WALTERS, BARBARA

born Sept. 25, 1931, Boston, Mass., U.S.

U.S. television journalist.

After brief employment in an advertising agency, she became assistant to the publicity director for New York City's NBC-affiliated television station. She worked in television as a writer-producer (1952–58), interviewer (1964–74), and cohost (1974–76) of NBC's Today show, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1975. In 1976–78, for an unprecedented $1 million a year, she was coanchor of the ABC Evening News , the first woman to anchor a network newscast in the U.S. From 1976 she hosted the series of Barbara Walters Specials , interviewing celebrities and world leaders Her disarmingly direct questioning drew many subjects into frequently interesting and occasionally provocative moments of self-revelation. In 1982 and 1983 she received Emmy Awards for best interviewer. From 1984 she also cohosted ABC's 20/20 news magazine program.