Oprah Winfrey’s mum dies age 83

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey’s mum, Vernita Lee, died at her home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday, November 22. She was 83.

A spokeswoman for the TV mogul issued a statement saying Lee died on November 22 – Thanksgiving in the U.S. The spokeswoman said private funeral services have already been held. No other details were provided.

Vernita Lee was an unmarried teenager when she gave birth to Winfrey in Mississippi in 1954. She moved to Milwaukee and worked as a housekeeper, with Winfrey’s maternal grandmother raising her until she was six years old. She then moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother.

64-year-old Winfrey has been open about the difficult relationship she had with her mother when she was young. She spent much of her childhood travelling between the homes of her mother and father, Vernon Lee.

Despite this, their relationship healed over time and Lee was featured getting a makeover on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1990.

Winfrey did not meet her half-sister Patricia until late 2010. “For the most part, my life has been an open book, and on the show, I think I’ve seen about everything,” the host said on her talk show in 2011. “I thought nothing could surprise me anymore, but let me tell you, I was wrong,” she said of the revelation.

The talk show host posted two videos on her Instagram page from Thanksgiving. She has not been active on social media since.

Lee is survived by her daughters Oprah Winfrey and Patricia Amanda Faye Lee, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

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