Julia Roberts Has a Diabetic Attack in a Hair Salon | Steel Magnolias (1989) | Now Playing 

The way her face turns gray and she loses her ability to communicate properly... So spot on and actually very scary. Also, the mom staying so calm and explaining which sugar is best. An absolute brilliant scene from everyone❤.

My worst attack was while walking through grocery store with my two little sons. I started feeling so dizzy like I was going down a tunnel. I grabbed some prepared fried chicken and sat them down. I have no recollection after that but a bystander said I ran to the bakery, tore open a pack of donuts and ate one. Apparently I got to the meat section and the paramedics found me incoherent sitting on the cold meat display. Paramedics found my blood sugar to be 26, and that was after the donut. God was looking after me that day!

I love how Dolly Parton's character is so clever about keeping the peace and keeping things positive. That's a good skill to have that not many people possess.

I love how when she was going through her diabetic attack everyone knew just what to do. Which means this isn't the first time she had a diabetic attack at the beauty salon.

Now I see why Julia Roberts was nominated for an Oscar off this entire scene alone.

8:05 "Don't talk about me like I'm not here" is very relatable. My mom is great, but she has always done this, talk to family members and friends about me as if I'm not standing right there in the room.

A little touch I absolutely love is how Shelby apologizes to her Mom and especially Truvy after the incident as if she had any control over her actions. And the sweet way they respond to her.

Julia's subtle transition into her character's diabetic attack is just incredible to watch from an acting standpoint. How she goes from talking normal in her spunky self to being a little shaky while her hand is trembling as it pulls at her collar to try and help her take deep breaths. She knows it's coming but she's trying to see if she can fight it or hold it back, and then it comes...

I have been diabetic for 40 years and Julia Roberts does an amazing job in this scene. I know i have had my share of diabetic attacks and i have acted like this during them.

I lost my beloved mother when she went into a diabetic coma while she was home alone. Blood sugar levels go up or down so fast. This scene is both frightening and heartbreaking.

This entire scene is a masterclass in editing. At 0:44 notice how it cuts to Sally Field's face as she listens to Julia Roberts describe her dream of having grandchildren one day. Then it holds on Field's face again during that gut-wrenching line at 8:07 about the impossibility of having children... The acting in this scene is phenomenal, and it's much more effective due to those editing choices.

I love how a minute or two hefore the attack, Shelby goes really quiet and just starts quietly pulling at her collar. I'm not a diabetic, but I've had my fair share of asthma attacks, anxiety attacks, and disassociations and that's exactly how it goes - you always know when it's coming, like the calm before the storm, and you just sit there praying it isn't this time, and try to subtly solve the problem so people won't fuss. Amazing attention to detail. Don't know if it was the director, the writer, or Julia Roberts herself, but someone did their research.

The fact that the director had the sound echo from far away at the beginning of the attack. So spot on. Devastating movie, but so good.

I dated a diabetic years ago, and this was pretty much spot on. They change so quickly, and start talking gibberish. Very good acting on Julia Roberts' part in this scene!

Man this scene is intense and relatable. I once had a low blood sugar incident after donating plasma. After my donation, I had to run some errands which took longer than I expected and delayed my getting lunch. I went to Chick-Fil-A and found myself having to wait as it was during the lunch rush. After putting in my order, I started to feel weird and sat at a table. First I felt rather hot and thirsty, but drinking water didn't really help. As I sat there, I began to get a headache & feel dizzy. I went to stand up, but my vision blurred and I sort of fell back into the seat. Thankfully a woman sitting at a table next to me came over and while I could see her, I couldn't hear her as it seemed like I went briefly deaf. Even though I couldn't hear myself talking, I told her I was dizzy after donating plasma. She immediatly grabbed the soda on her table and had me drink it & called over an employee. It took a few minutes of drinking the soda & eating some nuggets the employee brought over before I started to feel better. The lady told me she was a nurse and that she recognized the signs of low blood sugar as well as an electrolyte imbalance. The manager of the Chick-Fil-A then came over with my food an apologized for the delay & said said it was free. It was definitely a little scary as I'd never had that happen before when I'd previously donated blood or plasma. The first time I watched this scene after that happened, I immediately saw the similarities and if you pay attention, you can see it coming on. You see Shelby getting a little pale and sweaty and she starts grabbing at the collar of her coverup. While she doesn't totally lose her hearing, they show that the voices sound like they are echoing/fading. I know some people have wondered why Shelby gets angry & lashes out when they are trying to help her and I don't think it was so much that she was angry. Rather I think she was just panicking & didn't really know what she was saying. I know that I felt scared when I had my experience. Anyway, I think its accurate and was very well portrayed.

