Friends planned a surprise birthday party for Barbara Corcoran — but when they arrived, they were stunned to find her in a 'coffin'
Some moments become unforgettable memories that no one in the room sees coming. The "Shark Tank" star and business mogul Barbara Corcoran learned that her friends were planning a surprise party for her 70th birthday. Instead of playing along quietly, she decided to flip the script in a way no one predicted. She spilled all the details about her unusual birthday party in an interview with Damein Scott of Boardroom (@boardroom). “I had the best party of the century, no doubt about it,” she said in the video posted on Instagram on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.
The 76-year-old shared, “My friends were going to give me a surprise party, and I got wind of it from my good girlfriend. So, when Liz told me they were planning a surprise party, I said, ‘I'm going to turn the tables and surprise them.’” Her friends gathered upstairs at her home, waiting for her to return from the airport. According to Fox News, Corcoran’s brother told her friends that she would be entering from downstairs, but what they walked into instead left them jaw-dropping.
“They walked into the living room and found me dead in a coffin,” Corcoran revealed. “I had set up the whole room as a funeral parlor, the chairs, the nuns, the priests, the rabbis, everybody there.” The friends stood there in shock as the scene unfolded like a real memorial service. Corcoran was lying still with her eyes closed, while those closest to her shared their thoughts, both flattering and not so flattering, believing she was truly gone.
Corcoran also revealed a moment that stood out more than the rest. Jokingly, she said that she “wanted to kill” her then-9-year-old daughter because she asked, “When do we get the money?” Her friend had no clue that it was a prank. She described, “I could hear the gasps. I had my eyes closed, and I didn't move for [sic] a second. Everybody was aghast that I was dead.”
After ten minutes, she finally revealed the truth. “I got up and danced,” she expressed. The following morning, Corcoran realized just how convincing the scene had been. Her doorman told her that she was all over social media and everyone was talking about her death. In 2019, when the incident happened, she shared photos on Instagram with a caption, “Surprise 70th!” She wrote, “I surprised my guests laid out in a coffin on Saturday. After 90 friends and family paid their respects, I popped out of the coffin in a red Carolina Herrera gown to the Diana Ross song ‘I’m Alive!’ and danced the Tango.”
Her story left everyone laughing. "Clever and witty! Love this. Must’ve been a great party. you’re the best," commented @priscilla__nyc. @sabrinafieber mentioned, "Love this, what a great sense of humor you have." "This is hilarious!" noted @shaqueena8.
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