Born Barbara Jean Morehead was born on August 23, 1931. More famously known as Barbara Eden, the I Dream of Jeannie star is looking as stunning as ever. Her first public appearance was when she sang in the church choir, later being invited to perform in various bands. She studied acting and singing alike and made a very successful career from the two.
It was only when Barbara donned that beautiful genie costume and began granting wishes that she became one of the most memorable and beloved TV characters of all time. An era between 1965 and 1970 saw Barbara playing Jeannie alongside her astronaut love interest, Larry Hagman. This means that the star has been in showbiz for almost 70 years! “Sometimes one is forced to slow down, but I’ll do what I do until I can’t.” She said in a People interview in 2021.
At 91, Barbara is looking incredible.
It was in 1955 that Barbara started her TV career when she performed on The Johnny Carson Show. This led to a string of successful movies and mini-series. Her most remarkable role must have been when she played a genie set free from her bottle in I Dream of Jeannie, airing for five years.
“We wish our favorite blonde, Rider of the Wild Surf, Voyager to the Bottom of the Sea, nemesis of the Harper Valley PTA and of course, the eternal Lady in the Bottle a very Happy Birthday today!” Said the post, officially congratulating her from the official “Barbara Eden” Instagram account.
Barbara Eden received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her many contributions to the television screen
“Thinking back to the time I appeared on #ilovelucy as Diana Jordan in the “Country Club Dance” episode. Lucy was such a wonderful woman; light years ahead of her time. I will never forget her kindness and generosity.” Barbara posted on her official Instagram about her appearance in an episode called “Country Club Dance.”
Barbara has also spoken of her memoir “Jeannie Out of the Bottle” which was released in 2011. She mentions her childhood, her fame through her late 20s, and her marriages. Eden has married a total of three times – to Michael Ansara from 1958 to 1974, to Charles Fegert from 1977 to 1982, and to Jon Eicholtz from 1991 to today.
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She has a special passage dedicated to the loss of her son Matthew whom she had with Michael Ansara. She speaks of him loving his battle with heroin and the tragedy throughout that time too. “I don’t think there’s anything worse than to lose your child,” Eden told People. “As a parent, I had a lot of guilt and anger, and following his death, I was always on the edge of tears. Even though he was 35, he was still my baby.”
She had previously lost her second son to a miscarriage at eight months pregnant. “It was awful. I became numb,” she told People. “You just deal with everything every day. I went right back to work and lost a lot of weight. I’d come home and look at my little boy who’s adorable and think, ‘I’m so lucky. I have this sweet child. I have a husband who loves me. What’s wrong with me?’ And nobody told me what was wrong with me. At that time going to a psychiatrist, people didn’t do it. You just healed yourself.”
The actress turns 92 this year and, in true Barbara Eden style, says that age is just a number
“It’s like any other birthday, I’m just happy to be here. I really don’t think about it. Everybody else does but I never have. I’m looking forward to going back to work.” She said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. She also went on to explain that she has no plans of retiring any time soon. “I was working up until the shutdown point last March.”
“I’m very happy that I lived during that time,” she told the Hollywood Reporter. “I’m happy that I had my beginnings then, but things change. What a wonderful time now, more actors are working than ever before with all of the companies like Netflix and Amazon, all of these movies and TV shows they are producing.” we can all agree that Barbara is not only happy to have been a part o showbiz, but shes also glowing in her senior years, as a true star should.
Barbara Eden has a successful online store too
The store sells I Dream of Jeannie products such as DVDs, figurines, and Christmas ornaments, some even autographed by the star. When interviewed on her series and the impact her character had on the world, Barbara responded, “I think because it was a happy show.” She then told a story about a fan encounter.
“One time I was sitting in the airport in San Francisco and a man came over to me and told me how much he enjoyed the show—this was in the ’60s. He said, ‘You don’t know who I am, but that group of men over there, we’re all psychologists and psychiatrists and we’re at Stanford University. And we all go home and watch the show because it balances us out,‘” she explained giggling about the incident.
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