Barbara Walters Is a Beantown Girl

Talk show host and world renowned journalist, Barbara Walters, is known mostly for bringing us headlines through her ground-breaking interviews with celebrities, politicians, newsmakers, and world leaders. Through her work on “ABC World News,” “20/20,” and her morning talk show, “The View,” many of her interviews are known for bringing to light facets of famous personalities previously unseen by the viewing public.

Walters, though known throughout her career as being so used to New York life that she never received a driver’s license, was actually born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1929. Her parents were Louis “Lou” Walters and his wife, Dena Seletsky, both of whom were Jewish and descendants of refugees from the former Russian Empire, which is now Eastern Europe. Her family later moved to New York City, where her father opened a Big Apple version of the Latin Quarter, and even worked as a Broadway producer.

While Walters herself rarely makes headlines for her own exploits, she does, from time to time, become part of a story due to her journalistic point of view or personal involvement with a celebrity of note. She recently appeared in some new stories for commenting on the current tussle going on in the talk show circuit in regards to garnering an interview with Pippa Middleton, the sister of newlywed royal, Kate Middleton, also known as Duchess Catherine, wife of Prince William.

“It’s not true,” the legendary journalist said on “The View.” “ABC News does not pay for interviews. I have no idea what Oprah does, but we do not pay. ABC News does not pay. She’s not a news program, so maybe they have a different policy.”

It’s been purported that a bidding war had been taking place between Walter’s camp and Oprah Winfrey.