Barbara Walters, Legendary Broadcaster And Journalist, Creator Of ‘The View,’ Dead at 93

(People) Pioneering journalist and television personality Barbara Walters has died, PEOPLE confirms. She was 93.

The iconic newsperson died Friday evening her representative Cindi Berger tells PEOPLE.

“Barbara Walters passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones,” Berger says. “She lived a big life.”

“She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women.”

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger also announced Walters’ death, tweeting that the “one-of-a-kind reporter” had died at her New York home.

“Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer, not just for women in journalism but journalism itself,” Iger tweeted noting that his colleague and friend of 30 years had landed some of the “most important interviews of our time.”

Born in Boston Sept. 25, 1929, Walters grew up in a New York household frequented by celebrity friends of her father, nightclub owner and Broadway producer Lou Walters. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and graduated with a degree in English.

Following a brief stint as a writer for CBS News, Walters launched her TV news career at NBC’s Today show, where she was hired as a writer and researcher in 1961. Gradually moving up the ranks, she reported the weather and covered feature assignments before becoming a reporter-at-large and, eventually, the show’s first female co-host alongside Hugh Downs and Frank McGee.

I have sad news to share today. Barbara Walters passed away this evening at her home in New York. pic.twitter.com/fxSyU6BQk4

— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) December 31, 2022

In Walters’ 2008 autobiography, Audition, she divulged that she had had an affair with U.S. Senator Edward Brooke in the 1970s. She also dated Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan around the same time.

After leaving NBC, Walters became a co-anchor on the ABC Evening News in 1976 and joined that network’s news feature program 20/20three years later. Equally poised whether sitting down with pop culture icons or political leaders, she co-hosted 20/20 until 2004, during which time her roster of famous subjects included Vladimir Putin, Richard Nixon, Michael Jackson and Monica Lewinsky. She also served as a moderator during presidential debates.

Barbara Walters in 1976. J BARRY O’ROURKE /WALT DISNEY TELEVISION VIA GETTY IMAGES

In 1997, Walters created her daytime talk show, The View, on which she frequently appeared as a co-host until retiring from the program in 2014.

Her beloved year-end Most Fascinating People special aired on ABC annually from 1993-2015 (with the exception of 2000 and 2001).

Among her many awards and accolades are three Emmy Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the New York Women’s Agenda and the News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

The View panel in 2007. PHOTO: ABC/STEVE FENN

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