Barbara Walters, television icon, has died

She was the first American journalist to speak with Vladimir Putin.

Barbara Walters, a well-known American TV journalist who was the first woman to anchor the evening news, passed away at the age of 93, her spokesman said.

Barbara Walters died quietly while surrounded by her loved ones at home. She had no regrets about how she had lived. She paved the way for all women, not only female journalists, according to the journalist’s representative Cindi Berger on Saturday.

With a 50-year career in the pitch and 12 Emmys to her credit, Walters is regarded as one of the best newsreaders in the US.

She began her career in television in the 1960s with NBC before moving on to ABC in 1976 and became the nation’s first female host of an evening news programme.

Before taking on the job of co-host and correspondent for ABC News’ “20/20” in 1984, Walters worked on a variety of popular shows at ABC, including “The Barbara Walters Specials” and “10 Most Fascinating People.”

The View was the journalist’s final programme on the network; she departed it in 2014, but she continued to contribute to ABC News on a part-time basis for several more years.

Walters spoke with every US president and first lady in office throughout her time in the spotlight, starting with Richard and Pat Nixon and ending with Barack and Michelle Obama. She had a conversation with Donald and Melania Trump during the 2016 election campaign. Numerous world leaders, actors, athletes, and other prominent celebrities were among her guests.

In 2001, Walters also performed the first interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin ever gave to an American media source.

Walters was referred to as “a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism, but for journalism itself” by Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC News. Iger noted that the broadcaster was responsible for “many of the most significant interviews of our time” and stated she will be sorely missed.