Barbara Walters
Celebrities, politicians, athletes and other public figures know they’ve made it when they sit down for an interview with Barbara Walters. When Walters’s career at the Today show began, the idea of a woman covering hard news was unheard of—she was only trusted with the weather and lighthearted assignments. Although it took some time for her co-workers to get used to the idea of a female journalist (host Frank McGee reportedly refused to do interviews with Walters unless he got to ask the first three questions), she was officially named the show’s first woman co-host ever, in 1974. That was just the start of an illustrious career as a television host: she hosted 20/20 for 20 years, served as an ABC Evening News anchor, as well as creating and co-hosting daytime talk show The View for the past 17 years. Though she’s recently retired from The View and ABC News, we know it’s never the end for Walters.