Barbara Walters

Barbara Jill Walters was an American broadcast journalist and television personality best known for her interviewing skills and her presence on prominent television news and talk programs. Over a career spanning from 1951 until her retirement in 2014, she served as a host, correspondent, and producer on major network shows including Today, the ABC Evening News, 20/20, and The View. Widely recognized for establishing pioneering positions for women in broadcasting, she received numerous industry honors, including induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 1989, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NATAS in 2000, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

Walters was born on September 25, 1929, in Boston to parents whose families were Russian Jewish immigrants. Her father worked as a nightclub manager, Broadway producer, booking agent, and casino entertainment director, leading to a childhood marked by fluctuating family finances and constant exposure to show business figures. Moving between Boston, Miami Beach, and New York City, she attended several public and private institutions, including the Ethical Culture Fieldston School and the Birch Wathen School. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1951.

After starting her career at a small advertising agency, Walters entered television broadcasting at NBC's flagship station, WNBT-TV, where she wrote press releases and handled publicity. In 1953, she produced the children's program Ask the Camera, followed by production work at WPIX and CBS. In 1961, she joined NBC's Today show as a writer and researcher, gradually taking on on-air reporting assignments. In 1974, she was named the official co-host of Today, becoming the first woman to hold that position on an American television news program.

In 1976, Walters transitioned to ABC News after signing a five-year contract that made her the highest-paid network news anchor at the time. She co-anchored the ABC Evening News alongside Harry Reasoner, becoming the first female co-anchor of an American network evening news broadcast. She joined the news magazine 20/20 as a correspondent in 1979, co-hosting alongside Hugh Downs from 1984 to 2004. In addition to news magazine reporting, she moderated presidential debates in 1976 and 1984 and participated in special coverage for major events, including presidential inaugurations and the September 11 attacks.

Throughout her career, Walters was renowned for her sit-down interviews with major public figures. She interviewed every sitting US president and first lady from Richard and Pat Nixon to Barack and Michelle Obama, as well as political figures Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Her world leader interviews included Fidel Castro, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Vladimir Putin, Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin, and Saddam Hussein. She also interviewed notable culture figures such as Katharine Hepburn, Michael Jackson, Laurence Olivier, and Monica Lewinsky, and created the annual broadcast special Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People.

In 1997, Walters co-created, produced, and joined the hosting panel of the daytime talk show The View, appearing on the program until 2014. She also operated the production company BarWall Productions alongside co-executive producer Bill Geddie. Following her retirement from regular hosting, she produced special reports for 20/20 and docuseries for Investigation Discovery. Her final on-air appearance for ABC News took place in 2015, and her final public appearance was in 2016. Walters died on December 30, 2022.