Introducing Orpah: Five Facts

No, that's not a typo. On Wednesday, Lady Gaga will launch her Born This Way Foundation (BTWF) here at Harvard. The singer will not be the only celebrity on campus—actress/philanthropist/producer/talk show host Oprah Winfrey will be present to help launch the event as well. While Oprah's life may seem like an open book—she is notably candid about her rags-to-riches story—here are a couple of things you may not know about her, including an interesting fact about her name.

1. She is called by a name other than her own. She was originally named "Orpah Gail Winfrey" after a biblical character in the "Book of Ruth". Mispronunciation and consequent misspelling, however, led friends and family to refer to her as Oprah. It's probably a good thing since…

2. She named her production company Harpo–Oprah spelled backwards. Hapro Productions just doesn't have the same ring to it.

3. She's always been in the spotlight. Oprah was voted "Most Popular Girl" by her high school classmates and won the title of Miss Black Tennessee in 1972.

4. She suffers from chiclephobia, or the fear of chewing gum. According to Oprah, her grandmother used to save used chewing gum and proudly display it in a cabinet in their home. The collection so revolted Oprah that she banned gum chewing in her studio.

5. She changed the course of politics. By the estimates of economists Craig Garthwaite and Timothy Moore, Oprah's public endorsement of Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic Primary election gave the president one million additional votes over Hillary Clinton, cementing Obama's share of the Democratic vote.

If you weren't one of the lucky five to win the BTWF ticket lottery, never fear—highlights of the event will be featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network in the coming weeks.