(New York) Barbara Walters, the dynamic interviewer, anchor and host who shattered a glass ceiling by becoming the first female television news star in the United States, has died at the age of 93.
The death of the journalist – whose career has been as long as it is diverse – was announced by ABC on its airwaves on Friday evening.
“Barbara Walters passed away peacefully at her home, surrounded by her loved ones. She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer, not just for female journalists, but for all women,” her agent Cindi Berger also said in a statement.
The CEO of ABC’s parent company, The Walt Disney Company, also reacted to the journalist’s death.
“Barbara was a true legend, a trailblazer not just for women in journalism, but for journalism itself,” said Bob Iger.
” I am not afraid ! »
For nearly four decades at NBC and then ABC, Walters’ exclusive interviews with political leaders, royalty and entertainers earned him celebrity status on par with his guests. In doing so, she spearheaded a trend in journalism elevating television reporters to star status and bringing news programs into the race for large audiences.
PHOTO DAVE PICKOFF, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Barbara Walters on a newscast, 1976
Walters had made headlines in 1976 when she became the first female news anchor, with an unprecedented $1 million annual salary that sparked astonishment. Her dynamism was legendary as she competed not only with the other networks, but also with her colleagues in her own network, to attract distinguished guests in a world where there were more and more interviewers, including female journalists. who followed the path she had traced.
” I did not expect that ! said Walters in 2004, taking stock of his success.
I always thought I would write for television. I never even thought that I would be in front of a camera.
Barbara Walters
But she was authentic in front of the camera, especially when she asked questions of notables.
PHOTO ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cuban President Fidel Castro answers a question from Barbara Walters during a press conference in Havana in 1975.
“I’m not afraid when I interview, I’m not afraid! she told the Associated Press in 2008.
An unexpected success
Never having quite lost her Boston accent, her hometown, Barbara Walters asked direct and sometimes light-hearted questions to each of her subjects, in her hushed, reverential voice.
“Off screen, do you love each other? she once asked actor John Wayne. She also asked Lady Bird Johnson if she was jealous of her late husband’s reputation as a seducer.
PHOTO KEVIN LAMARQUE, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Journalist Barbara Walters chats with then-US President Barack Obama on the set of The Viewin 2010.
Later in her career, in 1997, she put a new spin on infotainment with The View, a weekly live ABC show with an all-girls all-topic panel that featured everything from political leaders from around the world to teen idols. A side business and unexpected success: Barbara Walters considered The View as the “dessert” of his career.
In May 2014, she recorded her last episode of The View marked by a grand ceremony and a gathering of many personalities, ending a five-decade career in television. She did, however, make occasional television appearances thereafter. During a commercial break, a host of TV presenters she paved the way for, including Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts and Connie Chung, posed with her for a group portrait.
“I have to remember that on bad days,” Walters said quietly, “because it’s the best.” »