American media executive, Oprah Winfrey’s mum, Vernita Lee died in her home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thanksgiving Day at the age of 83.
The family just confirmed the death and Oprah’s niece, Alisha Hayes gave a bit more detail on social media.
Oprah says her relationship with her mother was rocky because of the long separation. But their relationship eventually got better.
Vernita Lee with Vernon Winfrey had Oprah Winfrey in 1954. Because Vernita moved to Milwaukee to work as a maid, she couldn’t raise Oprah and the TV host had to be raised by her maternal grandmother.
When Oprah turned 6, she moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother.
Lee is also survived by another daughter, Patricia Amanda, and four grandchildren. She also had two other children — son Jeffrey Lee, who died in 1989 and daughter Patricia Lee Lloyd, who died in 2003.
