A unique, pioneering, and potent presence in contemporary American broadcast news, information, and just plain chat; a figure who has been admitted into the holy of holies but would sometimes just as soon worship at more earthbound sites; a woman who oddly combines a middle-aged brand of glamour with professionalism and even a certain integrity; a personality who is at once a canny, ambitious, intelligent, self-assured network figurehead and a campy, dish-the-dirt diva--all these things and more are Barbara Walters.

The daughter of the man who founded the famous "Latin Quarter" nightclubs first gained real media exposure when she campaigned to be the new "Today Girl" after Maureen O'Sullivan abruptly left the morning information and talk show. Walters quickly honed the interview skills and air of extreme solicitousness which were to make her famous; as Elizabeth Peer noted in "Newsweek": "Her questions pounce and probe; whether tart or thoughtful or perplexed, they are always fiercely eager. Even in silence--and some viewers contend that isn't nearly often enough--Walters resembles, as one critic has observed, 'energy looking for a lightning rod down which to dissipate.'"

Despite the enviable number of journalistic opportunities she was offered (including a chance to cover Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China), it wasn't until 1974 that NBC made Walters a full-fledged co-host of the "Today" show. Shortly afterward, though, she scored a landmark career coup when she negotiated a contract with ABC paying her an unprecedented one million dollars a year for five years. Amidst the considerable controversy this generated, Walters was slated to co-anchor (with Harry Reasoner) the "ABC Evening News", becoming the first woman to head up a major network's news broadcast. Despite mixed reactions from more experienced colleagues such as Walter Cronkite (who was making less than half as much) and Reasoner himself, Walters handled the assignment competently, though she failed to pull up ABC's news ratings from third place, leading one wag to dub her "a million dollar baby in a five-and-dime store".

Bigger fame was yet in store for Walters, however. She arranged a joint interview with Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin when many assumed they would never speak to each other. An indication of her place in popular culture was Gilda Radner's memorable if exaggerated impersonation of Walters's soft l's and Marlene Dietrich-Kay Francis-sounding r's (which come out like w's): "Hewo Amewica, this is Baba Wawa." Beginning in 1976, Walters began her highly popular series of interview specials, generally featuring big entertainment stars ostensibly letting their hair down in the privacy of their own homes. Princess Grace of Monaco, Billy Crystal, Sophia Loren, Boy George, Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson (the Duchess of York), Eddie Murphy, Sean Connery, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Richard Pryor and Roseanne are among those peopling Walters's generally entertaining gabfests, and though she complains "If '60 Minutes' does Katharine Hepburn, isn't it wonderful? But if I do it, how dare a newsperson also do movie stars?", it should be noted that Mike Wallace or Ed Bradley would not be likely to ask Hepburn when she cried last or what type of tree she would most like to be.

A reporter who will use the full power of her prestige to probe controversial government leaders from Fidel Castro to Yasir Arafat on very pointed issues, Walters has been promoted as one who asks those questions middle America most wants to have answered. She is precisely that, expert at provoking entertaining and lively discussion, pushing the boundaries of propriety without ever quite slipping over the edge of what is "safe" for conservative network TV. Perhaps this is one reason why she looked comfortable opposite the reassuring if bland Hugh Downs, her longtime co-host on "20/20" (from 1978 to his final season in 1999), as they served as sincere human bookends to the latest scoops, scams and scandals.

In 1997 Walters created, executive produced and served as co-host of "The View," a daytime chat show for ABC cannily designed specifically to appeal to wide, multigenerational female demographic with its diverse array of outspoken regular hosts: Walters provided gravitas and journalistic integrity and spoke to an older generation; comedian Joy Behar added zingers and spoke to the graying Baby Boomers; attorney Star Jones provided perspectives for career-minded women and African Americans; Debbie Matenopoulos and her successors Lisa Ling and Elizabeth Hasselbeck gave voice to a young generation; and respected journalist Meredith Vierra spoke for professional middle-aged women with families and kept the show moving at a brisk pace. The show proved a hit and revealed an even more human and personable side of the anchorwoman, who continued on with the daytime series after retiring from her desk duties at "20/20" in 2004.

A personality keenly aware of the responses she evokes and one who has had to endure more flak than most not only because she is a woman but also because she knows that TV "journalists" are equally "stars", Walters is undoubtedly as talented at her work as she is suited to its sometimes contradictory demands.