Lisa Wright had a happy childhood with kind, caring parents. The only slight difference? They were her adoptive parents. Finally, after five decades, she and her birth mom met for the first time. What’s more, she found out that she grew up watching her mom on TV. (1)
Daughter And Her Birth Mom Finally Reunited After 50 Years
Immediately after her biological mom gave birth to her, she put Lisa up for adoption. Only 18 years old at the time, she knew that she could not take proper care of her baby girl. Tearfully, she held her hands over her eyes and let the doctors take the baby away. (1) Thankfully, a wonderful family adopted Lisa, and so she grew up happy, supported, and well taken care of. She knew she was adopted from the beginning, but she never felt the need to search for her birth mom. (2)
“My (adoptive) mom told me, ‘Your mommy loved you, but she was really young, and she knew she couldn’t take care of you. I wanted the baby so bad, and that’s why your mom let me take care of you. You weren’t abandoned. This was just the best thing for you,'” she said. (1)
Lisa grew up and eventually had a son of her own. It wasn’t until he prompted her to have a DNA test done to determine her genetic heritage. When she got her results back, they came with the name of a biological family member. (2)
Read: Sandra Bullock nailed why we should stop saying ‘adopted child’
First, She Met Her Uncle
The family member that the testing center gave her was her uncle. She decided to give it a shot and reach out – what did she have to lose? Thankfully, the man agreed, and they set up a phone call for a few days later. (1)
“My heart’s turning flips, and he goes, ‘Tell me about yourself,'” Wright recalled. “So I said, ‘Well, I was born on Dec. 10, 1964. I was told that my biological mom was very young when she had me. She moved to L.A. because she wanted to be in Hollywood.’” she recalled. (1)
He quickly stopped her after that, and she thought for sure that would be the end of the conversation. (1)
“I’m thinking, ‘OK, here it comes. He’s going to say don’t ever call me again.’ And so he goes, ‘Lisa, you’re my niece. We’ve been looking for you. We’ve all been looking for you.'” (1)
Her Family Wanted To Know Her
Her uncle gave her her mom’s name and explained that her mom lived in Los Angeles – the same city as she did. Finally, she was able to search for her birth mom online and look at a photo. She was in awe. (2)
“I just could not believe it,” Wright told Sheinelle. “For the first time ever, other than looking at my son, for the first time I’m looking at somebody who looks like me.” (1)
Only a few moments later, Lisa’s phone rang again. This time, it wasn’t her uncle – it was a woman’s voice on the other end of the phone. “A voice on the other end says, ‘Is this my daughter?’ And then I just went, ‘Oh, my God, is this my mother?'” Wright said. “And then she goes, ‘Yes, sweetie, this is your mom.’ It was just the most indescribable feeling.” (1). They agreed to meet up the very next day.
Read: Woman Who Fostered 600 Kids in 50 Years Took in Anyone—Regardless of Age or Medical Condition
Lisa’s Birth Mom, Lynne Moody
Lisa’s birth mom was actress Lynne Moody. Lynne explained that she always wished she could know her daughter, but she didn’t think it would ever happen because it was a closed adoption. With no other children, Lisa was the only child Lynne had. (2)
“When she was born, they covered my face, my eyes, so that I couldn’t see her,” Moody recalled. “But I could hear her cry. All I could say was, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, baby, I’m sorry.’ As a mother, you never, ever, ever forget. During those 50 years, all I did was try to learn how to live with it. I didn’t know if she was hungry, if she was alive, if she was happy, if she was adopted.” (1)
The experience of finally meeting with her biological daughter was both wonderfully good and also quite painful. She spent years learning to live with feelings of guilt and uncertainty, so meeting with Lisa brought up many deep and overwhelming emotions. The pair, however, is delighted to be reunited. Lisa’s only regret is that her adoptive parents were no longer alive to also meet her birth mom. (1)
A TV Star
Whether by coincidence or irony, Lynne starred in one of Lisa’s favorite sitcoms that she watched growing up in the 1970s. The name of the program? That’s My Mama. (2)
“I grew up watching my mother on TV and didn’t even know it,” Wright said. “‘That’s My Mama’ — that was our must-see TV. We all sat down and watched ‘That’s My Mama’ every week, and who knew? No idea. … And that’s my mama!” (1)
Both Lisa and Lynne hope that their story will help to inspire others and give them at least a little bit of belief that miracles really can happen.
Keep Reading: No, Our Family Doesn’t ‘Match’ But Thanks to Adoption, It’s Filled With Love