Barbara Walters

Following her death, the high-profile journalist has been hailed a trailblazer, a game-changer and a force to be reckoned with. Alley Pascoe reflects on the lasting legacy of a media icon

There's an art to asking questions. It's something Barbara Walters spent a lifetime honing. In her 60 years in television, the American broadcaster made a career out of asking provocative questions and getting candid answers from the world's most notable figures.

"Did you ever tell Bill [Clinton] that you loved him?" Walters asked Monica Lewinsky in an explosive 1999 interview about the White House intern's relationship with the then-US president.

"Have you ever ordered anyone killed?" Walters dared to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2001, in his first interview with a US journalist since 9/11. His answer was, "Nyet." "Do you think women can rule?" she asked Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, during a historic interview in 1977 in which she challenged his views on women.

"What kind of tree are you?" Walters famously asked actor Katharine Hepburn in 1981. She saw herself as an oak (in case you were wondering).

It's hard to know if Walters was born with her natural curiosity and candour, or if it's something she learnt over time. As a young girl, Walters hung out backstage at her father's nightclubs in New York, where she would watch the actors, singers and dancers rehearse for their shows. Walters was never "in awe" of celebrities because she grew up with them.