Lisa Wright, an adopted Los Angeles resident who never knew her biological parents, took a genetic test after more than 50 years and found the woman who had given her birth as an 18-year-old. Wright shared her story with TODAY on Friday, saying she had always known that she was adopted, but never looked for her biological mother until recently.

“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,'” said Wright, who was 54 years old when she found her loved one.

Wright’s adoption had been classified as closed, meaning the the records were sealed, so the adoptive family and the birth parents did not know each other. It was Wright’s son who suggested that his mother take a DNA test to find out her genetic heritage. When the adopted woman got the results back, she got a surprise.

“I get an alert, and it says, ‘This person is your uncle,'” she said. “So I just reached out and said, ‘If you’re open to it, I would love to chat with you to see what all of this means.'”

When she spoke to her uncle on the phone days later, the apprehensive niece initially feared that he wouldn’t be receptive. But to her surprise, Carlton Moody was ecstatic to find his relative, Red Rock News reported.

“He goes, ‘Lisa, you’re my niece. We’ve been looking for you. We’ve all been looking for you,'” Wright said.

The California resident also learned that her mother lives in the same city. She then searched her mother’s name online and found a photo.

“I just could not believe it,” she said. “For the first time ever, other than looking at my son, for the first time I’m looking at somebody who looks like me.”

Shortly after seeing the photo, Wright received a phone call. It was from her mother, actress Lynne Moody, who co-starred with Theresa Merritt on the TV series, That’s My Mama, in 1974. 

“A voice on the other end says, ‘Is this my daughter?’ And then I just went, ‘Oh, my God, is this my mother?'” the joyful daughter said. “And then she goes, ‘Yes, sweetie, this is your mom.’ It was just the most indescribable feeling.”

Moody, who met with her loved one a day after the pair talked on the phone, said finding her daughter was like giving birth all over again.

“When she was born, they covered my face, my eyes, so that I couldn’t see her,” the actor said. “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.”

Wright now knows that she had been watching her mother on TV for many years.

“That’s My Mama‘ — that was our must-see TV,” she said. “We all sat down and watched That’s My Mama every week, and who knew? No idea. And that’s my mama!”