Oprah said the secret she would reveal on Monday's Oprah Winfrey Show was one that shook her to her core. That secret? She has a half-sister, a 48-year-old Milwaukee woman referred to simply as Patricia.
Shocking? Maybe, sure.
More shocking? That Patricia knew she was Winfrey's sister for more than 3 years and never once tried to profit from the knowledge. That revelation speaks volumes about the woman's integrity and perseverance.
"Family business should be handled by family," Patricia told Winfrey on the show, further explaining how she wanted to tell Winfrey directly rather than reveal it through a third party.
Patricia is the daughter of Winfrey's mother, Vernita Lee. She was born around the time Winfrey was 8 years old and living with her father. Lee gave Patricia up for adoption because she did not feel she could take care of the child.
When she was 7 years old, she was adopted. Later in life she would search for her birth mother, but to no avail. And when she did find her birth mother, she was told her mother did not want to make contact.
She later heard stories from and interview with Lee - not knowing that they were related - that matched personal details in her own life. Patricia was able to find the daughter of Winfrey's deceased sister, also named Patricia. A DNA test confirmed the two were related.
Then Patricia went through a struggle to contact Winfrey, but on Thanksgiving Day, the two met.
And now they have a lot of catching up to do.
Comments
as for Oprahs sister. poor lady, i know its hard to contact celebrities i imagine even if we have good intentions, i wish i could start a show on this topic, its stupid cause there all so snooty and they think there holier than thou an there more praise you give them the uglier they get. im glad she finally got to talk to her sister, i know her pain cause i cant find mine and the people who know won’t tell her im alive, anyways i tored to put Liz Taylor flowers on her grave, to my surprise there even guarded in death!! lol what the hell??? there dead! please, this is stupid. Oprah to me has lost the real sense of digging to people that need her. if i could talk to her, shed know that her celebrity status has made her untouchable and un admired, its to bad. i use to think she was great.