Anna Wintour, the legendary editor of the US style bible Vogue, told Oprah Winfrey to lose 20lbs (9kg) before appearing on the magazine's cover.
Wintour says she made a "gentle suggestion" to the talk show host ahead of her front page photo shoot in 1998.
"I went to Chicago to visit Oprah, and I suggested that it might be an idea that she lose a little bit of weight," Wintour revealled.
"I said simply that you might feel more comfortable. She was a trooper! She totally welcomed the idea, and she went on a very stringent diet. And it was one of our most successful covers ever."
Oprah, 55, was then featured on the magazine, which carried the tagline Oprah! A Major Movie, An Amazing Makeover in reference to her new film Beloved and her weight loss.
Anna has also called for better education to help halt rising cases of obesity in America.
In a rare interview, the 59-year-old fashionista - who recently commissioned a detailed feature on the issue - told US TV show 60 Minutes: "I'd just been on a trip to Minnesota, where I can only kindly describe most of the people I saw as little houses.
"There's such an epidemic of obesity in the United States, and for some reason, everybody focuses on anorexia.
"We need to spend money time and education on teaching people to eat, exercise and take care of themselves in a healthier way. It provoked, which is really the point."
A segment of the 60 Minutes interview with Anna Wintour:
- BANG! SHOWBIZ
