Barbara Walters’ final words and resting place have been revealed in a new biography – eight months after her death aged 93.
The iconic journalist – who passed away on December 30 2022 – said ‘No regrets — I had a great life’ with the words etched on her gravestone, according to new tome, The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters, written by USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page and due for release in April, per Axios.
Walters was buried next to family members at Lakeside Memorial Park with a simple plaque with her name, dates of birth and death and her final words.
Walters passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones at her New York home, according to Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company which is the parent company of ABC News, her former employer.
Walters made headlines in 1976 when she joined ABC News as the first female network news anchor for an evening news program, with an unprecedented $1 million salary. She became a co-host of ’20/20,’ and in 1997, launched ‘The View.’
‘She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women,’ her publicist Cindi Berger said in a statement.
Her drive was legendary as she competed – not just with rival networks, but with colleagues at her own network – for each big ‘get’ in a world jammed with more and more interviewers, including female journalists following in her trail.
‘Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself. She was a one-of-a-kind reporter who landed many of the most important interviews of our time, from heads of state to the biggest celebrities and sports icons,’ Iger said in a statement Friday.
‘I had the pleasure of calling Barbara a colleague for more than three decades, but more importantly, I was able to call her a dear friend. She will be missed by all of us at The Walt Disney Company, and we send our deepest condolences to her daughter, Jacqueline.’
During nearly four decades at ABC, and before that at NBC, Walters’ exclusive interviews with rulers, royalty and entertainers brought her celebrity status that ranked with theirs, while placing her at the forefront of the trend that made stars of TV reporters.
Late in her career, she gave infotainment a new twist with ‘The View,’ a live ABC weekday kaffee klatsch with an all-female panel for whom any topic was on the table and who welcomed guests ranging from world leaders to teen idols. With that side venture and unexpected hit, Walters considered ‘The View’ the ‘dessert’ of her career.
Along with Bob Iger, big names such as Oprah, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Dan Rather paid heartfelt tributes to the TV icon.
