Oprah Winfrey Recalls Diana Rossā Rainy Concert That Sparked Her Obsession With Diamonds: āI Strived Until I Couldā¦ā
Oprah Winfrey Recalls Diana Rossā Rainy Concert That Sparked Her Obsession With Diamonds: āI Strived Until I Couldā¦ā
Morning Honey Staff Sat, August 15, 2026 at 1:30 PM UTC
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Oprah Winfrey revealed that singer Diana Ross inspired her to buy her first pair of diamond stud earrings (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Raph_PH, Flickr/aphrodite-in-nyc)
Everyone looks up to someone, and so did Oprah Winfrey. With her dedication and years of hard work, Winfrey has built a groundbreaking career. She became the first Black woman to own her own production company and host her own talk show.
Not just that, over the years, she has interviewed many global icons like Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and BeyoncƩ. However, one legendary performer inspired Winfrey as an adult to buy her very first pair of high-end diamond earrings. Can you guess who it was?
Oprah Winfrey Revealed When Diana Ross Became Her Motivation to Buy Diamond Earrings
In an interview with Glamour, Winfrey shared how iconic singer Diana Ross motivated her to buy expensive jewelry.
āDiana Ross became inspiration and aspiration for my first diamond stud earrings because, if you all remember, there was a storm that came in Central Park, and she kept singing,ā Winfrey recalled.
During the famous July 1983 concert in Manhattan, it was raining heavily, but Ross refused to stop performing.
āAnd all you could see was diamond earrings glittering, and her mascara did not run,ā Winfrey shared.
Ross told the audience that she would keep performing, but the poor weather forced her to postpone the show till the next day. For Winfrey, she was so captivated by the singerās appearance that she immediately took action.
āI remember calling her production company the next day,ā Winfrey explained. āI asked them what was the mascara and how many carats of diamonds.ā
Staff told Winfrey that Ross wore 10 carats of diamonds. This answer set a personal goal for the talk show host. āSo I strived until I could get my first 10 carats, and then later she told me it was only five. So I could quit halfway through,ā Winfrey joked.
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For the makeup, Winfrey never forgot the exact product. āAnd it was Lancome Waterproof Mascara,ā she revealed.
Winfrey Reveals Ross and Sidney Poitier Were Her Media Inspirations
During the interview, Winfrey also explained how both Diana Ross and actor Sidney Poitier inspired her during her youth. Poitier made history in 1964 when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field.
Winfrey remembered watching him win the Oscar when she was just 10 years old. āAnd I remember thinking, āIf he could do that, I wonder what I could do,'ā she said.
Seeing Diana Ross and The Supremes perform on The Ed Sullivan Show also left a lasting mark on her.
āWe had never seen anything like that. We had not seen Black women look like that. We had not seen Black women be that glamorous,ā the 72-year-old mogul reflected.
Fans quickly agreed with her sentiments. One commenter agreed with the host, writing that seeing Diana Ross and The Supremes on television was a defining moment for them as well. Another fan recalled watching the famous 1983 Central Park concert, sharing how mesmerized they were by Ross performing through powerful winds and heavy rain.
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Source: āAOL Entertainmentā
