talk show. Oprah was not always rich, she used to be very poor and then she became famous. This story shows you that you can do whatever you put your mind to and if you believe in yourself or not. She had a dream and made it happen now she is a billionaire.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know. I'm totally pathetic, but I have to get a good celeb gossip book in here and there. Interesting read - I learned a lot about Oprah's early life. It really made me realize just how much she has accomplished in her life.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book as I was searching for biographies that teens might like. As I browsed through, I was hooked to this surprisingly well-written story. Oprah has lived quite the life, and I have a new respect for what she's been able to do.

[Nura · Rating 3 out of 5]

finish it in one day. kemajuan *nyengir bangga*. kisah biografi yang cukup komplet kalo menurut gw. ringan tapi masih berasa getir perjuangannya. read some books mentioned in it, like Lilies of The Field.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow! What a rags to riches story! She not only came from a poor, single mother, but grew up back east during the black integration of schools and all the racial conflict during that period!

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good
now, when ever i watch Oprah i think of her past and i feel almost as if i have been a stalker watching her life from when she was only three. haha.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was amazing to read about her...I love her...finally I have the time to do some leisure reading.

[Jaxen Neff-Strickland]

I selected this book a while back because I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and read something different than I normally do. My favorite thing about this book is how it shows things from Oprah's whole life from childhood to adulthood. The only thing I might change about this book is that it goes more in depth to Oprah's childhood. I might recommend this book to someone who wants to learn more about Oprah Winfrey because it has a lot of quality information about her.