Birthplace:
Kosciusko, Mississippi, USA
About the author:
Oprah graduated from East Nashville High School in Nashville, Tennessee (1971), where she was voted most popular. The given name on her birth certificate is Orpah, but the spelling was eventually changed to Oprah after others had difficulty pronouncing her name. She was ranked first in Entertainment Weekly's 1998 list of the most powerful people in show business, but dropped to sixth in the 1999 list. Still, she was the highest ranking performer, as well as the highest ranking woman, and the only African-American to make the list.