Television icon Barbara Walters dead at 93

NEW YORK – Barbara Walters, a pioneer as TV news’ first woman superstar, has died, according to ABC News. She was 93.

The cause of death was not immediately known, and additional details, such as where she died, were not immediately released.

Walters made headlines in 1976 as the first female network news anchor, with an unprecedented $1 million annual salary.

During more than three decades at ABC, and before that at NBC, Walters’ exclusive interviews with the famous and powerful brought her celebrity status that ranked with theirs.

Her drive was legendary as she competed for each big “get” in a world jammed with more and more rivals, including female journalists who had followed on the trail that she blazed.

As a highly successful side venture, she created and appeared on a daytime ABC talk show, “The View.” In May 2014, she taped her final appearance on “The View” to mark the end of her career on television, but she hosted occasional specials after that.