Julia coming through big time in a very difficult scene! Everyone else is on point, and I particularly love Dolly in this film.

"Steel Magnolias" was based on the play of the same name and filmed in the same town it was based on - Natchitoches, Louisiana. It was written by Robert Harling after the death of his sister, Susan Harling Robinson. She passed away from complications of Type I diabetes in 1985. She was only 33 years old. The play has an all female cast, unlike the movie. Harling based the other characters on his mother's friends and worried the real Ousier would recognize herself and be offended. But when the women from his hometown would see the play they'd all claim Ousier was based on them! They wanted to be the smart mouthed, bitchy one. Shirley MacLaine was able to choose any character, except for M'Lynn or Shelby, and she chose to play Ousier. (Ironically the real person Ousier was based on never figured out it was her. Harling said she told him she knew who all the characters were based on except for Ousier!) Just like her movie character Shelby, Susan got married and wanted to start a family, even though doctors warned her about potential complications. She had a healthy son in 1983 but her circulatory system and kidneys began failing not long after. She received a kidney transplant (from her mother, just like in the movie) and dialysis but neither were much help and her son was only 2 when she passed. Harling said he never expected it to be successful and started writing it because he was afraid his nephew would never know who his mother was. (His brother-in-law remarried 5 months after Susan passed.) He said "All I wanted was to have somebody remember her." It's been almost 40 years since her passing. Thanks to him, millions of people know her story and she'll never be forgotten ❤

This happened to a girl in my class when I was in high school. The whole class freaked out and the teacher told us to leave. She didn't even know she was diabetic. Poor girl. I think about her everytime I watch this movie. That was 30 years ago. I hope she's ok.

I love the way the film accurately shows the sensation of sounds altering first ... kind of like having your head in a fishbowl, then the blood pressure drops, panic sets in, etc. Nailed it. And the apologies at the end.

The relationship with Julia’s character and her mom, always reminds me of my mom and I’s relationship. The day I lose her will be the day I die too.

The smooth transition Julia makes from being talkative and witty to silent and jittery is so good, you can see when she starts acting different and it’s so subtle.

Only in Heaven, could you picture Dolly Parton, doing Julia Roberts’ hair. Two icons. Great movie.

One thing I learned being diabetic, not many people know or recognize the symptoms. Same for hypoxia, when the oxygen saturation is low you can be delirious. Both diabetes and hypoxia can be fatal. I wish schools and hospitals would educate people about these things.❤

She did such an amazing job portraying this. My mother has type 1 diabetes and while it's a bit more violent than this, Julia did an amazing job. These type of scenes always break my heart because it brings me back to my mom having them really bad before the CGM's came out. Unfourtunately my mom has the type of low BG if it gets too low she has a seizure. I wouldn't wish this disease upon anyone because for the person who has it as well as the people who love and care for them it can be very traumatic.

The way her mother so sweetly talked to her was a sweet scene. And the way everyone helped her.

I never noticed it before, just a minute or 2 before the attack, Claree has a head full of curlers. Suddenly, her hair is completely done. My favorite line by Dolly, "we'll fix it". Great scene.

I’ve seen this when I was a teenager and fell in love. But it broke my heart as well. This scene and the ending ripped me up as a teen. So emotional yet funny and loving all at the same time.

Sally Fields acting in the end of the movie was phenomenal

My diabetic sister watched this for the 1st time and knew what was happening before anyone else did...

Dolly has such a comforting voice. I know this is about Julia, but I just focus on Dolly more lol

My first husband had diabetes and would have severe episodes like this regularly. We were on a first name basis with our lical paramedic team. There are a number of factors that can tip the balance of your blood sugar and since your own internal mechanism for controlling it doesn't function normally it can be tricky to manage. Its a very insidious disease.

