Barbara Walters was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA as Barbara Jill Walters. Her birthday falls on September 25. She is widely known as the producer and writer, of the hit television news show Today (1952), 20/20 (1978) and World News with Diane Sawyer (1953). Moreover, she is also best known for being the first female co-anchor of an evening news program on a network.
Walters was born Jewish even though her parents were not practicing Jew. Walters graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1953 from Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York. After graduation, she worked as a secretary at some stations.
Walters’ proper first job in journalism was an assistant to Tex McCary of WRCA-TV. After gaining enough experience of writing and communications at WRCA-TV, she joined the CBS network. There she worked as a writer of the network’s famous ‘Morning Show’. This is believed to be Walters’ big break.
In 1955 she married Robert Henry Katz. Katz was a business executive. Their relationship didn’t last long. They divorced in 1958.
After the relationship disaster, she decided to keep moving ahead and shape her career. From 1961 Barbara started working on the NBC network as a researcher and writer for the popular ‘Today’s Show’. She got a major and breakthrough work at NBC, which earned her more responsibility and praises. The work was to travel with the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on a trip to India and Pakistan.
Barbara, with her hard work and determination, at such a young age was able to successfully carve a name for her in the industry. She was nicknamed as ‘Today Girl’ following her success at today’s show.
Walters remained in NBC network and worked for the today’s show for 11 years. By then she had established herself as a prominent name in the line of work. ABC offered Walters a job as the first woman co-anchor of a network evening news program. She was offered a huge $1 million annual salary at ABC.
In 1963 she got married again to Lee Guber. Guber was an American, theatre impresario. Barbara has a daughter named Jacqueline Dena Guber, which was adopted with Guber. She named her daughter after her sister and mother. Relationship with Guber also didn’t last long, and they got a divorce in the year 1976.
Barbara was shining and enjoying the height of success by launching her show where she interviews famous people. Her interviewing styles and questioning techniques were very popular and loved by most. But criticisms were also flowing along the way. Among the critics, the most criticism straight-from-the-shoulder was from Harry Reasoner. Other critics started to question her qualifications, and she was released from ABC after two years due to very low ratings of her show.
Although ABC released her, she contributed to the network as a part-time correspondent for their show 20/20. After some time she signed a contract with ABC. Her reported, $12 million yearly salary at the ABC made her the highest paid news anchor in the history of television. Walters’ current estimated net worth is $150 million similar to a Hollywood actor.
Her third husband was Merv Adelson. They got married in 1981. Adelson was the CEO of Lorimar Television. Adelson and Walters got separated in 1984. They remarried on 1986 and divorced again in 1992. Walters was married four times.
She retired in May 2013 but remains an executive producer on the popular talk show The View.
Walters has captured some great experiences in her life. She has interviewed every US president since Richard Nixon. The highest-rated news program ever was hers when she interviewed Monica Lewinsky. She also interviewed the famous actor John Wayne just six months before he was found dead.
She has received many awards for her impressive career as well. Among them, President’s Award, Lowell Thomas Award for a career in journalism excellence, Muse Award from the New York Women in Film and Television, and Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences are few. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
A legendary name in the television industry, Barbara Walters still walks tall and confident when seen in events and programs. She is 84 years now. She looks much younger than her age, and the celebrity watchers and columnists started speculations that she may have a plastic surgery. The news was published online that she had an eyelid surgery, a neck lift, forehead lift, and facelift following her appearances on recent events.
Walters’s biography can be read at different websites and wiki. Her interviews can be searched on YouTube. The final interview was with Piers Morgan, where she confessed that she regrets not having more children in her life. Another famous video of Barbara Walters is on SNL (Saturday Night Live), where she is impersonated by two famous actors.
Moreover, she can be reached at Twitter at @BarbaraJWalters where she updates, time and then, her fans about her latest developments and news.