Oprah Winfrey says 1986 Oscars gown gave her permanent scar: 'It choked me'

Derek LawrenceThu, April 9, 2026 at 11:24 PM UTC

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Oprah Winfrey at the 1986 Oscars; Oprah Winfrey in 2025Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Jamie McCarthy/Getty

And you get a scar from your Oscars outfit!

Oprah Winfrey arrived for her appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert fresh off of attending Paris Fashion Week, and so the talk show host icon couldn't help but reflect back on an injury she suffered at the hands of her dress at the 1986 Academy Awards.

“Because this was the first time I'd ever done anything, I didn’t know that you’re supposed to get it fitted before you actually go to try to put it on,” Winfrey said of her long-sleeve white satin dress, with a beaded collar that she estimates weighed 12 pounds. "When I went to sit back in the chair, [the collar] choked me, and I ended the night with a scar on my neck. So when you see me sitting in the chair, I'm actually trying to pull that collar down so that I don't choke."

Oprah Winfrey and Akosua Busia at the 1986 OscarsCredit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Winfrey was at the Oscars that year as a Best Supporting Actress nominee for her breakout performance in The Color Purple. And while Anjelica Houston took home the statuette for her role in Prizzi's Honor, Winfrey was fine with not hearing her name called.

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“I heard the voice of God say to me, ‘You’re not gonna win because you can’t get out of the chair,'" she joked to Colbert. "I wouldn’t have been able to get out of the chair.”

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From that moment on, Winfrey has lived by a new code. "After that, I decided that, no matter what you’re doing, you want to be comfortable," she declared. "So I don’t do anything that’s not comfortable now.”

on Entertainment Weekly

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