An upcoming biography about Barbara Walters revealed her last words on her deathbed.
The iconic journalist struggled with health issues before retiring from her career and living a quiet life.
The book about her life also reveals where she is buried.
Barbara Walters passed away eight months ago, and a book about her has since been written. Titled “The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters,” it will be released by Susan Page, the Washington bureau chief for USA Today.
The book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, released a statement noting how Page’s work is a biography of Walters’ life tackling the demons she battled that propelled her ambition that broke the rules. The book is set to be available in stores in April 2024.
The book also tackled Walters’ life as one of the most successful female broadcasters. However, what stood out about the book is that it gave a sneak peek into the broadcast journalist’s seven last words before her death, which allegedly were:
Before Walters died, she struggled with some health issues that prevented her from continuing her television show host work. The journalist eventually made the difficult decision to quit her career.
How Did Barbara Battle Illnesses, Retire, and Die?
Walters left her “The View” co-hosting duties after being with the show for 17 seasons. Over the years leading to her retirement, she had struggled with health complications, including chicken pox.
In 2019, Ramin Setoodeh, Variety’s co-editor-in-chief, revealed in his book “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View,'” how one day, Walters collapsed as the talk show ended. Luckily, she fell into the arms of a stage manager and was moved to the green room. There, they lay her on a couch, and paramedics were called.
When the journalist retired in May 2014, the network made a big deal of airing a two-hour primetime special that chronicled her career, and she was also honored by ABC renaming its Upper West Side news division headquarters after her.
The “20/20” correspondent is survived by her only adopted child and daughter, Jacqueline “Jackie” Dena Danforth.
After her retirement at age 83, Walters stayed out of the limelight. Years later, in December 2022, the celebrity died at age 93, with her representative Cindi Berger confirming the news and sharing how the late star had gone peacefully surrounded by her loved ones in her New York City home.
In celebrating the icon, who also served as the creator of the ABC talk show, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger paid tribute by calling her a “one-of-a-kind reporter.
According to reports, Walters’ health had been declining for some years before she chose a more private life. The last public sighting was in 2016.
The former “Today” show host was born on September 25, 1929, in Boston and was raised surrounded by the celebrity friends her father, Lou, had around. Walters then graduated with a degree in English from Sarah Lawrence College.
Where Is Barbara’s Last Resting Place?
In Page’s biography about Walters, she revealed that the legendary star had wished to be buried next to her family members at Miami’s Lakeside Memorial Park. The journalist’s gravesite is engraved with her name, the year of her birth and death, and her last words.
The “20/20” correspondent is survived by her only adopted child and daughter, Jacqueline “Jackie” Dena Danforth. Walters welcomed Danforth with her ex-husband, Lee Guber, and never remarried after him.
