Barbara Walters in an interview with Bashar al-Assad (Photo: ABC Network Editing: Tal Reznik)
Legendary American journalist and television anchor Barbara Walters passed away tonight (Saturday) at the age of 93. Walters was the first woman to host NBC's "Today" show, she created the talk show "The View," and has interviewed every president and first lady of the United States since his term. of Richard Nixon.
"Barbara Walters passed away peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones. She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for women journalists but for all women," Walters spokeswoman Cindy Berger said in a statement to CNN.
Walters began her broadcasting career in 1961 as a panelist on the Today show, a decade later she became the show's host.
In 1976, she became the first anchor of the evening news program, when she anchored the ABC newscast
Barbara Walters (Photo: Reuters)
Upon becoming an anchor, Walters became not only the highest-profile journalist in television history, but also the highest-paid news anchor, male or female.
The shows that Walters launched, "The View" and "Barbara Walters Specials", were among the most watched of their kind, and paved the way for a variety of American talk shows.
In 2014, Walters left the talk show "The View", and two years later she left the anchor chair at ABC News.
"I knew it was time," Walters told CNN at the time.
"I love the whole celebration, it's great, but in my heart I thought I wanted to get away from it all, and still do a good job."
Some of Walters' most famous interviews, which were high points in his career, were her interview with Monica Lewinsky in 1999, which averaged 48.5 million viewers.
Walters also covered the historic meeting between Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin in 1977.
In addition, she interviewed countless leaders, including Fidel Castro, Margaret Thatcher, Saddam Hussein and Bashar Assad.
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