Barbara Eden facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Barbara Eden
Eden in August 2022
Born	Barbara Jean Morehead (1931-08-23) August 23, 1931 (age 93) Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Other names	Barbara Huffman Barbara Ansara Barbara Eicholtz
Alma mater	San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1955–2022
Spouse(s)	Michael Ansara ​ ​ (m. 1958; div. 1974)​ Charles Fegert ​ ​ (m. 1977; div. 1982)​ Jon Eicholtz ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	1

Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for playing the main character in the TV show I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970). She also starred with Elvis Presley in the movie Flaming Star (1960). Other famous roles include Lieutenant Cathy Connors in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961). Later, she played Stella Johnson, a widowed mother, in the comedy film Harper Valley PTA (1978) and its TV series.

Barbara Eden started singing in bands when she was a teenager. She also studied singing and acting. Her TV career began in 1955 with appearances on The Johnny Carson Show. By 1957, she was starring in the TV comedy How to Marry a Millionaire. She also started acting in plays. Her first big movie role was in A Private's Affair in 1959. After I Dream of Jeannie, Barbara Eden took on more serious roles. She also performed in musical comedies and appeared on many TV variety shows. She even released an album and performed in Las Vegas. She continued acting and performing until she was 90 years old.

Early Life and Training

Barbara Eden was born on August 23, 1931, in Tucson, Arizona. Her parents were Alice Mary and Hubert Henry Morehead. She is even related to Benjamin Franklin! After her parents divorced, she and her mother moved to San Francisco. Her mother remarried, and Barbara gained a half-sister. During tough economic times, her mother would sing to entertain the children.

Barbara's first public performance was singing solos in her church choir. As a teenager, she sang in local bands in nightclubs. She earned $10 a night, which was a good amount of money back then! At 16, she joined Actor's Equity, a union for performers. She studied singing at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She also learned acting at the Elizabeth Holloway School of Theatre. After high school, she studied theater for a year at City College of San Francisco. In 1951, she was even chosen as Miss San Francisco.

Becoming a Star: TV and Film Roles

Barbara Eden started her TV career in 1955 on The Johnny Carson Show. She also appeared on many other popular shows. These included I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, and The Andy Griffith Show. She guest-starred in four episodes of Burke's Law, playing a different character each time. She then starred in the TV comedy How to Marry a Millionaire.

A film director named Mark Robson noticed Barbara's acting. He wanted her to work for 20th Century Fox studios. She got a contract with the studio. She had small roles in a few movies. Then, she became a leading actress in films. She starred in A Private's Affair and had a co-starring role with Elvis Presley in Flaming Star (1960).

The next year, she played Lt. Cathy Connors in Irwin Allen's movie Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. She also appeared in other films like The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and Five Weeks in a Balloon. Her last movie for 20th Century Fox was The Yellow Canary (1963). After leaving Fox, she continued to guest-star in TV shows and act in movies for other studios.

I Dream of Jeannie

Eden as Jeannie in a variation of the Jeannie costume seen only in the pilot episode

In 1965, producer Sidney Sheldon chose Barbara Eden to star in his new fantasy TV show, I Dream of Jeannie. Many actresses tried out for the role, but Sheldon picked Barbara. He had seen her in a movie called The Brass Bottle. In the show, Barbara played Jeannie, a beautiful genie. Jeannie is freed from her bottle by astronaut Captain Anthony "Tony" Nelson. Tony was played by Larry Hagman.

Barbara Eden played Jeannie for five years. She starred in 139 episodes of the popular show.

Musicals and TV Movies

After I Dream of Jeannie, Barbara Eden continued to act. She starred in many musical comedies on stage. These included The Sound of Music, Annie Get Your Gun, and South Pacific. She also appeared as a musical guest on many TV variety shows. These included 21 Bob Hope specials and The Carol Burnett Show. In 1967, she released an album called Miss Barbara Eden. She also performed for many years in Las Vegas.

Eden in The Stranger Within (1974)

Barbara Eden also starred in many TV movies. Her first TV movie was The Feminist and the Fuzz (1971). Even though she was known for comedy, many of these films were dramas. She even worked with her Jeannie co-star Larry Hagman again in A Howling in the Woods (1971). In The Stranger Within (1974), she played a woman who becomes pregnant by aliens. She also played a policewoman who becomes a private detective in Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (1977).

Harper Valley PTA and Later Career

In 1978, Barbara Eden starred in the movie Harper Valley PTA. This movie was based on a popular country song. The movie was so popular that it led to a TV series in 1981. In both the movie and the TV series, Barbara played the main character, Stella Johnson. The show was a comedy about life in a small town. In one episode, Stella even dressed up in a blue and gold genie costume!

In 1990, Barbara Eden had a special role in the TV show Dallas. She played a rich character named LeeAnn de la Vega. This role reunited her with Larry Hagman, her co-star from I Dream of Jeannie. In her last episode, her character joked that her maiden name was Nelson, which was Larry Hagman's character's last name in I Dream of Jeannie. She also continued to perform in plays.

From 2000 to 2004, she toured in a play called The Odd Couple: The Female Version. In 2006, Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman reunited for a tour to promote the I Dream of Jeannie DVD. They appeared on many TV shows together. They also performed together in a play called Love Letters. In 2009, she starred in the TV movie Always and Forever.

In 2013, Barbara Eden appeared with former US President Bill Clinton and Elton John. This was at the opening ceremony of the 21st Life Ball in Vienna. She even wore her famous Jeannie costume! She also did voice work for the children's animated TV series Shimmer and Shine. Barbara Eden retired from performing around 2021.

Personal Life

Eden with son Matthew Ansara (1966)

Barbara Eden wrote a book about her life called Jeannie Out of the Bottle. It was published in 2011 and became a best-seller. The book shares details about her childhood and her long career in Hollywood.

In 2021, Barbara Eden shared that she and her husband, Jon Eicholtz, had recovered from COVID-19. In 2023, she celebrated her 92nd birthday. She said her life is focused on her family, her home, her husband, her dog Bentley, and her friends.

Awards and Recognition

On November 17, 1988, Barbara Eden received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This honor recognized her amazing work in television. In 1990, she received an honorary law degree from the University of West Los Angeles.

Filmography

Feature films

Television films

Television series

Selected Stage Productions

Discography

Singles

Albums

Books

• Eden, Barbara, and Warburton, Dustin. Barbara and the Djinn. Neighborhood Publishers. 2021
• Eden, Barbara, and Leigh, Wendy. Jeannie out of the Bottle. Norwalk, CT: Easton Press. 2011.
• Smith, Joe. Las Vegas Celebrity Cookbook: The private recipes of 50 international entertainers. Hollybrooke House. 1982.

Audiobooks

• 2011: Jeannie Out of the Bottle, with Wendy Leigh (read by the author), Random House Audio, ISBN: 978-0-3079-1434-7

See also

In Spanish: Barbara Eden para niños