She asked the tough questions for decades. Now, in Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything, the legendary broadcaster is finally the one answering them. Premiering to standing ovations at the Tribeca Film Festival, this new Hulu-bound documentary, directed by Jackie Jensko, turns the lens on Barbara Walters — not just the trailblazing journalist, but the complex, resilient woman who reshaped television, redefined celebrity interviews, and smashed every glass ceiling in her path.
A Pioneer in Pink Chanel
From walking onto the set of The Today Show in 1961 to challenging warlords and world leaders alike, Barbara Walters didn’t just report the news — she made it. The documentary revisits key moments in her six-decade career, such as her iconic interview with Muammar Gaddafi, where she wore a pink Chanel suit in the Libyan desert — a choice that was both tactical and symbolic.
But Jackie Jensko’s documentary Tell Me Everything is far from a highlight reel. It’s a deep, nuanced look at the misogyny, isolation, and personal sacrifices that came with being the most powerful woman in broadcast news.
Behind the Interviews, a Battle
Barbara Walters’ journey to the top was defined by resilience in the face of systemic sexism. She was told she wasn’t pretty enough. She was forced to sit silently while co-anchor Frank McGee asked the first three questions of every joint interview. Her colleagues Peter Jennings and Harry Reasoner often refused to speak to her off-camera. Barbara Walters called working with Harry Reasoner “the most painful period in my life.”
Still, she rose. After Frank McGee’s death, she became The Today Show’s co-anchor, and in 1976, she signed a $5 million contract with ABC, making her the highest-paid anchor of her time.
Love, Loss, and Complicated Choices
Honoured with applause at the Tribeca Film Festival, this film doesn’t shy away from the messier aspects of Barbara Walters’ personal life. It dives into her complicated romantic ties, including affairs with Senator Edward Brooke and her loyalty to lawyer Roy Cohn, who once helped her father fight tax charges. We also hear about her miscarriages, her relationship with her adopted daughter Jackie, and the deep insecurities that haunted her, despite her success.
In one heartbreaking audio clip, Walters says, “I wasn’t beautiful, and I didn’t pronounce my ‘r’s.” It’s this vulnerability — usually hidden behind her trademark steely poise — that makes the film unforgettable.
Her Legacy, In Her Words
Perhaps most moving is Hulu’s documentary’s closing scene: Barbara Walters’ final episode of The View, where she’s surprised by the very women she made space for — Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Connie Chung, and dozens more. A living legacy.
As celebrity journalism now dominates the news cycle Walters once transformed, Tell Me Everything reminds us: Barbara Walters was doing it before it was cool — and doing it better. Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything premieres June 23 on Hulu.
