Oprah Winfrey's path to a (possible) presidential run

Firing off a bold speech at the Golden Globe Awards, people immediately started speculating whether renowned talk show host Oprah Winfrey would run for president in 2020. In her acceptance speech for the special Globes award honoring her achievements, 63-year-old Winfrey called for support for the press "currently under siege" and stressed the need for "speaking the truth."

In her speech, Winfrey described how she, as a little girl in 1964, watched TV as Sidney Poitier became the first black man to receive a best actor Oscar. The pivotal moment may have inspired her to later become the attentive listener she is renowned for in her "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011. She's shown here in 2000 with then Vice President Al Gore.

Winfrey started her media career as a journalist. This picture is from 1984, when she was the host of morning talk show "AM Chicago." She would go on to become one of the most successful businesswomen in the US. Oprah Winfrey may now be a multi-billionaire, but that's a far cry from her modest beginnings. Winfrey was born to a poor teenage mother in Mississippi in 1954.

Molested as a child and young teen, she herself gave birth to a baby boy at age 14. He died in infancy. Years later, she starred in Steven Spielberg's 1985 film "The Color Purple" (picture), which also deals with poverty and incest. By publicly talking about the abuse she experienced during her youth and other private issues, she created a new genre in US media, described as "Oprahfication."

Winfrey's emotional touch is said to have revolutionized the talk show genre. It was a recipe for success, turning her show into the highest-ranking of its kind. Her daily talk show, her publishing, her work as a producer and actress, her own television channel and the brand that is Oprah Winfrey has turned her into a multi-billionaire. She has, however, also shared her riches as a philanthropist.

President Barack Obama, whom Winfrey endorsed during his election campaign, awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. It is likely her courage and her manner of "leaning in" to people, uniting them rather than dividing them during her rousing Globes speech, that has prompted followers to call for her candidacy in the next presidential race.

In her Globes speech, Winfrey voiced her support of those involved in the recent #MeToo movement – women, many of them female celebrities, who have relayed their experiences of sexual harassment, among them from producer Harvey Weinstein. Now that her name is circulating as a potential candidate, Trump supporters are pointing to the chummy relationship between Winfrey and Weinstein over the years.

Having attended Tennessee State University, Winfrey now holds honorary doctorate degrees from Duke and Harvard Universities. She's also written several books on food, health and inspiration, among other topics. Released in October 2017, her book "The Wisdom of Sundays" explores spirituality and insight. Will the idea launched Sunday at the Golden Globes make up the next chapter in her life?