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(New York, NY) -- Emmy Award-winning journalist and television personality Barbara Walters is dead at the age of 93. Walters grew up primarily in New York City and Miami Beach and she received a bachelor's degree in English from Sarah Lawrence College.
A 1947 graduate of Miami Beach Senior High, Walters joined NBC's The Today Show as a writer and researcher in 1961 after doing publicity for NBC affiliate WNBT-TV, now WNBC, in New York.
"Barbara Walters passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones. She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists but for all women," Walters' spokesperson Cindi Berger told CNN in a statement.
She appeared as the host of numerous television programs, including the Today show, The View, 20/20 and ABC Evening News. In 1974, she became the first woman to ever co-host an American television news program with the Today show. In 1976, Walters continued to be a pioneer for women in broadcasting by becoming the first female co-anchor of a network evening news program on the ABC Evening News.
Walters is a four-time Emmy Award recipient for her work on the Today show and The View. Walters is also a best-selling author with the publication of her book "How to Talk with Practically Anybody about Practically Anything" in 1970. In 2000, Walters received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.