Life in Film: Oprah Winfrey

The Oscar nominee's incredible cinematic journey.

Oprah Winfrey - In 2013, Oprah Winfrey added yet another accolade to her growing list of honors when she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama. The internationally successful broadcast journalist headlined The Oprah Winfrey Show, which became the highest rated talk show in America for 25 years. Winfrey has also touched the lives of many through her philanthropic work. Some of her more recent awards include the Kennedy Center Honors in 2010 and the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2002.(Photo: Bizu/WENN.com)
Weekend Movie Marathon: Oprah Defines Her Womanhood in The Color Purple - As we gear up to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., BET Star Cinema has a mix of both funny and serious films that show the complexity of the Black experience. Take a look at this weekend's lineup. (Photo: Warner Bros.)
Native Son (1986) - Winfrey's follow-up to The Color Purple was another film based on a seminal literary work, Richard Wright's Native Son. In the black-and-white film, Winfrey plays the desperate and beleaguered mother of main character Bigger Thomas, a young man on trial for the murder of a white woman. Though the film was critically panned, Winfrey was regarded as a bright spot among an otherwise misguided cast. (Photo: Cinecom Pictures)
The Women of Brewster Place (1989) - Winfrey produced as well as starred in this critically acclaimed mini-series adaptation of Gloria Naylor's novel. She played the leading role of Mattie Michael, a single mother from the South who loses her home to bail her son out of jail, and has to move into an urban tenement where she finds comfort in the company of other women. The series also starred Lynn Whitfield, Cicely Tyson and a young Larenz Tate. (Photo: ABC)There Are No Children Here (1993) - In this made-for-TV adaptation of Alex Kotlowitz's best-selling non-fiction book, Winfrey plays LaJoe Rivers, an impoverished mother trying to shield her children from the violence of life in the Henry Horner Homes, a housing project that is among Chicago's most dangerous. The actress was so moved by the real-life story and the hardships faced by residents of the Horner Homes, she donated her entire acting fee — $1 million — to the children of the projects.  (Photo: ABC) 

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The Color Purple (1985) - Winfrey brought incredible depth and inner life to high-spirited yet distraught Sofia in this classic film, calling on her own experiences with abuse. Though it was her first-ever film role, Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. (Photo: Warner Bros.)

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