Walters, Barbara (1931– )

US television journalist and interviewer. She developed a reputation for intelligent and probing, if not confrontational, interviews. In 1976, ABC gave her a million-dollar-a-year contract, making her the highest-paid television journalist at the time, and the opportunity to be the first woman coanchoring the network evening news. However, under pressure from her coanchor Harry Reasoner, the network eased her out in 1979. She then moved to ABC's 20/20, where she became coanchor with Hugh Downs (from 1984).

Walters was born in Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, she went to work for the National Broadcasting Company's (NBC) publicity department, then moved to the Today Show. Her occasional Barbara Walters Specials (from 1976) established her as one of television's most skilled interviewers, known for her ability to elicit candid remarks from normally wary subjects.