Oprah Winfrey has a half-sibling that was unknown to her until October. Winfrey brought her half-sister Patricia, a single mother of two whose last name was not revealed, onto her hugely popular talk show Monday.
The women told their story of discovery and meeting for the first time at Thanksgiving.
“Imagine my shock just a few months ago, at the end of October, when I found out I have another sister living 90 minutes away,” Winfrey told her audience.
Patricia, a resident of Milwaukee, said she initially found out she was related to Winfrey in 2007 but held on to the secret because she did not want to ignite a media storm.
Patricia was born in Mississippi in 1963 and mother Vernita Lee gave her up for adoption after keeping the pregnancy a secret. Winfrey was 9-years-old at the time and living with her father.
Since the age of 7, Patricia was raised in foster homes. Winfrey was raised by her grandmother until her teen years when she was moved back and forth between parents.
Lee told Winfrey that she gave Patricia up for adoption because she felt she couldn’t take care of her.
“I thought it was a terrible thing for me to do,” she said.
