Barbara Walters

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Lore & Background

Barbara Walters was born in Boston to Dena and Lou Walters, children of Russian Jewish immigrants. Her father managed the Latin Quarter nightclub in Boston and later opened its New York location in 1942, also working as a Broadway producer and entertainment director for the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. During her childhood, her father made and lost several fortunes, and the family lived in Miami Beach and New York City. Walters attended Lawrence School, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Birch Wathen School, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Sarah Lawrence College in 1951. Walters began her career at WNBT-TV in 1953 as a writer-producer of a children's program, Ask the Camera. She joined NBC's Today show in the early 1960s as a writer and segment producer, later becoming the show's regular 'Today Girl.' In 1974 she became co-host of Today, the first woman to hold such a position on an American news program. In 1976 she became the first American female co-anchor of a network evening news program, alongside Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News. Walters was a correspondent, producer and co-host on ABC's 20/20 from 1979 to 2004. She created, produced, and co-hosted the ABC daytime talk show The View from 1997 until 2014. She interviewed every sitting U.S. Her final on-air appearance for ABC News was in 2015, and she last publicly appeared in 2016.

Reader's Guide

Barbara Walters' significance lies in her role as a pioneer for women in broadcast journalism. She broke barriers by becoming the first female co-host of a national news program on Today in 1974 and the first American female co-anchor of a network evening news program on the ABC Evening News in 1976. Her career spanned over six decades, from 1951 to 2014, during which she became known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers. Walters created and co-hosted The View, a daytime talk show that ran from 1997 until 2014. She also conducted interviews with numerous world leaders and celebrities, including every sitting U.S. president and first lady from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Her legacy includes 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' work helped change the perception of women in news and set a standard for long-form television interviews.

Did You Know?

• Walters began her TV career in 1953 as a writer-producer of a children's program called Ask the Camera.
• In 1976, she became the first American female co-anchor of a network evening news program, alongside Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News.
• She interviewed every sitting U.S. president from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama, but contrary to popular belief, she did not interview every first lady from Pat Nixon to Michelle Obama — she missed Betty Ford and Rosalyn
• Walters created, produced, and co-hosted the ABC daytime talk show The View from 1997 until 2014.
• Her father, Lou Walters, produced the Ziegfeld Follies of 1943 and imported the Folies Bergère stage show to the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Breaking Barriers in American Broadcasting

Barbara Walters entered television in 1953 at NBC's New York flagship station, producing a children's program called Ask the Camera. From that modest start she climbed steadily. By the early 1960s she had joined the Today show staff as a writer and segment producer handling women's-interest stories. Her natural connection with viewers earned her more airtime, and in 1974 she became co-host of the program, the first woman to hold such a position on an American news show. In 1976 she broke another barrier, becoming the first American female co-anchor of a network evening newscast alongside Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News. From 1979 to 2004 she served as correspondent, producer, and co-host on the ABC news magazine 20/20, and she built a following through her annual special, Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People. Her contributions were honored with induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 1989, a NATAS Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. She maintained her status as a working journalist from 1951 until retiring in 2014.

The Definitive Interviewer

Few journalists in American history can claim the breadth of subjects Barbara Walters sat across from. Over the course of her career she interviewed every sitting U.S. president and first lady, from Richard and Pat Nixon through Barack and Michelle Obama. She also spoke with Donald Trump and Joe Biden, though not during their presidencies. Her reach extended far beyond American politics: she sat down with Fidel Castro, Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, Hugo Chávez, Vladimir Putin, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Jiang Zemin, Saddam Hussein, and Bashar al-Assad. On the entertainment side, she interviewed luminaries such as Katharine Hepburn and Sean Connery. She also gained notoriety for a conversation with Monica Lewinsky. Walters was widely recognized for her interviewing ability and her enduring popularity with viewers, qualities that made her the go-to journalist for subjects ranging from heads of state to Hollywood icons. Her annual ABC special, Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People, became a cultural touchstone that showcased her talent for drawing out revealing, humanizing moments from people who commanded global attention.

A Show-Business Childhood

Barbara Walters was born on September 25, 1929, in Boston, the daughter of Dena and Lou Walters, whose parents were children of Russian Jewish immigrants. Her paternal grandfather, originally from the Polish city of Łódź, had emigrated to England and changed his surname to Warmwater. Lou Walters was born in London in 1898 and moved to New York City in 1909. He went on to manage the Latin Quarter nightclub in Boston and later opened its famous New York location in 1942. He also worked as a Broadway producer, producing the Ziegfeld Follies of 1943, and served as entertainment director at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, where he imported the Folies Bergère stage show from Paris. Walters recalled her father taking her to nightclub rehearsals, where dancers would twirl her until she was dizzy. She said growing up surrounded by celebrities kept her from ever being in awe of them. The family also endured hardship: her older brother Burton died of pneumonia at fourteen months, and her sister Jacqueline, born with mental disabilities, passed away from ovarian cancer in 1985. Walters earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Sarah Lawrence College in 1951.

The View and Final Chapters

In 1997, Walters took on a new creative challenge: she created, produced, and co-hosted the ABC daytime talk show The View. She remained on the program until 2014, the same year she officially retired after more than six decades as a working journalist. Even after stepping away from The View, she continued to host special reports for 20/20 and appeared in documentary series for the Investigation Discovery network. Her final on-air appearance for ABC News came in 2015, and she last appeared publicly in 2016. Walters passed away on December 30, 2022, at the age of 93. Throughout her career she was known for her interviewing ability and her enduring popularity with viewers, qualities that carried her from a children's program in the 1950s to one of the most recognizable faces in American television. Her legacy spans the major network news programs of her era, from Today to the ABC Evening News to 20/20, and she remains a benchmark for what a woman could achieve in broadcast journalism.