Barbara Walters

Born on September 25, 1929 in Boston Massachusetts, Barbara Walters is the consummate journalist. She wrote for the Morning Show in the 1950s and throughout the 1960s and 1970s she developed her interviewing style. She worked on NBC's Today Show and ABC's 20/20. In 1997 Barbara Walters premiered a popular talk show called The View.
From an early age Walters was surrounded by celebrities. This may account for her ease when interviewing famous people. She attend Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY and graduated in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in English. She landed her first job in journalism as the assistant to Tex McCary of WRCA-TV. She moved to CBS where she wrote material for news shows.
In 1955 Barbara married Robert Henry Katz, but they divorced in 1958. In 1961 Barbara Walters went to work as a research and writer for the Today show. Her first assignments were geared toward female viewers. She lobbied to travel with Jacqueline Kenney on a trip to India and Pakistan. In 1963 she married Lee Guber. They adopted a daughter, but divorced in 1976.
Walter was a mainstay of the Today show and starred alongside Hugh Downs and Frank McGee. She remained on the Today show for 11 years and by 1972 Walter was established as a competent journalist and interviewer. She accompanied Pres. Nixon on his trips to China as part of the press corps. In 1975 Walter won an Emmy Award for the best host in a talk series.
In 1976 Walters became the first women co-anchor of a network evening new program, was chosen to moderate the presidential debate between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. She launched a program entitled Barbara Walters Special in 1976 and the first program featured Pres. Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter. She also arranged an interview between Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt.
Walter's interviewed Christopher Reeve after his paralyzing horseback riding accident (1995). She received the George Foster Peabody Award for that interview. She interviewed Monica Lewinsky and made broadcasting history with the highest rated news program ever.
In 2013 Walters announced her retirement from television journalism. She will remain an executive producer on The View. Walters has won many awards and she deserves her life in the sun.