A Look Back At The Incredible Career Of Barbara Walters
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“She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists but for all women,” Walters’ spokesperson Cindi Berger told People magazine after confirming her passing. As many across the globe process the news that Barbara Walters has passed away at age 93, it is important to acknowledge all that she did during her five decades-long career. She was a trailblazer, an icon, and an inspiration for thousands of women. I know that as a millennial she had a tremendous impact on me and my career goals when I was younger. Join me as we take a look at some of the highlights of her incredible career.
Barbara Walters got her start on television in 1961 when she joined NBC’s Today show. She worked through the ranks, and before long she became the show's first female co-host. She stayed on the Today show until 1976 when she became a co-anchor on ABC’s Evening News, making her the first female anchor on an evening news program. Three years later, she would go on to join ABC’s 20/20, where she stayed until 2004. During her time on the show, she interviewed Vladimir Putin, Richard Nixon, and Michael Jackson, to name a few. During this time, she moderated multiple presidential debates and created the popular daytime talk show The View, which she would not retire from until 2014.
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Walters was known for having access to people no one else did and asked questions many were unwilling to ask. She crossed the Bay of Pigs with Fidel Castro and interviewed every president and first lady, starting with Richard Nixon and ending with Donald Trump.
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One of things people know her for the most is her annual Most Fascinating People special, which aired from 1993-2015. The special saw Walters interviewing and discussing the careers of 10 people who were found to be the most fascinating throughout that year. While they were not ranked in any order, in 2002, she began ending the program with the person she found to be the “most fascinating.” During the program’s run, she interviewed Nelson Mandela (1994), Mother Teresa (1998), Steve Jobs (2011), and Amal Clooney (2014).
Throughout her career, she won 12 Emmys, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. Her own words beautifully summed up her life:
“People ask me very often, ‘what is your legacy?’ and it’s not the interviews with presidents, or heads of state, nor celebrities. 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.”
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