Barbara Walters grew up in the entertainment industry as her father Louis Edward Walters was a Broadway producer and owned a chain of nightclubs called the ‘Latin Quarter.’ After graduating with a B.A. in English in 1951, she became a publicist of Tex McCrary Inc, followed by a writer position at CBS News.

In 1961, Barbara Walters made her big break when she joined NBC and worked as a researcher and writer for “The Today Show.” She eventually became a regular “Today Girl,” wherein she handled her own assignments and then moved up to becoming a reporter-at-large, researching, writing and editing her own interviews and reports. In 1964, Barbara Walters teamed up with Frank McGee on “Today,” but was only credited as co-host when McGee died in 1974, making Barbara the show’s first female host. She stayed on “Today” until 1989.

In 1976, Walters became a co-host of the “ABC Evening News” with Harry Reasoner. From 1984 to 2004, Barbara Walters co-hosted ABC’s newsmagazine “20/20” and worked as a commentator on other ABC news specials, such as the coverage of 9/11 and presidential inaugurations. Barbara was also a part of other historical events, such as the final debate between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter in 1976, the joint interview of Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egypt’s President Anwar Al Sadat, interview with Michael Jackson, Monica Lewinsky and numerous world leaders, including all U.S. presidents since Richard Nixon.

Since 1979, the “Barbara Walters Specials” has been a high-rated show, which mainly included interviews of celebrities and high-profile personalities. Barbara has been known for the “scoop interviews” and “personality journalism.” In 2003, Barbara Walters joined Entertainment Tonight and still appears on the show to date. In 2002, Barbara formed a new talk show called “The View,” where she also serves as executive producer and co-hosts with Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd and Joy Behar.

Barbara Walters was inducted into the Television Academy Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 1990, received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June 2007 and was awarded with a Disney Legends Award and a New York Women’s Agenda Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. She has received numerous awards from the Daytime Emmy, GLAAD, Women in Film and Primetime Emmy. In 2008, Barbara Walters released her memoir entitled “Audition: A Memoir.”