The acting from all the ladies here is phenomenal

God I love this film. Sally Field and Julia Roberts are so believable as a mother and daughter. Even when her daughter is having an episode she’s like “don’t be a little shit”

I love listening to them just talk it's so relaxing

i love this scene. love, love, love it. this entire movie in fact. it’s such a great representation of female friendships and grief (not just m’lynn’s grief over the loss of her daughter either - grief over aging and so perceived societal importance, an inability to be as independent as we’d like to be (needing others) and grief over a seemingly failing household, just to name a few.) plus - dolly! i need to buy this movie, actually, heh

Julia Robert’s is an amazing actress I love her . She makes the scenes look so realistic. She deserve an award !❤

My first diabetic attack was a lot like this - we were in the back of an Uber on the way to a wedding...first I just felt "off" and ignored it but it kept creeping up on me and I felt more and more out of sorts without really ever realizing it was just low blood sugar...even the music in this scene went perfectly with that horrid out-of-body (sort of) feeling, you get angry and can't control your outbursts...sometimes another person really does have to force something with sugar in it into your mouth! (In my case, my husband happened to have a piece of chocolate)

I loved Steel Magnolias!!! The entire cast was brilliant. I totally sobbed. ❤❤❤

I've watched this movie a million times. And even though I know Shelby passes away. I STILL CRY MY EYES OUT!! I LOVE THIS MOVIE!

I've been a Type 1 Debetic for 53 years, and I've great strides in the treatment of diabetes. I had severe hypoglycemic reactions when I was pregnant with my daughter, and I would have severe seizures. Even after I had my daughter and my hormones were trying to get back to normal, I would still have seizures from low blood sugars. Then, after my divorce and I was working, and I got off late at night, I'd have low blood sugar seizures again, and it would scare my daughter, and I never wanted her to see me when my diabetes was acting up. When I was a child, I'd get combative when my blood sugar was low. I always try to make sure that I've got something one me to take for when my blood sugar gets low and my blood sugar machine.

I cry every time I have a friend who is diabetic I have never seen her have a attack but her roommate says it can be bad but she knows how to help her when she needs it

They all deserve LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

That said, this was a stellar ensemble of amazing women. Very lived-in. Especially Dolly.

Diabetics attack? She had low blood sugar or hypoglycaemia. As a type 1 diabetic, this is still to this day the most realistic version I’ve ever seen in the media, slightly over dramatic but real!

I'm blown away by her slow but methodical acting...it's amazing how she turned from normal to freaking out and convulsing! Great acting.

My mom is a type 1 diabetic and when I watched this for the first time I cried. It was so accurate. My mom shaking and sobbing, not making sense, nd then feeling horrible about it even though she cant control it

Its scary when I had blackouts and I wasn't diabetic but that is attack and Julia Roberts did a great job playing Shelby in this role. She was great all of them were.... I still watch Steel Magnolias

I mean every single actress in this movie was outstanding. I still cannot wrap my head around Daryl Hannah. She is so good in her role. I'm not sure it is even her. Love this movie.

My dad was diabetic since he was 14 years old. I’ve seen firsthand that a diabetic person can go 0 to 60 in a short minute. It is really scary. He wasn’t big on candy bars, but he had one in his glove box at all times, and I knew what glucagon was

Lol my mom watched this movie all the time when I was little. Whenever my sugar is about to crash my hands will shake violently and it's hard to get a rational sentence out. When I was younger and I'd catch an attack before it really started I'd yell, "Mom! I'm Julia Roberting!" She said she can't stand watching the movie now lol

Julia Roberts is an incredible actress!

Sally played the mother we all wish we had, her love for her daughter was limitless.

That subtle change in mood JR made as she felt her attack coming on

I was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and Julia Roberts did a amazing job portraying what it can feel like having low blood sugars. I haven't had a attack like this yet (though I've been low a couple of times but never that low yet), but I'm scared I'll have one one day like this. Diabetes is so hard to go through but I'm going through day by day the best i can. Wishing love to all other diabetics in this comment section ❤️❤️

Roberts is such a phenomenal actress, always has been. All those ladies are. This scene leaves me with a little tear in my eye.

Never thought I’d feel more complete seeing dolly, Sally, and Julie all in the same movie! I e heard of this movie why I’ve never watched it?!

Idk how I've made it 31yrs never having seen this movie, but this clip alone nearly brought me to tears. I will DEFINITELY be watching this!

I'm a Type 1 Diabetic. This was me when I was a kid. Got a much better handle on it now. I know when I'm low and I am able to communicate it to others and if my Blood Sugar drops to a dangerously low level, I ask whoever is around me to make sure I don't pass out. Always Keep snacks and a Regular Soda in my Bag at all times. All Diabetic's out there, watch your numbers!

This movie really stuck with me as a kid. I was so young every other movie with her in it I was so happy she was alive lol

Why do I get the feeling you couldn't find a hairstylist these days who would know the techniques Dolly uses in this scene?

I think this scene is what got Julia Roberts her BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS nomination.

