Jacqueline Dena Guber Is Living A Drastically Different Life Compared To When Her Mother Barbara Wal
Barbara Walters was considered by many to be a Hollywood legend and pioneering TV journalist. She was also the creator, producer, and co-host of the hit American talk show, The View. It is no secret that her career and personal life (including several marriages) have been well-documented. But many people may not know that she was also a mother, and when she passed away on Dec. 30, 2022, at 93, she left behind a daughter.
Jacqueline Dena Guber was Walter's only child (her father is the theatrical producer, Lee Guber). But who is Jacqueline, and what does the world really know about her? And has her life changed dramatically since her mother's passing?
Who Is Barbara Walters' Daughter, Jacqueline Dena Guber?
Jacqueline Dena Guber was adopted by Barbara Walters and her second husband, Lee Guber, in the late 60s. The adoption story is fascinating and likely quite different from how any adoption would take place now, decades later. Because for this former couple, they first found out about their soon-to-be daughter during dinner.
"I had had three miscarriages, and my husband and I decided that we would adopt a child," Walters said in a 2014 OWN interview (via Us Weekly). "We had dinner one night with a couple we rarely saw, and the woman said that she had a little girl who was blonde and blue-eyed, and they wanted to adopt a boy… who was going to be tall. They didn't want the girl. So, we said, 'We'll take the girl!'" The adoption went through, and in 1968, the couple got their daughter.
The mother-and-daughter duo is believed to have had a strained relationship but not necessarily one that was short of love.
Walters has revealed her love for her daughter in several interviews, but it's also been obvious that their relationship was not always simple. Jacqueline Dena Guber has admitted she went through a challenging time when she was a teenager, and she struggled to fit into her mother's world.
In an interview with NBC News in 2002 (alongside Barbara Walters), Jacqueline said: "I was a runaway. I loved to run. I thought running would solve all my problems. It was hard. I mean, I went to school with all these cute, small, little, you know, adorable girls that were four-foot-two. And you know, here I was, this big, gangly girl."
Jacqueline also struggled with addiction from her early teens, which did not help her situation. She admitted that her problems "got bigger and bigger" and that she felt "more and more isolated from my mom's world." Walter's busy career also meant that she was not always around. She continued to work late into her life and was no stranger to asking controversial questions. This included her line of questioning for Ricky Martin, which he refused to answer.
What Has Jacqueline Dena Guber Done With Her Life?
To determine how Jacqueline Dena Guber's life has changed since Barbara Walter's passing, we need to understand better what she was doing up until then. She had previously moved to Maine and married a wilderness guide named Mark Danforth in 2000. Although they no longer appear to be married, she took his last name, becoming Jackie Danforth.
During their time together, Jackie opened a therapy program for teen girls called New Horizons for Young Women. It, unfortunately, closed in 2008, and Jacqueline shared her thoughts in an open letter at the time (via Parade).
"New Horizons for Young Women cannot sustain during this economic crisis... Many of you know me and my story," she wrote. "As an alumnus, I have a deep attachment to this industry and the alternative choices we provide for families. As an owner I have seen this industry grow and continue to grow to a level I am very proud of."
We know that her life was not without problems in her teenage years, but she also made headlines as an adult for an arrest for a DUI in Naples, Florida. The incident happened in 2013, TMZ reports. At the time, Jacqueline had been in the car with a male passenger, who was believed to be her boyfriend.
How Has Jacqueline Dena Guber's Life Changed Since Barbara Walters Died?
It isn't easy to find out what Jacqueline Dena Guber is doing now because she has chosen to stay off social media. It's even challenging to find a new picture of her because she was not one to attend events and appears to be completely uninterested in fame. The lack of information about her suggests she prefers to live a quieter life (very different from that of her late mother).
It has been less than six months since Barbara Walters passing, so it is unlikely that Jacqueline Dena Guber's life is vastly different now from when her mother was alive. The apparent difference is that she no longer has a mother and will likely be grieving that loss. She is also believed to have received an inheritance, with Gold Leaf Estate Planning reporting that Barbara Walters's estate would be "inherited by her family."
According to Celebrity Net Worth, her estimated worth was $170 million. Since Jacqueline is the only child of Walters, it can be assumed that she would have received the majority of that sum, which would set her up for life.
Even before her mother's passing, she was gifted her Florida home. According to New York Post, Walters transferred the home into her daughter's name in 2016 (after purchasing it two years earlier), and in 2018, it was sold for $5.35 million.
The reason for the transfer of assets is believed to be because of Walters's declining health. She was diagnosed with dementia in 2017, and it is reported that her caretakers later told her not to watch anything news related as it triggered outbursts.
Will the world be seeing more of Jacqueline in the future? It seems highly unlikely...
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