It has just been reported that famous journalist and television personality Barbara Walters has passed away. The news was announced by ABC, the network Walters had spent many years at with her work as an anchor and correspondent. No additional details were immediately made available regarding Walters' passing. She was 93 years old.
Walters spent around five decades on television and made history in 1976 as the first female anchor on an evening news program when she joined ABC News. By 1979, she was serving as co-host of 20/20 on ABC. She'd later help launch The View in 1997 where she'd serve as a co-host until 2014, though she'd continue to serve as an executive producer on the show. She'd formally retire in 2015 after embarking on her journalism career in 1951.
The accolades Walters had garnered throughout her career had also gotten her recognized with an induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 1989 followed by a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of TV Arts and Sciences in 2000. She was bestowed with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. She has won 12 Emmy Awards and a NAACP Image Award.
In 2014, there was a part of ABC News' Headquarters renamed "The Barbara Walters Building." Of course, this was done as a way of acknowledging the many contributions Walters had been doing for decades, not just for the network, but for countless other women in journalism.
"People ask me very often, 'what is your legacy?' and it's not the interviews with presidents, or heads of state, nor celebrities," she said at the time of the honor. "If I have a legacy, and I've said this before and I mean it so sincerely, I hope that I played a small role in paving the way for so many of you fabulous women."
Barbara Walters Had Some Legendary Interviews
Walters is also known for conducting some of the most-watched and talked-about interviews. She has spoken with every U.S. president and first lady from the Nixons to the Obamas, though she also interviewed Donald Trump and Melania Trump before they entered the White House. She drew immensely high viewership when she interviews Monica Lewinsky in 1999 about her affair with then-president Bill Clinton. Walters has also spoken with figures like Fidel Castro and Vladimir Putin.
Born in 1929, Walters had gotten married four times in her life. After her marriages to Robert Henry Katz and Lee Guber, she married Merv Adelson twice before calling it quits for good with weddings upon her final 1992 divorce. With Guber, she adopted a daughter, Jacqueline Guber. At this time, our thoughts are with Guber and Walter's family and friends. May she rest in peace as her memory lives on.