My grandma used to have many attacks like this, she had been type 2 diabetic for over forty years, she died in 2023 from liver cancer and this movie is scarily accurate to complications my grandmother had

I have been watching this movie since I was a little girl and I STILL cry every time. Plenty of laughs too. This is such a classic film. The casting is insane.

After all of this time, Sally’s breakdown at the end STILL makes me cry. But you should give the Latifah one a chance, she made me cry too.

My baby is a type 1 diabetic she’s 19 now and yeah this is pretty close to what happens with her. Love Julia! ❤

My mom and I have been through our stuff, but we got together at a hotel for a girls weekend and to reconnect. Our first night I crawled into bed with her and we watched this movie on her iPad. It was a beautiful moment. ❤ I love my mom.

My'Lynn tells Anelle that normalcy is very important to Shelby. That's why she is refusing help. She doesn't like people fussing over her. She has a lot of pride when it comes to her condition. So that may be why she gets more erratic during her episode. She is confused, irritated, and a little embarrassed. It has to be very scary going through this. I'm sure every one is different but I think Julia acted it very well.

I’ve been watching this movie with my mama since I was a little girl when it came out. The acting and facial emotion shown by Julia Roberts when she suddenly realizes what happened and apologizes to her mom… 👌🏼👏🏼💜

My mom used to have those all the time when i was a kid and teen, nowadays it's more rare but one thing that always made me desperate when she had an attack was the way she would refuse to eat/drink the sugar i gave her so stubborn! As a kid it was scary specially when i was alone with her, i would begin to cry and scream "Just drink the thing mom!"... Eventually i realised that if i mantaind my calmness and talked very softly to her, trying to explain the situation and huging her gently i would manage to get her to drink/eat what i gave her way faster and the crisis would go away faster too

My Dad was a Diabetic & this scene always takes me back because we experienced this through the 70's, 80's, & 90's, & when I went to the movie theater in 1989 to see this movie I lost it watching this scene & when she went into her coma & later died. 💔😢🙏🏼🌹🌹 & when I originally watched this back in 1989 I cried because it was done so realistically. 💔😢🙏🏼🙏🏼🌹

Every mother who can't help their child due to their ailment. xx

She deserved an Oscar way before "Erin Brockovich" just for this scene.

Wasn’t this one of Julia’s first big movies? She did such an amazing job!!

I’ve never had a diabetic attack but I have passed due to low blood sugar a couple of times. Once it was in the shower my university hall. I remember feeling extremely nauseous and dizzy so I sat down on the small bench outside the shower. The feeling didn’t go away, my vision blurred, I was suddenly covered in sweat. Suddenly I woke up on the floor. I couldn’t hear, my vision was orange and I couldn’t feel my tongue. It took a few seconds for me to realize where I was and hear the sound of running water. I’d hit my head on the wall on the way down and bit my tongue a little but otherwise I was fine. It’s scary when it happens but it sure is a heaping reminder to listen to your body!

I went through this with a friend many years ago. She and I had been hiking and she gave half her lunch to her dog. We came into town and I had an impulse to buy ice cream cones, which I did and then we went to a car wash to clean the car as it had gotten pretty dusty from the dirt roads. I looked through the windshield and she was acting all strange and ice cream was dripping down her face. I thought she was clowning around. She had never told me she was a type one diabetic. I drove her to her house and could barely get her inside, she was acting sort of drunk and I didn’t know what was wrong. Her sister lived a few blocks away so I drove over there as fast as possible and banged on the door. I was very intense and saying something was wrong please come help. She thought I was playing a prank and then I burst out crying for frustration and she knew then I was serious and we drove back to the house. She did the same thing with giving her orange juice. My friend was talking like she was five years old and unable to sit up. Her family later told me I may have saved her life by thinking to buy that ice cream, if she hadn’t eaten some of it she most likely would have gone into a coma before we got to her house. It was one of the most frightening things I’d ever experienced. I only wish she had told me she was diabetic, it would have helped immensely as I would have known what to do. But she was embarrassed about it and so didn’t want to tell people. I can’t encourage people enough that are diabetic to tell their friends. They could save your life.

This terrified me as a kid. Loved watching classic movies with my grandmother but when watching this one for the first time around the same time my seizures first started. It terrified me for quite a long time.

