Barbara Assoon is a Trinidadian actress and journalist who has been one of her country's public personalities for six decades.
Barbara Assoon was born in the Caribbean island nation's capital, Port of Spain, and began her acting career in the mid-1940s. In 1948 she had a role in a production of Peter Ustinov's play The Indifferent Shepherd, and the following year received a scholarship to study acting in England and spent the next 19 years there, appearing in numerous radio, television and stage productions. She performed in scores of radio soap operas as well as live TV dramas during the 1950s.
In 1968 Barbara Assoon returned to Trinidad to work with Radio Trinidad as a news reporter and program presenter. Noted for her excellent command of the English language, reading and presentation skills, she spent the following decades as a broadcasting presenter. Her last appearance in a stage play was in 1990, with Derek Walcott. She has since retired, but still remains active in training the next generation of journalists.