Pioneering journalist and television personality Barbara Walters has died at the age of 93.
Gatekeepers News reports that the iconic newsperson died on Friday evening according to her representative Cindi Berger.
“Barbara Walters passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones,” Berger says. “She lived a big life.”
“She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women.”
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger also announced Walters’ death, tweeting that the “one-of-a-kind reporter” had died at her New York home.
“Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer, not just for women in journalism but journalism itself,” Iger tweeted noting that his colleague and friend of 30 years had landed some of the “most important interviews of our time.”
Walters began her career on The Today Show in the early 1960s as a writer and segment producer of women’s interest stories. Her popularity with viewers resulted in Walters receiving more airtime, and in 1974, she became co-host of the program, the first woman to hold such a title on an American news program.
In 1976, she continued to be a pioneer for women in broadcasting by becoming the first female co-anchor of a network evening news program, alongside Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News.
From 1979 to 2004, Walters worked as a producer and co-host on the ABC newsmagazine 20/20. She also became known for an annual special aired on ABC, Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People.
Walters interviewed every sitting U.S. president and first lady from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. She also interviewed both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, though not as presidents.
Walters created, produced, and co-hosted the ABC daytime talk show The View, on which she appeared from 1997 until her retirement in 2014. Thereafter, she continued to host a number of special reports for 20/20 as well as documentary series for Investigation Discovery. Her final on-air appearance for ABC News was in 2015.
Walters was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1989, and in 2007 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2000, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
