Oprah Winfrey Movies

Since she’s the most powerful person in the world of entertainment, it’s high time we took a look at the Oprah Winfrey movies available on DVD and Blu-ray. Sure, she’s primarily known for her work on television, but Oprah has also demonstrated her acting chops in a handful of films. In addition, we’ll look at some notable Oprah Winfrey quotes and interesting factoids about her life and career.

It should be noted that all the Oprah Winfrey movies discussed below can be rented through Netflix. They offer delivery right to your door, as well as no late fees, and over 100,000 titles to choose from. Click here to become a Netflix member.

Oprah Winfrey – A Brief Bio

Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi on January 29th, 1954. Her parents were unmarried and both in their teens. Oprah’s mother worked as a maid, and her upbringing of her daughter was less than perfect. Often suffering from poverty and being made fun of by children for the condition of her clothes, Oprah would also endure sexual abuse at the hands of a cousin, uncle, and family friend.

But things started to turn around when she was sent to live with her father, and soon she was a popular honors student. After winning an oratory contest, she received a scholarship to Tennessee State University, where she majored in communications. After graduation, she went into the news industry, serving as an anchor for television stations in Nashville and Baltimore.

She moved to Chicago in 1983 and took over the low-rated morning show, AM Chicago. It was soon the highest-rated show in the city, and Oprah signed a syndication deal with King World. Her program was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and began national broadcasts on September 8th, 1986.

The rest, as they say, is history. Oprah now boasts massive appeal among viewers of all ages and ethnic backgrounds, and her Oprah’s Book Club has enabled authors to rise from the depths of obscurity to the heights of success. She’s made stars out of individuals such as Dr. Phil McGraw, Rachael Ray, and Dr. Oz, and publicly confessing your problems as a form of therapy has been dubbed “Oprahfication.”

At one point, she was the only African-American billionaire, and one poll voted her the most important woman in the history of the United States. Despite her fame and obvious success, she’s also found time to donate over $303 million to charities around the globe.

Not bad for someone who used to wear potato sacks for clothing.

For all the Oprah Winfrey movies on this list, become a member of Netflix.

Oprah Winfrey Quotes

If you enjoy listening to her talk, here are a few Oprah Winfrey quotes to make your day:

• “Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism.”
• “I don’t believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.”
• “I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes.”
• “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”
• “My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato and someone to share it with.”
• “You CAN have it all. You just can’t have it all at once.”
• “So go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground.”
• “The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.”
• “When I look into the future, it’s so bright it burns my eyes.”
• “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.”

Oprah Winfrey Facts

For those of you who would like to know more about the most powerful woman on the planet, here’s a selection of Oprah Winfrey facts:

• Over the years, Winfrey has donated money to help 250 African-American men either continue or complete their education at Atlanta’s Morehouse College.
• Consistently ranked as one of the most admired women in the world, according to an annual Gallup poll.
• Life magazine recently listed Winfrey as one of the 100 people who changed the world. Other people who made the list included Isaac Newton, Jesus Christ, and Muhammad.
• She was the wealthiest African-American of the 20th century.
• Oprah and partner Stedman Graham have been together since 1986, but they have never married.
• During a 1995 telecast, she confessed to smoking crack in her youth.
• Involved in a romantic relationship with John Tesh during the ‘70s.
• Winfrey had a child when she was 14, but he died shortly after.
• Her Montecito, California estate is known as “The Promised Land.” It’s 42 acres, with a view of the ocean and mountains.
• She was persuaded to sign a syndication deal with King World by film critic Roger Ebert. Winfrey and Ebert also dated for a brief period.

Oprah Winfrey Movies

And finally, here’s the list of Oprah Winfrey movies you’ve patiently been waiting for:

The Color Purple (1985) – Directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted from the novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple highlights the problems faced by African-American women of the early 1900s, specifically Celia Harris (Whoopi Goldberg), a young woman who is abused mentally and physically by the men in her life. Oprah plays Sofia, a woman far less willing to accept abuse, although her stance leads to brutal consequences. Co-starring Danny Glover and Margaret Avery, the film is a powerful and uplifting experience that shows it’s never too late to do the right thing. Winfrey received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role.

Beloved (1998) – Based on the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel by Toni Morrison, Beloved is a supernatural tale directed by Jonathan Demme and produced by Oprah’s Harpo Productions. It tells the story of a former slave, Sethe (Winfrey), and her struggle to find happiness while co-existing with a ghost from her past. Co-starring Danny Glover and Thandie Newton. While a box-office disappointment, the film is still worth a look, thanks in large part to the strong performances and the cinematography of Tak Fujimoto.

Charlotte’s Web (2006) – Blending live-action and computer animation, this G-rated Nickelodeon film is a modern-day retelling of the classic children’s story by E.B. White. Dakota Fanning stars as a little girl who rescues a small pig from slaughter, but the real stars are the animals voiced by actors such as Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, and John Cleese. Oprah gets in on the voice-over work, too, providing the personality for Gussie the Goose.

Bee Movie (2007) – A computer-animated family film co-written by Jerry Seinfeld, the story revolves around a honey bee named Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld) who leaves behind his life of conformity, befriends a florist, and eventually sues humanity for all the honey they’ve been stealing over the years. The all-star cast of voice actors includes Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Chris Rock, and Kathy Bates (along with many others). Oprah does her part by providing the voice for Judge Bumbleton.

The Princess and the Frog (2010) – Based on the novel The Frog Princess, this animated Disney musical is about a prince during the 1920s who’s turned into a frog by a voodoo priest. Seeking the kiss of a princess to turn him back, he talks a young woman named Tiana into giving him a smooch. But she’s no princess, and so she finds herself turned into a frog, as well. Together, they must journey deep into the Louisiana swamps to find a kindly voodoo priestess to reverse the spell, befriending a number of colorful talking animals along the way. Oprah lends her voice to Eudora, the mother of Tiana (who also happens to be Disney’s first black “princess“).

That concludes our look at Oprah Winfrey movies, and I hope you also enjoyed the quotes and personal facts that were thrown in at no extra charge. Join Netflix to have all the above movies delivered to your home, and remember that any commission we make goes right back into the site.

Also recommended:

• The Celebrity 100 from Forbes Magazine
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• Good Black Movies for Black History Month

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