Oprah Winfrey has a half-sister named Patricia who was given up for adoption by Winfrey's mother, Vernita Lee, shortly after her birth in 1963. That's the big secret. <table style="width: 126px; height: 42px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="126" align="right" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2011/jan/oprah.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> Thanksgiving present: Oprah met her half-sister after several years last November. pic/Getty images</td></tr></tbody></table>"Patricia is my half-sister who I never knew existed," Oprah said on yesterday's show. Patricia ufffd whose last name was not revealed ufffd was given up by Oprah's mom because she wanted to get off welfare and knew that if she had another child, that might be impossible. Reports say Winfrey's mother wasn't able to take care of her new daughter. Patricia lived in foster homes until she was seven-years-old, including some that were "not so good," she said. Patricia said she always hoped her birth mother would return for her. By 17, Patricia was a single mother. She has two grown children, a daughter and son. "Oh my God, I have a family" was her reaction when she found out she had three siblings, Patricia said. One of those siblings, the only one still alive, is Winfrey. Just before Thanksgiving, Winfrey said, she was told "a bombshell family secret." The story would have become public and been "exploited" eventually, Winfrey said, "So I wanted you to hear it from me first." Patricia is several inches shorter than Winfrey, but the half-sisters are similar in appearance, with round faces and the same smile. Winfrey said she had no idea her mother had given up a baby when she was nine and living with her father Vernon Winfrey in Nashville. Winfrey said in previews for the show that the news "literally shook me to my core" and called the reunion "a miracle." Winfrey called their first encounter "a beloved moment."

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Oprah Winfrey has a half-sister named Patricia who was given up for adoption by Winfrey's mother, Vernita Lee, shortly after her birth in 1963

Oprah Winfrey's secret: A surprise half-sister

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Oprah Winfrey's secret: A surprise half-sister

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