Oprah Winfrey once turned Diana Ross’ storm-soaked Central Park concert into an unusually specific measure of success, owning diamond earrings as impressive as the pair flashing beneath the stage lights.
Winfrey, 72, revisited Ross’ legendary 1983 performance for Glamour’s “Girlhood Firsts” series after being asked about the first time she felt represented in the media.
She remembered Ross continuing to sing through torrential rain while her diamond earrings glittered and her mascara remained intact. Winfrey was so fascinated that she called Ross’ production company the following day to ask what the singer had been wearing.
The answer sent Winfrey in pursuit of 10 carats of diamonds. She later discovered that Ross’ earrings had actually been five carats, prompting the billionaire media mogul to joke that she “could’ve quit halfway through.”
Winfrey Called Ross’ Team the Day After the Concert
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Winfrey described Ross as both her “inspiration and aspiration” while recalling the free concert on Central Park’s Great Lawn. “Because if you all remember, there she is.
There is a storm that came in Central Park, and she kept singing,” Winfrey said in the Glamour video. “It was like pouring rain.” “All you could see was diamond earrings glittering, and her mascara did not run,” she added.
Winfrey called Ross’ production company and asked which mascara she had used and how many carats were in the earrings. She was told that the mascara came from Lancôme and that the jewelry weighed 10 carats. “I strived until I could get my first 10 carats,” Winfrey said.
She later learned that the information she had received from Ross’ team was inaccurate, the earrings that inspired her were five carats. “I could’ve quit halfway through,” Winfrey joked.
Ross Returned to Central Park the Following Night
Ross took the stage on July 21st, 1983, before hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the Great Lawn. Heavy rain and wind moved across Central Park shortly after the performance began.
She continued singing for part of the storm and urged the crowd to remain calm before organizers ended the concert. Ross promised that she would return and performed the complete show the following evening.
The concerts were intended in part to support the construction of a children’s playground. Although the storm disrupted the fundraising plan, Ross provided the money needed for the project. The Diana Ross Playground at West 81st Street was named in recognition of her contribution.
The Supremes Had Already Changed What Winfrey Saw on Television
During the same Glamour conversation, she recalled watching The Supremes perform on The Ed Sullivan Show and seeing Black women presented with glamour, confidence and polish on mainstream television.
“We had never seen anything like that,” Winfrey said. “We had not seen Black women look like that, we had not seen Black women be that glamorous, we had not seen Black women talk like that. It was incredible.”
Winfrey also identified Sidney Poitier’s 1964 Academy Award victory as another formative moment. Poitier became the first Black man to win the Oscar for best actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field.