We Lost a TV News Icon 3 Years Ago Today

Today, three years ago on December 30, 2023, the world lost famed journalist, Barbara Walters. She was 93 years old at the time of her passing.

Walters is known for breaking barriers in journalism. At the time of her rise, she faced extreme sexism in the male-dominated world, and made history becoming the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news program on ABC with 20/20, later creating the daytime talk show, The View.

Following her history-making anchor duties on ABC, she was given primetime specials, where she interviewed dictators, entertainers, and controversial figures. Some of her most famous interviews include Monica Lewinsky’s coveted interview following her affair with President Bill Clinton. The interview garnered 74 million views.

Other notable interviews include Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Christopher Reeve following his paralyzing horse riding accident, Robert Kardashian Sr. following O.J. Simpson’s verdict in the Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman murders, and Mike Tyson and Robin Givens where the actress revealed the boxer was physically abusive to her during their marriage.

In a career that spanned 50 years, Walters won 12 Emmy awards, 11 of which were given during her time at ABC News. Walters made her final appearance as a co-host of The View in 2014, but continued in her role on the show as an executive producer and conducted a few specials for ABC News.

Walters grew up in show business courtesy of her father, who worked as a booking agent and nightclub producer, and discovered comedians Fred Allen and Jack Haley. She had dozens of connections and associates from her time spent with her father. Witnessing the pitfalls of fame from such observations, Walters learned what to do and what not to do from her time under her father’s tutelage. 

“I would see them onstage looking one way and offstage often looking very different. I would hear my parents talk about them and know that even though those performers were very special people, they were also human beings with real-life problems,” Walters said in a 1989 interview with the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences. “I can have respect and admiration for famous people, but I have never had a sense of fear or awe.”

She has always credited her determination to succeed to her sister Jackie, who was born with developmental disabilities. “Her condition also altered my life,” Walters wrote in her 2008 memoir, Auditions. “I think I knew from a very early age that at some point Jackie would become my responsibility. That awareness was one of the main reasons I was driven to work so hard. But my feelings went beyond financial responsibility.” Walters openly spoke about the struggles of balancing career and family, though she desired both.

She had one daughter, Jacqueline Dena Guber, whom she adopted with her second husband, theater producer Lee Guber, in 1968, after suffering several miscarriages. She was married and divorced three times. She was candid about her regrets that she felt she spent more time dedicated to her career than focusing on her family. Her daughter has remained out of the public eye.