Barbra Walters was one of the most influential and highly respected journalists who "broke down barriers" for other women. Known as a first among TV women, Walters was born in 1925 in Boston, Massachusets. During her early years, she attended many public and private schools before attending Sarah Lawerance College, a small, private liberal arts college in Bronxville, NY. She graduated in 1952 with a Bachelors Degree in English.
Walters began her journalism career as a writer and a producer at WNBT, NBC's flagship station in New York City. In the 1960's she transferred to become a segment producer for the Today Show and remained for over a decade, before her popularity grew and in 1974 she was named the co-host of the Today Show.
Walters was part of many groundbreaking television networks. She left NBC in 1976 and became an anchor at ABC where she was called a "million dollar baby" after she signed her record-breaking contract with ABC for 5 years and $5,000,000. With this massive contract, Walters became the highest-paid journalist among both male and female anchors.
Although things did not work out as planned for this show, she showed her trademark resilience and tenacity and never backed down. Instead, she stepped into multiple other roles, including serving as an ABC News contributor. Soon thereafter, she started to appear on all of ABC's shows including 20/20 where she would soon be reunited with Hugh Downs, her former co-anchor at NBC. This duo became the show's permanent hosts in 1984 and enjoyed a long-lasting friendship and successful collaboration both on and off-screen.
People remember Walters for her remarkable interviewing skills, often catching her subjects off guard with her probing and pointed questions. Persistence soon became her most identifiable trait because if she didn't feel that the answer that she had received was sufficient, she wouldnt hesitate to ask the same question again to get the desired and truthful answers that the public and her followers were seeking. It wouldn't be uncommon to see her guests literally shift in their seats or show obvious signs of unease or discomfort during her no-nonsense questioning approach.
It was this trailblazing interview style that led her to accumulate a groundbreaking list of the world's most accomplished and prominent leaders. Barbara was known for getting the most sought-after, and relevant interview opportunities at any given time. Furthermore, her dominance was not confined to one genre, as she was best known for interviewing the "A" crowd which included everyone from renowned world leaders and presidents to famous movie stars to world-class athletes. It was often believed in Hollywood's inner circles that a person's career and legacy were either made or broken by how well they performed during Barbara's interrogation.
Due to her enormous success, Mrs.Walters created her own show "The View" which still runs today and is in its 27th season. The View featured a panel of 4 or 5 women all of varying backgrounds, ethnicities, and opinions. The purpose of this show was to discuss the hot topics of the day, which often led to spirited discussions among the cohosts. This semi-controlled chaos was a ratings sensation, as the public was drawn to the no-holds barred atmosphere the show facilitated. It often seemed that no topic was either off limits or too controversial either as the panel tackled political allegiance, racial equality and discrimination, and women's rights to just name a few.
Barbra Walters later annonced that she would be retiring from The View in 2014 after she spent 17 seasons as a premier anchor on the show. She did come out of retirement several times, highlighted by her final post-retirement appearance where she conducted a major interview with Donald Trump, who was running as a presidential candidate.
During her distinguished career, Mrs. Walters received incomparable praise among her peers and the journalism industry as a whole. This success translated into numerous award nominations and victories. During her career, she was nominated for 61 Emmy Awards and won 19 of them. In the year 2000, she received her most prominent award which came in the form of a "Lifetime Achievement Award", and in 2007, she was granted a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In her later years, Walters' health deteriorated and she suffered from many serious health ailments. She passed away in 2022 at the age of 93 after suffering from dementia. In her final words, it is reported that she said "No regrets- I had a great life". Today, many of the most recognizable and influential female journalists and anchors credit Barbara Walters for the success they enjoyed in their respective careers and the profound impact she made in the field of broadcast journalism.
