STILL MAKING NEWS
Barbara Walters is a beloved fixture on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. So when word spread that the 87-year-old hadn’t been out and about lately — a doorman at the apartment building next to hers on Fifth Avenue admitted that he hadn’t seen her “for ages…and it’s kind of got me worried” — rumors began to swirl that her health could be in jeopardy.
Happily, those fears were misplaced, and the iconic newswoman is still going strong. “Her mind appears sharp, and she is leading a contented life,” confirms her longtime hairdresser, Bryant Renfroe. In fact, she’s been busy working on a TV series for Investigation Discovery — Barbara Walters Presents — and hosting regular social gatherings at her home. Barbara, who has said with typical modesty, “I get up, and I do my work, and I see friends.”
It’s true that she has had her health issues. In 2010, Barbara underwent open heart surgery, and over the past summer she was spotted looking frail in public. But while she may require more help than she used to, Barbara remains active and energized. “She lives just off Central Park, and she tries to take a stroll every day — she does it with an assistant in case she loses her footing,” an insider tells Closer. “But Barbara gets around very well.”
If anything, Barbara’s biggest struggle has been slowing down. That tireless drive — she was the first female to ever become a network evening news co-anchor and continually blazed trails over her 50-year-plus career — is precisely what made her a success. “People thought I was very serious, very authoritative and pushy,” Barbara has said. “I was sort of a one-man band.” On the set of The View — the ABC morning chatfest Barbara co-founded — complaints of fatigue were verboten. “She had worked her butt off all her life,” says co-host Joy Behar, 74. “She would not tolerate, ‘Oh my goodness, you feel tired?’” Although Barbara stepped down from her post there in 2014, she hasn’t given up weekly office visits. “Even though she doesn’t have a lot of input, it’s her baby,” says a second insider. “She misses being part of the discussions on the show.”
Luckily she has lots of other discussions to sustain her — including monthly dinner parties at Chez Barbara and frequent tête-à-têtes with pals. “She’s very curious,” says former View co-host Sherri Shepherd, 49. “She gives me advice, and I always feel like I never want the dinner to end.” Perhaps the only thing missing for the thrice-divorced Barbara is a romantic partner — but she does have a tight family bond in the form of her daughter, Jackie Guber, 48. “After some ups and downs, they get along now better than ever,” says the first insider, noting that they’re planning a trip to Europe together. “It’s truly a blessing.”
These days, Barbara certainly has plenty to celebrate — and even more to be proud of. Not that she’s the type to dwell. “Do I see myself as a feminist idol? No,” she says. “But I don’t sit and think about how I see myself, or what my legacy is.” — Ingela Ratledge
HER LIFE NOW WITH AN ONGOING SERIES AND A BUSY SOCIAL SCHEDULE, THE LEGENDARY JOURNALIST REFUSES TO SLOW DOWN