Legendary journalist Barbara Walters died at the age of 93 following a pioneering television career, ABC News reported on Friday evening.
The network she called home for decades reported the first female anchor to lead a national evening news broadcast had passed away:
Barbara Walters, the trailblazing television news broadcaster and longtime ABC News anchor and correspondent who shattered the glass ceiling and became a dominant force in an industry once dominated by men, has died. She was 93.
Walters joined ABC News in 1976, becoming the first female anchor on an evening news program. Three years later, she became a co-host of “20/20,” and in 1997, she launched “The View.”
According to her official biography:
Walters was hired in 1964 as the “Today Girl,” a job that had traditionally involved little more than being attractive, making small talk, and reading commercials. She soon expanded that narrow role, making a place for herself among the Today show’s panel of commentators and newsreaders.
Walters was named the cohost of the show in 1974 alongside Hugh Downs. She won an Emmy award the following year and spent the rest of her career making inroads into what had always been a male-driven industry.
Walters anchored ABC’s special programming and spent years as part of 20/20. She launched The View in 1997. Walters retired from 20/20 in 2004 and left The View in 2014. She won a total of 12 Emmy Awards throughout her career.
Walters made her final public appearance in 2016.
This story is developing and will be updated.
