Barbara Walters was a broadcasting pioneer, interviewing dozens of famous faces from former President Richard Nixon to pop star Taylor Swift.
“I do my homework, so I have a certain sense of authority,” Walters — who died at age 93 in December 2022 — exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2014. “Sometimes I know more about the person than they do themselves. I’m very rarely nervous. When I finish an interview, I do ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda,’ and it drives me crazy, but when I’m actually doing the interview, I’m fine in authority and that’s a good feeling.”
Walters got her start on NBC’s Today in 1961, where she was quickly tasked with handling lighthearted stories and weather reports. Within one year, she became the broadcast’s reporter-at-large and began conducting serious interviews. The Boston native went on to helm the ABC Evening News, 20/20 and The View.
Within Walters’ six decades of reporting experience, she has interviewed the likes of Fidel Castro, Christopher Reeve and Monica Lewinsky, the latter of which saw a record-breaking 74 million viewers tune in.
Walters was also known for hosting an annual special, titled Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People, where she spoke with an array of public figures before the end of the calendar year.
In May 2025, it was announced her most memorable TV moments and interviews would be getting the documentary treatment with the film Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything, which was released one month later.
Scroll below to revisit the late journalistic icon’s memorable interviews through the years:
