Winfrey's father, stepmother divorcing - UPI.com Oprah Winfrey waves to fans on her way into Harvard UniversityÕs Sanders Theatre to attend the official launch of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation in Cambridge, Massachusetts on February 29, 2012. NASHVILLE, July 10 (UPI) -- Oprah Winfrey's father Vernon has filed for divorce from his second wife Barbara in a Tennessee court after 12 years of marriage, documents show. The [Nashville] Tennessean newspaper said Vernon filed for divorce last month, claiming Barbara was "guilty of inappropriate marital conduct" and citing irreconcilable differences as the cause of their breakup. Barbara, a 64-year-old former teacher, filed a counterclaim Monday, accusing Vernon, a 79-year-old barber, of threatening to kill her, cheating on her and conspiring with his billionaire daughter to have her thrown out of her home, the newspaper said.