Iconic broadcast journalist Barbara Walters, who was skilled in eliciting difficult interview responses from prominent figures, has died at the age of 93.

“Barbara Walters passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones. She lived her life with no regrets,” Ms Walters’ publicist, Cindi Berger, announced in a statement Friday evening. “She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists but for all women.”

Ms Walters, being the first female news anchor of a major TV channel, ABC News, was regarded as the woman who paved the way for other women in television in the U.S., where her career bloomed for over half a century.

She interviewed the crème de la crème of the society and never hesitated to ask the difficult questions with an irresistible grace, that had her subjects opening up to her.

Her subjects of interview included world leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, former Cuban President Fidel Castro, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, former U.S. President Richard Nixon and former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

In one of her famous interviews in 1977, she asked the then Cuban President why he suppressed press freedom.

“You allow no dissent. Your newspapers, radio, television, motion pictures are under state control,” Ms Walters had audaciously asked the Cuban president in one of her famous interviews.

Ms Walters’ career in broadcasting began in 1961 at NBC, where she worked as a writer before progressing to the position of co-anchor, a huge accomplishment in a field dominated by men at the time.

She moved to ABC News in 1976 on a juicy contract that earned her the appellation of “million-dollar baby because she was offered one million dollars annually for a five-year contract, which made her one of the highest earning female journalists at the time.

She won 12 Emmy awards during her 52 years of being a journalist.

Tributes have begun pouring in for Ms Walters from notable personalities like Oprah Winfrey who admitted the iconic journalist opened doors for her and other women to excel in journalism.

“Without Barbara Walters there wouldn’t have been me – nor any other woman you see on evening, morning, and daily news. She was indeed a Trailblazer,” Ms Winfrey mourned on Instagram page.

“I did my very first television audition with her in mind the whole time. Grateful that she was such a powerful and gracious role model. Grateful to have known her. Grateful to have followed in her Light,” she added.