'I still can't believe Mary Tyler Moore touched my face. Will love her forever': Oprah Winfrey breaks down in tears as she pays tribute to her heroine and relives THAT sweet TV moment 

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She has previously admitted she 'wanted to be' Mary Tyler Moore.

And Oprah Winfrey said she will 'love her forever' as she paid tribute to her heroine after she died on Wednesday.  

The chat show star also took to social media to pay tribute to the television icon, and shared a sweet flashback photo of a previous on-screen meeting between the pair.

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'I can't believe she touched my face': Oprah Winfrey paid an emotional tribute to her heroine Mary Tyler Moore after she died on Wednesday

'It’s the first time I would recall a public figure in recent years passing — and we’ve lost so many people recently – where I actually sat down and shed tears about it,' Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight of the moment Moore surprised her on her eponymous talk show. 

“The moment she surprised me on that show was a life-changing moment for many reasons. First of all, it’s the time I coined the ugly cry. And I went into double, triple overtime. 

'After that I said, "Never again!" I called all my producers together - and that was in 1997 - I said, "Never again will I be surprised on the show, and if I’m ever surprised on the show, it will cost whoever produced that show their job." 

A picture tells a thousand words: Oprah's face was a modern art masterpiece when she learned she was finally meeting her idol

'Because I could not speak, hear or think!'

Winfrey could be heard crying as she recalled the meeting from two decades ago. 

She tweeted: 'Even now looking at this picture I want to cry.

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

And in a separate message posted on Instagram, she said: 'Dear Mary, You already know how you majorly influenced my life and career.

'I respected and admired your business acumen, your passion and compassion for all life, and most importantly, the values espoused through your storytelling.

Sweet embrace: Mary was the picture of elegance as she hugged her devotee

'Thank you for being a Light that shined so brightly, it let me see myself in you.'

'Mary Tyler Moore majorly influenced my life and career. I respected and admired her business acumen, her passion and compassion for all life, and most importantly, the values espoused through her storytelling,' Winfrey told People. 

'I thank her for being a light that shined so brightly, it let me see myself in her.'

Her favourite: They met on a show dedicated to the star's 'favourite celebrity women'

Like many women of her generation, the 62-year-old had been inspired by the famed actress' turn as a played a career-focused local news producer on 70s sitcom the Mary Tyler Moore Show. 

And she even featured the seven-time Emmy winner as one of her 'favorite celebrity women.'

When they finally met on-screen Oprah could not contain her excitement, holding back tears as she exclaimed 'Oh my God!'

And in a rare occurrence, she even confessed 'I'm speechless,' a condition that did not last for long.

Inspired: Oprah has admitted the trailblazing actress  was one of her inspirations

Previously: She almost hyperventilated when her heroine called the show in 1993

Emotional: Her face was a picture and the moment has became a staple of TV nostalgia shows

She told Mary: 'You have no idea what you meant to me.'

However her quick-witted guest fired back, 'Yes, I think I do.'

Speaking about her previously, Oprah said: 'When I was just starting out in TV I was inspired by one woman whose show I never missed.

'I tuned in every week just to see her turn the world on with her smile.' 

She also reflected on her idol's legacy as she spoketo Extra, saying: 'Her legacy is every life that she has touched. 

'The fact that I was a young girl watching that show, being myself in the light of the character that she created, and saw through her value system in a way to elevate my own... that is her legacy, and for every other person who saw it and got humor, entertainment, joy, a sense of resilience… for every person that she touched, that will be her legacy.'

Tragic: Television icon Mary Tyler Moore has died aged 80. She was first reported to be in 'grave condition' at a hospital in Connecticut on Wednesday. She is pictured above in 2013

The Emmy award-winning actress died surrounded by family members who quickly flocked to say their goodbyes at a Connecticut hospital

'For me it was deeper than fanship. My relationship with Mary Tyler Moore actually helped me to understand, when I would run into other people and they would say whatever they would say to me, I would pay attention and they would say, "You are my Mary!" And I would say, "Boy, do I get that."' 

The small screen superstar died on Wednesday surrounded by family members who flocked to say their goodbyes at a Connecticut hospital.

Her publicist, Mara Buxbaum,said in a statement: 'Today, beloved icon, Mary Tyler Moore, passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine.

'A groundbreaking actress, producer, and passionate advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Mary will be remembered as a fearless visionary who turned the world on with her smile.'

The actress, who is well known for her role on ' The Dick Van Dyke Show', had a long battle with diabetes after being diagnosed with disease at age 33. She is pictured above with Dick Van Dyke in 1961