This is a story straight out of a Hollywood movie. Lisa Wright was adopted as a baby, but little did she know how close her birth mother would be without her even knowing.

Wright always knew she was adopted and that her birth mother was an 18-year-old girl at the time she was born.

“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 a 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 told Today.

Connecting Wright with her birth family would have been at one time very difficult. The adoption was closed, meaning that the records containing information on her birth mother and family are sealed. Further, Wright’s adoptive and birth families did not know each other. So, it really never crossed Wright’s mind to begin any sort of search in hopes of a reunion.

It was her son who suggested she take an at home DNA test to find out her genetic heritage. And just like that, she was matched with a biological family member who had also taken a DNA test.

She was matched with a person who was said to be her uncle. It was at this point that she reached out saying, “If you’re open to it, I would love to chat with you to see what all of this means.”

It was days later that Wright and her uncle connected via a phone call. And it was this conversation that led Wright to her mother. According to her uncle, Wright’s mother lived in Los Angeles, which just happens to be where Wright also lives.

Moments after the initial phone call with her uncle, the phone rang again. When she answered, the voice on the other line simply asked “is this my daughter?” and the rest is history. The two women met up the next day, a reunion 50 years in the making.

But the surprises don’t end there. It turns out actress Lynne Moody is Wright’s birth mother, who also just so happened to be the star of Wright’s favorite childhood television show, That’s My Mama – something that sounds straight out of a movie script itself!

The two women are now connected and will be for life. And after this half a century long experience, Moody has some wise words for us all: “Life is full of surprises sometimes, so hang in there no matter what your circumstances are, be open to miracles, be open to surprises, and keep the faith.”