Winfrey, who once weighed 237 pounds at her heaviest in 1992, reached her goal weight of 160 pounds in 2023. The transformation followed double-knee replacement surgery in 2021 and, as she later revealed, the use of prescription weight-loss medication.

Oprah Winfrey looked thinner than ever backstage at the 78th Annual Tony Awards

Oprah Winfrey turned heads backstage at the 78th Annual Tony Awards on Sunday, with a strikingly slimmer figure at Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan. The 71-year-old media icon appeared in a black off-the-shoulder gown featuring white illusion stitching, highlighting her transformed silhouette after a years-long health journey.

Winfrey, who once weighed 237 pounds at her heaviest in 1992, reached her goal weight of 160 pounds in 2023. The transformation followed double-knee replacement surgery in 2021 and, as she later revealed, the use of prescription weight-loss medication.

Winfrey on her weight loss journey

In a 2023 interview, Winfrey admitted to using weight-loss medication, such as ozempic, after previously dismissing it as an “easy way out.” Though she did not name the drug, she stated it was a medically approved aid that she now uses as needed to manage her weight and avoid regaining pounds. “It feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift,” Winfrey told People magazine, adding that she is “done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”

Her admission followed growing speculation, fueled by a wave of celebrities including Elon Musk, Kelly Clarkson, and Whoopi Goldberg publicly acknowledging their own use of similar injectable medications. Winfrey had long resisted such speculation, even discussing the issue in a conversation with WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani before ultimately changing her stance.

Star-studded night at the Tonys

Winfrey, a Tony-winning producer herself, was seen backstage with longtime best friend Gayle King and posed with celebrities including George Clooney and Katie Holmes. She also took part in an onstage skit with Tony Awards host Cynthia Erivo. The media mogul previously won a Tony Award in 2016 for producing The Color Purple on Broadway and served as executive producer for the 2023 film adaptation. At Sunday’s ceremony, her renewed presence onstage and in the spotlight symbolized not just a physical transformation, but a personal one. Winfrey’s appearance marks a new chapter in her public life—one where health, honesty, and self-acceptance take center stage.