MILWAUKEE (AP) - Oprah Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, has died at the age of 83.
A Winfrey spokeswoman on Monday issued a statement saying Lee died at her Milwaukee home on Thanksgiving. The spokeswoman says private funeral services were held. No other details were provided.
“The family of Vernita Lee are saddened to share of her passing on November 22, 2018, at her home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was 83 years old. Born May 2, 1935, she is survived by her daughters Oprah Winfrey and Patricia Amanda Faye Lee, grandchildren Alisha Hayes, Chrishaunda Lee Perez, Aquarius Lofton and Andre Brown and great-grandchildren Jaxon Praise Perez, Chai Theresa Perez, Donovan Hayes and Trinity Hayes. She was predeceased by son Jeffrey Lee (1960-1989) and daughter Patricia Lee Lloyd (1959-2003). Private funeral services have been held. Memorial donations in Vernita’s name may be made to Feeding America,” her obituary reads.
Lee was a teenager when she gave birth to Winfrey in Mississippi in 1954. They moved to Milwaukee when Winfrey was 6 years old.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
