Oprah reunites with long lost sister

Oprah Winfrey reveals her family secret that she's been keeping under the hat for months: she has a sister.

WASHINGTON: US talk show diva Oprah Winfrey on Monday revealed to viewers of her globally broadcast programme a family secret she's been keeping under her hat for months: she has a sister.

"In the past 25 years, the Oprah Show has reunited a lot of people. I thought I'd seen it all, but this is the miracle of all miracles," Winfrey said in a trailer for Monday's show, which would see her reunited on the air with the half-sister her mother gave up for adoption nearly 50 years ago.

Winfrey said she was "literally shaken to the core" when she learned last year that she had a sister.

The two women were reunited at their mother's home on Thanksgiving, the US holiday in November when families traditionally get together.

The sister, named Patricia, was born in 1963 in the midwestern state of Wisconsin. Winfrey was eight years old and living with her father in Tennessee at the time.

Patricia was given up for adoption by Winfrey's mother and lived in foster homes until she was seven, when she was finally adopted.

She became a mother for the first time at 17, and six years later had a second child. Patricia, whose last name was not given, was a single mother and worked two jobs to support her kids.

Patricia found out two years ago that she and Winfrey were sisters but the television talk show presenter only learned the news late last year.

Oprah was due to reveal her family secret Monday on her show, which is aired in 145 countries around the world.