Oprah Winfrey has been a media magnate, an author, and a cultural phenomenon for many years. Yet, behind her glory, her late mother Vernita Lee was embroiled in a turbulent mother-daughter relationship. Born in 1935 in Mississippi, Vernita became a mother at the age of just 18, giving birth to Oprah. Life was hard for a young African-American mother in the segregated South, but she strived to nurture and raise her daughter

Oprah mostly spent her formative years with her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee, while Vernita worked as a maid in Milwaukee.

It was Hattie Mae who instilled in Oprah a love of reading and oratory skills that would form the basis of her future success. When she was 6 years old, she was reunited with her mother; however, the next few years were challenging. Between her mother in Milwaukee and father, Vernon Winfrey, in Nashville, Oprah went back and forth. She was abused in her childhood, had a teenage pregnancy, and lost her baby shortly after birth, a secret that went with Oprah into the sky-rocketing fame.

In spite of all the other obstacles, Oprah garnered wisdom from her grandmother, her father, and her mentors, including Maya Angelou. She decided not to have children of her own but chose instead to be a mother to millions, mentoring young women at her Leadership Academy in South Africa and inspiring people across the world.