Oprah reveals she has a half-sister

CHICAGO, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Oprah Winfrey revealed on her U.S. talk show Monday she discovered in November she has a half-sister who was put up for adoption as a child.

Winfrey said her mother, Vernita Lee, kept the secret for decades and only confirmed she had a sibling at Thanksgiving.

The media mogul was born to teenage parents, who broke up shortly after her birth. Winfrey was raised in poverty alternately by her mother, grandmother and father.

Winfrey said on the show she learned her younger half-sister, Patricia, was put up for adoption shortly after her 1963 birth. Patricia spent time in foster homes and was adopted when she was 7. Winfrey was 9 at the time and living with her father.

"Patricia is my half-sister who I never knew existed," Winfrey said.

Patricia, whose last name was not disclosed, appeared on Monday's edition of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," while Lee told her part of the story in a pre-recorded segment.

The identity of Patricia's father was not disclosed.

Lee admitted she gave her baby up because she couldn't afford to raise her and wanted to get off of public assistance. She also said she tried to get the child back but she had already been placed with a family.

Patricia said she always hoped her biological mother would come back for her.

"I always had a feeling that she didn't need to give me up and her saying that she came back to get me, it means a lot," Patricia said.

Winfrey said she became aware of the family connection after Patricia and her two children reached out to Winfrey's mother and niece, and underwent a DNA test.