Oprah Winfrey recently announced that she has a half-sister-something she didn’t know about until recently.
Vernita Lee, Winfrey’s mother, gave her sister Patricia up for adoption shortly after her birth in 1963. Patrici moved from different foster homes until she was adopted at 7 years old, and now lives in Milwaukee. At the time, Winfrey was 9 years old and living with her father.
“I was given some news that literally shook me to my core. This time, I’m the one being reunited,” Winfrey said. “I was keeping a family secret for months, and on Monday you’re going to hear it straight from me.”
Lee and Patricia appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” Monday. Lee said that she gave up Patricia because she couldn’t afford to raise her. She also said that she tried to get Patricia back later on, but she had already been placed with a family.
Winfrey has shared many of her life experiences with her audience through the years, including her childhood molestation and her teenage pregnancy that resulted in the death of her son.