In a wind turbine system, a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG), with nonlinear and high-dimensional dynamics, is generally subjected to unbalanced grid voltage and unknown uncertainty. This paper proposes a novel adaptive-gain second-order sliding mode direct power control (AGSOSM-DPC) strategy for a wind-turbine-driven DFIG, valid for both balanced and unbalanced grid voltage. The AGSOSM-DPC control scheme is presented in detail to restrain rotor voltage chattering and deal with the scenario of unknown uncertainty upper bound. Stator current harmonics and electromagnetic torque ripples can be simultaneously restrained without phase-locked loop (PLL) and phase sequence decomposition using new active power expression. Adaptive control gains are deduced based on the Lyapunov stability method. Comparative simulations under three DPC schemes are executed on a 2-MW DFIG under both balanced and unbalanced grid voltage. The proposed strategy achieved active and reactive power regulation under a two-phase stationary reference frame for both balanced and unbalanced grid voltage. An uncertainty upper bound is not needed in advance, and the sliding mode control chattering is greatly restrained. The simulation results verify the effectiveness, robustness, and superiority of the AGSOSM-DPC strategy.