The most iconic moments from The Oprah Winfrey Show over the years

Audiences immediately fell in love with her.

Oprah Winfrey quickly became one of the most well-known names in television history.

Whether she was giving away cars, or grilling people on their wrongdoings, audiences just couldn't get enough.

Over the years, she had some iconic moments on her show, so we've put some of the most memorable together for a trip down memory lane.

Keep scrolling to see what they are.

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Even icons have idols, and Oprah Winfrey's idol was Mary Tyler Moore.

Moore was a legendary actress and talk show host, who many credit as having paved the way for women in television.

On an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1997, Winfrey had a ball recreating the opening sequence of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

As the sequence ended, Oprah said, "Thank you Mary for being such an inspiration to us all, all of us women in television, thank you very much."

Then the audience began to erupt in cheers. 

When Winfrey turned to find out why, her jaw dropped. 

The TV show host burst into tears when she realised it was none other than Moore herself walking on to the stage.

"Oh my god, I'm speechless," she said, holding the hand of her idol.

Looking back on the iconic moment in a 2024 interview with People, Oprah laughed at the images of her in tears.

"I went into an ugly cry," she told the publication.

"I said, nobody will ever surprise me again."

She shared that she jokingly told her staff, "If you wat to continue to work here, do not surprise me!"

When Moore passed away in 2017, Winfrey was one of the first stars to share a tribute.

Posting a still from the moment Moore comforted her while she cried, Winfrey reflected on the time she met her idol.

"Even now looking at this picture I want to cry," she wrote.

"I still can't believe Mary Tyler Moore touched my face. Will love her 4 ever."

Oprah's Book Club marked a monumental shift in popular culture.

For authors, having a novel chosen was a one-way ticket to becoming a best-seller.

And, unfortunately for one author in particular, a one-way ticket to having any lies you may have written, exposed. 

James Frey was the author of a memoir titled A Million Little Pieces.

The book reflected on his experience battling drug and alcohol addiction, and Oprah selected it for her book club. 

Sales spiked and books soared off the shelves, but it all came crashing down when it emerged that Frey had embellished and lied about the stories in his book.

Oprah invited him on the show, and her demeanor was no longer the warm and inviting host that many were used to.

Instead, she grilled Frey on decision to lie in what many described as a "brutal" and "harsh" interview. 

"I feel really duped. But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers," Oprah said at one point.

Five years later, she invited the author back on her show.

With many members of the public criticising the talk show host for the brutality of the interview, she said that after reflection she had decided she needed to speak with him again.

Frey took the opportunity to apologise first, saying Oprah was the one owed an apology because it was 'his mess'.

"You've done nothing but be really generous and cool with me," he said.

"Thank you for saying that," Oprah responded. "But my apology is not for what I said; it's for the way I said it."

It's the segment that started a worldwide phenomenon.

Oprah's 'favourite things' debuted in 1996.

She promised her viewers a spectacular holiday season special, and she definitely did not disappoint. 

In the very first episode, she gave away some of her favourite bed linens, even inviting an audience member on stage to test them out.

Year after year, the segment proved to be a huge success with it consistently being one of her most watched episodes.

And the prizes just got bigger and bigger. 

While those lucky enough to be in the audience walked away with bags on bags of new goodies, fans at home delighted in their reactions.

Over the years, Oprah gave away a wide variety of her favourite things.

Whether it was key lime pie or a week-long trip to the Caribbean, fans were never disappointed.

But there was one year in particular that went down in the history books as Oprah's most iconic giveaway ever. 

It cost around $7 million US to put this episode together, but Oprah still stands by the fact it was worth it.

In a 2024 interview with People, she reflected on the day.

Audience members were each given a box with a red bow, and Oprah says she specifically asked everyone not to shake them.

Because if they did, her grand plan would have been ruined.

Audience members thought when they opened their boxes, one person would have the keys to a new car.

Instead, everyone had a set of keys. 

"Everybody opened the boxes at the same time. So you were looking at the person next to you who got theirs, and you're like, 'Oh, they got it. But I got it too'," she told People.

"So I was like, 'You get a car, you get a car, you get a car, everybody gets a car.' Because people were confused."

And the iconic Oprah meme was born. 

Audience members erupted into cheers, screaming and hugging one another.

The superstar talk show host then led everyone to the parking lot where they each had a neatly wrapped, brand new car waiting for them.

It's one of her heaver, but incredibly important episodes.

Only six months into her show in 1987, Oprah decided to tackle racism boldly and bravely.

She took her show to an all-white community in Forsyth County, Georgia, where there had just been marches protesting any persons of colour integrating into the community.

The segment showed clips of the episode, people waving confederate flags and members of the Ku Klux-Klan all screaming racial slurs.

Oprah then sat down with members of the community to have a candid conversation, facilitating a space for everyone to freely speak on their views.

As she ran the microphone around the room, people of the community voiced racist and homophobic opinions with shocking honesty and hostility.

It opened the eyes of people worldwide to just how prevalent the issue was in society. 

The powerful segment saw members of Forsyth county argue for a segregated society.

However, years later in 2010, Oprah returned to Georgia to visit that same community.

She found out that although the issue was still there, the community had greatly progressed in their views.

In 1996, Oprah was taken to court by the cattle industry after they saw an $11 million downturn in the industry because of her segment on cow disease.

She ultimately won the trial, but she wasn't the only person to walk away with a win under her belt.

Her team had hired psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw to help her prep, the talk show host was immediately taken by him.

In 1998, Dr. Phil made his first guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Fans soon fell in love with his straight-talking approach and he became one of the most popular regular guests. 

Many think Harry and Meghan were trailblazers when they did a tell-all interview with Oprah, but they were only following in the footsteps of another family member.

Prince Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, appeared on the show in 1996, exposing what life was really like inside the palace.

"You fell in love and married a man, and then you have to come to terms with the fairytale. Now it's not a fairy tale, it's real life," she said.