Revered journalist Barbara Walters passed away on Saturday at her home, aged 93.
Walters was a fixture of US journalism for more than five decades, so high-profile figures have come out in droves to share their feelings of grief and loss.
Here are some of Barbara Walters' most memorable moments:
$1m and a shattered glass ceiling
Walters joined US network NBC's The Today Show as a researcher in 1961, slowly working her way up until she was interviewing everyone from Princess Grace of Monaco to former president Richard Nixon.
But she faced a setback in 1971 with the arrival of a new co-host, Frank McGee. Although they would share the news desk from time to time, he insisted she wait for him to ask three questions before she could open her mouth during joint interviews with "powerful persons".
After McGee's death in 1974, Walters was named the first female co-host of the Today Show. After moving to rival network ABC in 1976, she became the first female evening news host in the US — a trailblazing title that also came with an eye-watering salary of $US1 million.
Fearlessly impartial
Although she pioneered her own brand of journalism that combined hard-hitting news and entertainment, Walters never shied away from political waters.
She interviewed every sitting president and first lady from the Nixon to Obama era as well as international leaders, such as Russia's Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin; China's Jiang Zemin; the UK's Margaret Thatcher; and Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
In 1999, she secured an interview with Monica Lewinsky after her affair with president Bill Clinton was revealed. The interview garnered more than 70 million viewers, becoming the most-watched news program at the time.
Infotainment innovator
Walters gave more than 25 years of her career to the ABC program 20/20, a news show format that included hard news, entertainment and long-form interviews — something that would become much more familiar over the coming decades.
Over her tenure at 20/20, Walters would rack up more than 700 interviews, winning a prestigious Peabody Award for her interview with actor Christopher Reeve shortly after the 1995 horseback-riding accident that left him paralysed.
However, the interview Walters singled out as her most memorable was with Bob Smithdas, a teacher and poet with a master's degree who had been deaf and blind since childhood. In 1998, Walters profiled him and his wife, Michelle, who was also deaf and blind.
You've got the land but we've got The View
Determined to bring women to the forefront of news and current affairs, in 1997 Walters created an all-female panel show called The View.
A newer addition to news and current affair offerings at the time, The View was a live ABC weekday talk-show. For the team, any topic was on the table and they welcomed guests ranging from world leaders to teen idols.
A side venture and unexpected hit, Walters considered The View the "dessert" of her career.
Now in its 26th season, The View has clocked up more than 5,000 episodes.
In 2014, after Walters announced her retirement from The View, dozens of prominent female US journalists — led by friend and fan Oprah — came on the show to thank Walters for opening the door for women in news.
AP/ABC
