Oprah's Greatest TV Moments

Oprah's Weight Loss

After years of losing the battle of the bulge, a 145-pound Oprah walked onto the talk show stage in high-waist skinny jeans and a snug black shirt. To mark the November 1988 occasion, she wheeled out a wagon full of fat, representing the 67-pounds shed.

JFK Jr. Sit-Down

In 1996, for the premiere of her 11th season, Oprah sat down with John F. Kennedy Jr. for a “once-in-a-lifetime” interview. His lush hair, golden boy smile and Camelot personality captivated Oprah and every viewer as John-John spoke about growing up in the White House, his famous girlfriends and his new publication, George.

The Obama Episodes

O introduced us to her “favorite senator” Barack Obama in 2006. Since then, she’s set two Obama-related firsts for her. One was endorsing a presidential candidacy. The other came when she welcomed both Obamas to the show in May of this year, marking the first time a sitting president has made an appearance on the show.

ON POWERWALL: The Obamas and Oprah

Tyler's Reveal

In a landmark episode, Tyler Perry opened up about the physical and sexual abuse he endured as a child. The two-day series also featured an audience of 200 men who had survived similar abuse. In a breathtaking visual, the men stood holding portraits of themselves as children at the ages when the abuse was occurring.

MJ's Neverland Interview

For his first television interview in over a decade, Michael Jackson chose Oprah to come to his Neverland Ranch for a rare look into his life and home. No topic was off limits. The episode was her highest-rated show of all time.

Couch Jumping

It was the wild expression of love seen around the world. During the May 2005 interview with Oprah, actor Tom Cruise became impassioned while discussing his new love Katie Holmes. An excited Cruise jumped up onto the custard-colored couch, leaving Oprah to declare, “You’re gone. You are gone.”

Liberace's Last Outing

The iconic pianist and entertainer made his last public appearance on The Oprah Show on Christmas Day in 1986. He died six weeks later from AIDS-related complications.

Denouncing James Frey

Getting a tongue-lashing from Oprah is pretty high on our please-don’t-ever-let-that-happen-to-me list, especially after witnessing her public denouncement of author James Frey, whose “memoir” (which O had honored with the distinction of her book club seal) turned out to be a work of fiction.

Kirstie's Bikini Bod

Fulfilling her vow to don a bikini in public, the Cheers actress (and current Dancing With the Stars contestant) revealed her svelte figure in November 2006 after a yearlong slim-down. Her struggles with the scale aside, this act of retaliation against snarky tabloid remarks made us root for her.

Tracey Gold and Anorexia

The Growing Pains star shared her story of overcoming anorexia with Oprah in 1994. During the show, Gold tried to empower Rudine Howard, a woman whose weight had dropped to just 58 pounds. Oprah had been following her story since 1989; she lost her battle not long after the episode aired.

HIV/AIDS in America

In 2006, exactly 15 years after Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive and retired from basketball, he joined Oprah for a look back—and look ahead. On the same episode were six HIV-positive women who opened up about the struggles of living with the disease even today.

The Vajayjay Moment

We’re not particularly embarrassed calling our, um, lady parts by their official medical term, but we happily welcomed Oprah’s more conversation-friendly moniker into our vocabularies. The revealing moment in which O announced that her “vajayjay was painin” became both an Internet meme and a catchphrase.