Legendary TV broadcaster Barbara Walters dies at 93

Barbara Walters, the legendary broadcaster known for her exclusive interviews with presidents, dictators, Oscar winners, professional athletes and beyond, has died. She was 93.

“Barbara Walters passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones," her representative, Cindi Berger, confirmed to TODAY.com. "She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women."

The cause of death was not immediately released.

Born Sept. 25, 1929, Walters pioneered more than a half-century career in television, first rising to prominence on TODAY, where she worked for 15 years. She started as a writer and producer in 1961 before making her on-camera debut within a year. She would distinguish herself by covering women’s-interest stories, such as working as a Playboy Bunny at the Playboy Club and reporting on fashion shows in Paris.

Walters, at the time often referred to as the “TODAY girl,” was also sent traveling on assignments, including a trip to India and Pakistan, following first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962, and twice to China to cover visits of President Richard Nixon in 1972 and President Gerald Ford in 1975.

She was later informally recognized as a co-host alongside Frank McGee, who, according to Walters, said she could only ask questions to guests after he asked the first three. She wouldn’t receive the official title of co-host until 1974 following McGee’s death.

“It was a struggle because there were no women in the news,” Walters said during a speaking engagement at Harvard in 2014. “When I first went on the air, I had a partner who insisted I not ask any of the serious questions.”

In 1976, she jumped to ABC. Walters became the first woman to co-anchor a major network’s nightly news program when she joined Harry Reasoner on “ABC Evening News” and earned an unprecedented $1 million annual salary. Walters and Reasoner had a famously frosty relationship during their time on the program. They went their separate ways in 1978.

In 1976, ABC also aired the first of her famous “Barbara Walters Specials,” in which she sat down with the biggest newsmakers and pop culture figures. Her annual “Most Fascinating People” program debuted in 1993 and was a year-end special that profiled the individuals Walters found the most influential at the time. The first year featured 12 people, but the list was trimmed to 10 after that and remained a staple on ABC until 2015.

Walters, who also moderated presidential debates during her decorated career, became a correspondent for ABC News’ “20/20” in 1979 before being elevated in 1984 to co-host alongside Hugh Downs, whom she worked with at TODAY. She maintained that role with “20/20” for the following 20 years.

In 1997, Walters created, produced and starred in “The View,” which served as a template for other daytime shows featuring women on a panel discussing issues of the day and interviewing guests. She would remain with the ABC program until 2014.

Walters, who talked with a disparate list of people over her career, became known for her casual yet inquisitive interviewing technique, as well as her distinct voice and delivery.

“I’m fascinated by what makes people tick,” she said at the 2014 Harvard event. “A lot of my interviews even with heads of state are: ‘Tell me about your childhood.’ ‘What is it about you that made you the person you are today?’”

The roster of people who sat down with Walters is as impressive as it is long. From world leaders to music legends, she managed to interview the key figures of the day for years. Fidel Castro, Lucille Ball, Muhammad Ali, Fred Astaire, Michael Jackson, Vladimir Putin, Tom Cruise, Bill Gates, Saddam Hussein, Justin Bieber, President Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Elizabeth Taylor are only a handful of the people who spoke with her, while her 1999 interview with Monica Lewinsky became the highest-rated news program aired on a single network in history.

So great was Walters’ impact and so long was she an integral figure in the world of TV news that she was famously parodied on “Saturday Night Live” decades apart. Gilda Radner did the popular Baba Wawa impression of her in the ‘70s, and Cheri Oteri would strike comedic gold with her own impression in the ‘90s.

Walters was married four times. Her first marriage to Robert Katz in 1955 ended in an annulment in 1957. From 1963 to 1976, she was married to theatrical producer Lee Guber. She later wed television executive Merv Adelson in 1981 before divorcing three years later. In 1986, they remarried and divorced again in 1992.

Walters is survived by her adult daughter, Jacqueline, whom she adopted in 1968 with Guber. “I regret not having more children,” she told Piers Morgan in 2013.

While Walters is etched in history as a broadcasting icon, she leaves behind a legacy as a pioneer for women in television, paving a way for so many other star interviewers like Oprah Winfrey and Diane Sawyer.

“I didn’t think, ‘Ah! I’m going to show everybody,’” she said in a 2000 interview with the Television Academy Foundation. “I really wanted to do it. It was what interested me. Yes, I like to do the movie things, and yes, I like to do the lighter things, but I was also interested in politics and I also read the papers and I liked to do those kinds of things. So I did.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com