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After a 50 year television career, Barbara Walters is saying goodbye to her journalism career. Walters, who is 84, will leave The View this Thursday May 16, 2014. A journalist, media personality, and writer, Walters has been a familiar face to many. Whether it’s her trademark probing-yet-casual interviewing style or for being named one of the “Best Dressed Stars of All-Time” by People Magazine in 2000, Walters will forever be a respected TV personality. When commenting about retirement Walters states, “I want to leave while people are saying, ‘Why is she leaving?’ instead of ‘Why doesn’t she leave?”
Below are 15 things you didn’t know about Barbara Walters.
15-Career
Barbara Walters didn’t set out to become a journalist. While attending Sarah Lawrence College to pursue a degree in English, she considered becoming an actress, but she was too scared of rejection. She then accepted a writing job on the Today Show, and her journalism career took off.
14- Dream Interview
Walters has always dreamed of having the chance to interview the Queen of England.
13-Awards
Walters has been the recipient of several awards. A few being the Peabody award, numerous daytime and primetime Emmy Awards, at least two Lifetime Achievement Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has also received honorary doctoral degrees from 7 college and universities.
12- Off Limits
The one interview Walters will not do is with her own daughter Jackie. And ironically enough, Walters herself doesn’t like to be interviewed. Stating “I hate it,” and that she’s “very hard to interview.”
11- Powerful
In 2001, Ladies Home Journal confirmed her as being the “fourth most powerful woman in America.”
10- Her Own Day
The mayor of New York has declared May 16 as Barbara Walters Day.
9- Made the List
Barbara Walters is listed in the American Heritage Dictionary.
8- Favorite Interviews
Walters states that her top three interviews were with Fidel Castro (1977), Michael Jackson (1997), and with Monica Lewinsky (1999).
7-Impressive
Walters has interviewed every US president and first lady since Richard and Pat Nixon.
6- Marriages
Barbara Walters has been married 4 times to 3 different men. Her first husband was Robert Henry Kat, a businessman. Her second was to theater owner Lee Guber, and her third marriage with whom she divorced twice, was to TV Mogul Merv Adelson.
5- Family Ties
When Walters was 22 she had to become the sole financial provider for her family when he father lost his nightclubs. Rather than becoming upset and angry from losing her life of luxury, Walters was determined to succeed for herself and her family, especially for her mentally handicapped sister, Jackie.
4-True Love
After three miscarriages, Walters and her husband at the time, Lee Guber, adopted a daughter they named Jackie (after Walter’s sister).
3- Girl Power
She was the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news program, the ABC Evening News. She was also the first woman to co-host NBC’s Today show.
2- Fearless
Her 1999 interview with Monica Lewinsky was seen by an astounding 74 million viewers, the highest ranking ever for a TV news telecast on a single network.
1- Number One
Barbara Walters was the first female news anchor on national US television to make more than $1 million a year. Her net worth is now at an estimated $160 million.
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