Oprah Reveals Her Big Secret: “I Have A Half-Sister”

By Brooke Benjamin

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey has revealed a major family secret on today’s show. She informed viewers that she has a half-sister whose existence was kept a secret by her mother, Vernita Lee, until very recently.

Oprah’s sister, Patricia, 47, is a single parent of two who lives in Milwaukee. She had been given up for adoption at birth in Milwaukee, Wis. in 1963. At the time, Oprah was living in Nashville, Tenn, with her father and was unaware that her mother was even pregnant.

Oprah said the news “shook her to the core” but what is even more shocking is the fact that Patricia has known about her birth mother and thus her relationship with a woman described as “the most powerful woman in showbiz” since 2007 but did not say anything. The secret was so well-kept that Oprah didn’t find out until October 2010.

Oprah decided to reveal the news on her own terms on today’s show to avoid a tabloid spectacle. To learn more on this story and to see Oprah’s reunion with her sister tune in to CTV today at 4 p.m ET.