Barbara Eden

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Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden, circa 1970
Born August 23, 1934
Tucson, Arizona

Barbara Eden (born August 23, 1934 in Tucson, Arizona) is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.

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[edit] Early Years

Barbara Eden was born Barbara Jean Moorhead in Tucson, Arizona; although by age three she would become Barbara Jean Huffman due to her mother's marriage to Connor Huffman. The change from "Huffman" to "Eden" came at the behest of her manager who thought the name Huffman would not sell in Hollywood. Eden agreed to change her last name, but insisted on keeping her first name, stating that she could not answer to anything else. Her date of birth is usually been given as August 23, 1934, although some sources cite 1930. [citation needed] She graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco in 1949. [citation needed]

[edit] TV/Film roles

Eden made featured appearances on popular television shows such as I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason, Bachelor Father, and Gunsmoke. Eden made her film debut in Back from Eternity (1956), and the following year she starred in the television series How to Marry a Millionaire, playing the role Marilyn Monroe had played in the film version. Eden had a notable part in Flaming Star (1960), an Elvis Presley movie. The following year, she played in a supporting role as Lt. Cathy Connors in Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, one of many successful science fiction outings by "The Master of Disaster". She played supporting roles in films over the next few years, including The Brass Bottle and the notable, if odd, movie, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, both with Tony Randall, before being signed to play her most famous and widely-recognized role, the character of "Jeannie" in the television sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.

[edit] Jeannie

Barbara Eden as Jeannie
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Barbara Eden as Jeannie

On the Screen Gems produced I Dream of Jeannie, Eden starred as a magical genie named "Jeannie" set free from her bottle by astronaut "Major Anthony Nelson" - played by Larry Hagman. The show proved to be a huge success, running from 1965 until 1970, and during this time Eden was nominated twice for Golden Globe Awards. Eden later reprised her Jeannie role in 80s-90s TV-movie reunions and TV commercials.

[edit] Marriages

Eden's first husband, actor Michael Ansara, made guest appearances on Jeannie as "The Blue Djinn". They had one son together, actor Matthew Ansara, who died on June 25, 2001 after a heroin overdose. Michael Ansara and Barbara Eden divorced in 1974. She was married to her second husband, Chicago Sun-Times news journalist Charles Donald Fegert from 1977 to 1983. She married her third and current husband, Los Angeles real estate developer Jon Eicholtz, on May 1, 1991.

[edit] After Jeannie

She continued to appear regularly on television and starred in the feature film Harper Valley PTA based on the popular country song. This led to a namesake television series in 1981, in both movie and TV series, she played the show's hero, Stella Johnson.

In 1991, Eden had a recurring role in five episodes of the final season of Dallas, playing the character Lee Ann de la Vega, reuniting her with her I Dream of Jeannie co-star Larry Hagman. In her final episode, the character says her maiden name was "Lee Ann Nelson", which was a production gag as Nelson was the surname of Hagman's character, and Eden's character's married name in I Dream of Jeannie.

She also made appearances in the last few seasons of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as the evil family matriarch, "Aunt Irma".

Barbara is also a talented singer, and has been a musical guest star in over 50 variety TV shows, including 21 Bob Hope specials.

Barbara released an album entitled Miss Barbara Eden in 1967, under the record label Dot Records.

Barbara Eden wrote an autobiography, Barbara Eden: My Story, which was published in October 1989.

Barbara received a doctor law degree in the spring of 1990 from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law.

Barbara Eden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television at 2003 Hollywood Boulevard.

In 2006, Eden appeared as a contestant on the revival of I've Got a Secret, where she revealed her secret family relation to Benjamin Franklin.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Television Work

[edit] External links

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