Our Story
Lynne & Lisa
Lisa Wright never expected to meet the woman who gave birth to her, but a genetic test helped reunite the two after more than 50 years apart in an incredible story fit for Hollywood.
Wright told TODAY’s Sheinelle Jones that she had always known that she was adopted but had never looked for her biological mother, who gave birth to her at 18 years old, nor her relatives.
“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,'” Wright recalled.
Wright’s adoption was a closed one, which means that the records were sealed. Wright’s adoptive family and her birth parents did not know each other. “I get an alert, and it says, ‘This person is your uncle,'” Wright said. Days later, Wright and her uncle spoke on the phone, and the conversation went better than she ever could’ve guessed. “My heart’s turning flips, and he goes, ‘Tell me about yourself,'” Wright recalled.
I was told that my biological mom was very young when she had me. The surprises didn’t stop there: He said that Wright’s birth mother lived in Los Angeles, the same city where Wright herself lived. Wright searched her mother’s name online and found a photo of her. “I just could not believe it,” Wright told Sheinelle. “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.
Wright and her mother, actor Lynne Moody, didn’t waste any time making plans: They decided to meet the very next day. Moody said that she never had any other children and had always dreamed of reuniting with her daughter, but never expected it would happen. Wright’s adoptive parents passed away before they could see the pair find each other. “When she was born, they covered my face, my eyes, so that I couldn’t see her,” Moody said. I didn’t know if she was hungry, if she was alive, if she was happy, if she was adopted. “
Connecting with Wright was indeed an emotional experience for Moody, and some of those feelings meant working through some deep-seated pain, she said. “When I found out that she was my daughter, at that moment, it was like I was giving birth,” Moody shared. As for Wright, she also learned something incredible about her mother: Moody starred on one of her favorite TV shows from childhood, “That’s My Mama,” a sitcom that ran on ABC in the mid-1970s.
“I grew up watching my mother on TV and didn’t even know it,” Wright said. Moody said that she hopes her family’s story inspires others this Mother’s Day. “Life is full of surprises sometimes, so hang in there no matter what your circumstances are”, Moody said.
Lynne
Emmalyn Paulette Moody (born February 17, 1945), known professionally as Lynne Moody, is an American film and television actress. Beginning her career in the early 1970s, Moody is best known her roles as Tracy Curtis–Taylor in the ABC television sitcom That’s My Mama(1974–1975), Irene Harvey in Roots (1977), Roots: The Next Generations (1979), and Patricia Williams in Knots Landing (1988–1990). Her credits include roles on Magnum P.I., Soap, Chicago Hope and more.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lynne was raised in Evanston, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Lynne attended Evanston Township High School, graduating in 1963. Lynne worked as a stewardess prior to relocating to Los Angeles for her acting career. Lynne is also former Playboy bunny and even though she was not retained in the final casting of The Jeffersons spin-off, she still ended up making guest appearance as other characters in the series years later. Lynne recently connected with a daughter (Lisa Wright) she put up for adoption in 1964, when Lisa found Lynne’s brother through a DNA test. Lynne spends her time mentoring youths in entertainment and spending time with her daughter and grandson.
Lisa
Lisa Naomi Wright was born December 10, 1964 in Los Angeles, CA. She was adopted by Phillip and Naomi Wright in early 1965. Raised in LA, she attended St. Michael’s Elementary and High School, graduating in 1982. After attending Cal StateDominguez Hills, Lisa began a career in marketing and advertising that would span over 30 years.
Lisa’s has worked with global brands like Nissan, Nike, Honda, Lexus and General Motors Saturn. She’s also worked with companies like Best Buy, Microsoft and Disney, creating marketing initiatives targeting multicultural consumers and integrating her expertise with Starbucks Coffee Company and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lisa has also worked with Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Tavis Smiley.
Lisa spends time mentoring foster youth and elevating Black voices in her community through various non-profit partnerships. After finding her biological mom, Lynne Moody, and biological father Lowell Colbert, Lisa spends a lot of time with her newly found family, spread throughout LA, Seattle, Portland, Chicago and Atlanta
