Vernita Lee

ABOUT VERNITA LEE

Mother of media mogul Oprah Winfrey who passed away on Thanksgiving in 2018. She was survived by Winfrey and another daughter Patricia Lee, whom she'd given up for adoption and reconnected with later in life.

She studied at Tennessee State University and worked as a housekeeper for much of her life.

She's said in interviews that she tried to instill the value of giving love to others in her daughter, and has compared the way she loved Winfrey to the way Winfrey would grow up to love the public.

Her daughter Patricia Lofton and son Jeffrey Lee both passed away in 2003 and 1989 respectively.

She's said her proudest moment was when Winfrey appeared in The Color Purple alongside Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg .