Barbara Walters | Jackie Danforth

Barbara Walters was a prominent star in the world of journalism by the late 1960s. Walters had already established her degree of credibility as a reporter for The Today Show and had her views anchored on the morning show, but there was one title she aspired to above all others: mother.

Walters and her then-husband Lee Guber had attempted but failed to conceive a child. After three losses, the couple decided to try adoption, and in 1968, they welcomed Jackie into their family. Walters kept the specifics of Jackie’s adoption a secret at first, but she has gradually opened up about her path to motherhood over the years. Jackie went home with Walters and Guber when she was four days old, and she has been the joy of her mother’s life ever since. Growing up with famous parents was never easy for Jackie, but they managed to mend their relationship.