Preloading

What's This Child Prodigy's Life-Altering Update?

Aired on 07/09/2015 | CC tv-14
In 1991, a 13-year-old child prodigy, then known as James Charles Harries, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as "Britain's youngest tycoon." James started an entrepreneurial career at age 4, collecting items from rummage sales and then reselling them for a considerable profit. In one impressive example, the young tycoon purchased a bag of spoons for less than 50 cents and ended up netting $3,500!

However, at the time, James had no idea how advanced this was...until it was put on film.

"I was on a documentary, and they put me with the average child. Then I saw the difference," James told Oprah in 1991. "I couldn't believe it. I really could see what actual people used to say [about me]. 'Well, you're different.' I actually realized I was."

Today, James is still in the spotlight, having appeared in the U.K. version of Celebrity Big Brother in 2013. But there is one major change: James Charles Harries is now Lauren Harries.

"It's wonderful to be seen in America and to explain about my life," she says in the above video. "My name is now Lauren, and I'm a transgender woman. I've been through it all, and I'm here to tell the tale."

Watch the video to hear Lauren's story, including her struggles with identity and the advice she would have given her 13-year-old self.

More from Oprah: Where Are They Now?