The family of Oprah Winfrey has confirmed the media mogul lost her mother Vernita Lee on Thanksgiving Day in her Milwaukee home, reports TMZ. She was 83 years old.
In the past, Winfrey has hinted at a troubled relationship with her mother, a member of the NAACP and retired dietitian. The former talk show host shared that she experienced sexual abuse by her uncle and cousin while she lived with her mom. In 1990, Winfrey invited her mother to get a makeover while hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show.
She paid homage to her mother in a 2012 Mother's Day tweet, where she thanked Lee for doing her best in raising her. Winfrey was one of Lee's four children. Jeffrey Lee, Winfrey's brother, died of AIDS, and Patricia Lee Lloyd, her half-sister, died of a drug overdose.
Thank you to my mother Vernita Lee for doing the best she knew and could do in raising me. pic.twitter.com/JhKTY2RK
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) May 13, 2012
Lee leaves behind Winfrey, Patricia Amanda Faye Lee and her grandchildren.
Winfrey has not released a statement about her mother's death, but a representative for the mogul said funeral services have already been held.
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