I'm a diabetic my mother and one of my brothers are. You don't know fear till your blood sugar bottoms out or someone else's does in front of you. Mine did in Walmart once. My mom got to the cooler got orange juice and her and my sister fought me pulling my hair and forcing my mouth open while I fought them like crazy to force it down my throat. It was terrifying and humiliating. I was so embarrassed.... It's hard to explain it's like you get weak than confused than your hearing goes numb and almost muffled than your body gets numb. It's hard to explain I don't wish it on anyone!!!,

I love how Dolly talks

Oh my gosh I just cry watching how everyone rallies around Shelby to her through this attack. .

I've had low blood sugar that was so low that my monitor kept giving error readings. I was gulping old Sprit and finally got a 41. I have never acted like this movie portrays during any of my many episodes.

Out of all the times I've seen this movie, I never caught on to a blooper. You've seen a few rollers in Clairese hair, but when she was by shelby, her hair was already looking nice, like it wasn't even touched.

I have had diabetes melitus for sixty years. This is enough to make me cry. And it is so usual for someone with diabetes melitus.

The entire cast, wow, well done! Teared up along the ride.

Julia Roberts acting skills incredible.

I never understood this scene growing up. Now that I'm older I understood it completely. Cannot imagine how someone can go through something like that? How does it happen? I known she said "she had too much insulin..

I'm not diabetic, but I have attacks of hypoglycemia and it is very scary. It comes on very quick. Once I had my mother and kids in the car. It was right after church. I had to whip into an Arbys fast to have one of kids go buy a coke to keep from passing out. Once while grocery shopping. Got to the car and tore a cookie out of the package. I almost didn't buy it. Glad I did. Its important to eat real food because once the sugar boost wears off, you can crash. Your stomach does feel sick. Your body feels an awlful sensation go through you when an attack comes on. I think she did a great job in this movie. She shows the panic so realistically in this movie. I almost feel it by watching her.

I had a friend in college who was Type 1 diabetic and would have similar experiences. She'd be fine one moment, and the next she was incoherent, babbling, sometimes having a full-on seizure. And all the while she would refuse help, sometimes angrily, sometimes violently, just like depicted here, where she's refusing to drink the juice. The diabetic attack has such a profound effect on even your thought processes, that it can make it hard to think or behave rationally.

My mom's low blood sugar episodes looked nothing like this. She was shaky and her skin was clammy, but she never had a meltdown that resembled this.

She did a great job performing the scary attack.

In 1989, 13 year old me saw old gals talking. In 2024, 48 year old me thinks these ladies are foxy young ladies! Lol😂

My mother is diabetic. Scared the living shit outta me the first time she had a really bad low around me when I was a kid. Her really really bad lies always happen at night, generally 2-3am. I think her survival instincts kick in because she starts screaming. Screaming and screaming but never coherent enough to make words. It’s scary as shit to wake up to screaming in the middle of the night but I’m used to it now, being 23 years old. Always wakes me and my father up and I’m the quickest one to get down stairs and find the juice stash or mix a glass of sugar water. Dad always has her sittin up in bed by the time I sprint up the stairs and my sister watching her blood sugar levels makin sure they don’t drop to the point of inducing a diabetic seizure. Mama hasn’t had any bad nights like that since we got her an insulin pump but it’s always scary to wake up to her shrieks in the middle of the night no matter how many times I’ve dealt with these diabetic episodes.

Years ago my mom had a diabetic attack. It was so scary!

As a type 1 diabetic for almost 30 years, I never had this happen to me but everyone is different

My type 1 diabetes diagnosis was in 1963. Throughout the years, I have experienced severe hypoglycemia hundreds of times, and on some occasions have passed out and regained consciousness in the emergency room. Julia Roberts’ character’s reaction is similar to one I had in 1983, when my parents were staying at the Ambassador East Hotel in Chicago. I have hypoglycemia unawareness and cannot recognize symptoms of low blood sugary. I took my insulin shot 10 minutes before arriving at the hotel to meet my parents for breakfast. My parents recognized the symptoms of hypoglycemia, and my mother later explained that I refused to eat the glucose tablets and candy she tried to feed me. She also said that I angrily told them that If they didn’t stop bothering me that they could eat breakfast by themselves.

Wow, she did excellent in this movie! All of them!

The mother was a bit annoying in this scene at first. I didn't remember that until now. I ALWAYS liked it when Julia said, "Don't talk about me like I'm not here."

This movie makes me cry every time.

DOLLY best positive attitude. Love her energy ❤❤❤

I saw this so many times as a kid and it never upset me, but now I have a beautiful 20 year old daughter with big brown eyes and long brown hair and it just brings me to tears.

I’ve been there, I thought she captured the feeling perfectly. It CAN hit you that fast!!