Barbara Walters

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Early Life

Barbara Walters was born on September 25, 1929. She was born to parents, Dena Seletsky Walters and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Walters">Lou Walters</a>. Her <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Walters">father</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Walters">Lou</a>, was a nightclub impresario. She had a brother and a sister. Her brother, Burton Walters, died tragically of pneumonia complications in 1932. It left a lasting impression on Walters, who then gave extra special care to her sister. Her sister, Jacqueline, was unfortunately born developmentally disabled.

Walters attended both Fieldston private school and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_Wathen_Lenox_School">Birch Wathen</a> private school in New York City. She spent her early years in Boston. As her father, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Walters">Lou Walters</a>, opened a number of chain nightclubs in Boston, Massachuesetts, to Miami Beach, Florida, she moved a lot as a child. She graduated from Miami Beach High School in 1947. From a very early age, Barbara was always surrounded by celebrities. It has been said that this is the reason for her relaxed and confident demeanor when interviewing celebrities, infamous people and world leaders. 
For college, Walters went to Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. She graduated in the year of 1953 with a bachelor's degree in English.

After graduating, she worked for a short time as a secretary. Very soon after that, she landed her first real job in journalism as the assistant to the publicity director of WRCA-TV, Tex McCary, who was a Republican activist. At that NBC affiliate, she honed her producing and writing skills to a great extent. Walters then moved on to CBS, where she had a job writing material for the network's Morning Show. In the year 1955, Walters was wed to Robert Henry Katz, a busniness executive. Their marriage lasted until 1958, when they got a divorce.

In 1963, Walters married her second <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Guber">husband</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Guber">Lee Guber</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Guber">Guber</a> was a theatrical <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Guber">producer</a>. Together, they adopted a daughter whom they named Jacqueline Dena after Walter's sister and mother.

Early Career

After being hired in 1961 by NBC and working as a researcher and writer for it's popular Today Show, Walters was given a breakthrough assignment to travel with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis">First Lady</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis">Jacqueline Kennedy</a> on a trip to Pakistan and India. Her report was well liked and this resulted in her increased responsibility at NBC.

By 1964, Walters was well known as a staple of the Today Show and earned the nickname of "Today girl." She starred side by side with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Downs">Hugh Downs</a> and later, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_McGee_(journalist)">Frank McGee</a>. Even though she worked as a co-host, she was not officially given that title until many years later in 1974. She was restricted from asking the show's more serious guests any questions until after her male co-host had finished asking his questions.

Mid Career

Walters had worked for the Today show for eleven years. During that time, she became proficient with her trademark "probing-yet-casual" interviewing technique. She was well known around the country for being a competent journalist by 1972. For <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon">Richard Nixon</a>'s historic trip to China, Walter's was chosen to accompany him as a part of his press corps. She won the best host in a talk series Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award in 1975.

Also in 1975, Walters became the first woman co-anchor of a network evening news program. She accepted the job from ABC network because they had offered her a $1 million annual salary, unprecedented at the time. Also in 1976, Walters was selected to moderate the third and final presidential debate between incumbent President, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Ford">Gerald Ford</a>, and challenger, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter">Jimmy Carter</a>. Walters also launched the first of a series of her specials in 1976, known now famously as Barbara Walters Specials. The first one featured an interview with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter">President</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter">Jimmy Carter</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalynn_Carter">First Lady</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalynn_Carter">Rosalynn Carter</a>. The following year in 1977, Walters arranged the first joint interview with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Begin">Prime Minister</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Begin">Menachem Begin</a> of Israel and Egyptian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Sadat">President</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Sadat">Anwar Sadat</a>.

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Throught these early years of the Barbara Walters Specials, she further honed her skills as a probing reporter, known for her deftly maneuvered questions. She often caught her subjects off guard, revealing very uncommon candor. Her extreme effort to get the "first interview, her uncanny ability to ask the tough questions and the questions that the public would most want to hear, and her deft ability to not alienate her interview subjects all all added to her success.

Walters' male colleagues were quite often outraged and openly critical of her success. Her most outspoken collegue, ABC <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Reasoner">co-anchor</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Reasoner">Harry Reasoner</a>, was so patronizing towards her that it was very obvious on camera.

Walters had a slight speech impediment that was famously satirized by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilda_Radner">Gilda Radner</a> on Saturday Night Life.

In 1979, Walters got her next job as a part-time news correspondent for the news show, 20\20, on ABC. There, she scored a highly anticipated exclusive interview with former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon">President</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon">Richard Milhouse Nixon</a> in 1980. It was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon">Nixon</a>'s first TV interview since his infamous resignation in 1974. For the next five years, Walters was a regular <a href="/biography/barbara-walters">contributor</a> to 20\20. In 1984, she was promoted to the position of co-host of 20\20, along with her former Today Show partner, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Downs">Hugh Downs</a>. Downs retired from 20\20 in 1999, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Miller_(police_official)">John Miller</a> took his place. <a href="/biography/john-stossel">John Stossel</a> was next in line.

Late Career

Walters had her contract extended for five more years with ABC News in September, 2000. She became the highest-paid news host in history. Her annual salary was a whopping $12 million. At the age of 73, she quit as co-host of 20\20 in September of 2004. For her final regular appearance on the program, Walters featured a 25-year retrospective her many of her notable interviews, including heads of state, entertainment personalities and other various famous and infamous people of note.

Walters premiered the talk show, The View, in August of 1997. She was the co-executive producer as well as a co-host. The View has had many noteable female co-hosts, including <a href="/biography/whoopi-goldberg">Whoopi Goldberg</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_O'Donnell">Rosie O'Donnell</a>, <a href="/biography/star-jones">Star Jones</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Ling">Lisa Ling</a>, <a href="/biography/meredith-vieira">Meredith Vieira</a>, <a href="/biography/joy-behar">Joy Behar</a>, <a href="/biography/sherri-shepherd">Sherri Shepherd</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Matenopoulos">Debbie Matenopoulos</a> and <a href="/biography/elisa-beth-hasselbeck">Elisabeth Hasselbeck</a>.

Walters announced her retirement from television journalism in May, 2013. During her career, she has been honored with many awards including The President's Award in 1988, an induction into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences hall of Fame in 1990, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007, as well as 34 daytime and primetime Emmy Awards. She has received honorary doctoral degrees from Ben-Gurion University in Jerusalem, Hofstra University, Marymount College, Ohio State University, Sarah Lawrence College, Temple University and Wheaton College.

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