Barbara Eden

Barbara Eden Headshot

Actress • Singer • Producer

Birth Date: August 23, 1931

Age: 93 years old

Birth Place: Tucson, Arizona

One of television's most enduring icons, actress Barbara Eden embraced the character and show that made her a star, playing the 2,000-year-old Jeannie on the sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie" (NBC, 1965-1970). Prior to the beloved show, Eden appeared on a number of television shows like "Father Knows Best" (CBS, 1954-1960), "Gunsmoke" (CBS, 1955-1975) and "The Andy Griffith Show" (CBS, 1960-68), before starring on the small screen version of the hit movie, "How to Marry a Millionaire" (syndicated, 1957-59).

She made the jump to features around this time and had an early co-starring role opposite Elvis Presley in "Flaming Star" (1960), before logging performances in "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1961) and "The Yellow Canary" (1963). But it was her performance as "Jeannie" that made her a household name. After the show was finished, Eden starred in the horror movie "A Howling in the Woods" (1971) and in the comedy "Harper Valley PTA" (1978). She later embraced the association with the naïve Jeannie and, though tame by modern standards, her brand of playful femininity was revolutionary for its time and helped open the doors for future television sex symbols.

Born Barbara Jean Moorhead on Aug. 23, 1934 (though some sources claim 1930), Eden's parents divorced when the actress was three. Following her mother's second marriage, Eden took the name Barbara Huffman after her stepfather, Harrison Connor Huffman. As a child, Eden suffered from a severe vision problem which required her to wear thick glasses and a sometimes eye patch. As a result, Eden grew up very shy. To help ease her daughter's insecurities, her mother, Alice, arranged for young Barbara to take singing lessons which did indeed help alleviate her shyness.

By the time she was a teenager, this "ugly duckling" had blossomed into an attractive young woman, graduating from San Francisco's Abraham Lincoln High School in 1949. Moving to the Bay Area in the early 1950s, Eden made a living singing in nightclubs, but soon decided that a singing career was not in the cards for her. In 1951, Eden entered a local beauty pageant and won the title of Miss San Francisco - the catalyst which propelled the actress to Hollywood.

In 1956, Eden made her screen debut with a minor, uncredited role in "Back from Eternity." Later that year, however, while performing in a local play, Eden was discovered "Hollywood style" by respected film director, Mark Robson. Impressed by Eden's talent and beauty, Robson introduced her to casting directors at Twentieth Century Fox.

Only a year after her debut, Eden landed the leading role on the television comedy "How to Marry a Millionaire" (1957-59), a show based on the 1953 film, in which Eden played Marilyn Monroe's gold-digging character. Though this was her first sitcom, it would hardly be her last or her best known, for that matter. In the early 1960s, Eden branched out, appearing in a string of unremarkable films including "Flaming Star" (1960), "Five Weeks in a Balloon" (1962) and "The Yellow Canary" (1963). She also landed a co-starring role in Irwin Allen's sci-fi outing, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1961).

At the same time, Eden maintained high visibility on the small screen with guest roles on such series as "The Andy Griffith Show" (CBS, 1960-68), "Route 66"(CBS, 1960-64), and "Gunsmoke" (CBS, 1955-1975).

In 1965, Eden finally landed the role that would define her career - as the star and title character of the fantasy sitcom, "I Dream of Jeannie." Created by prolific novelist Sidney Sheldon, the series was a direct response to rival the popular "Bewitched" (ABC, 1964-1972). Both shows shared a similar premise: the misadventures of a sexy sorceress who falls in love with a bumbling mortal and must adjust to life in suburbia.

As hoped, "Jeannie" quickly proved to be a huge success. Over the show's five year run, Eden was twice nominated for Golden Globe Awards, as was her co-star, Larry Hagman. Ironically, for a show that relied so heavily on its sex appeal, "Jeannie" had to play things remarkably coy in order to satisfy NBC's prudish standards. The most famous example of this was the network's "No Navel Edict," which barred Eden from baring her belly button in any way. Appropriately enough, "Jeannie" ended just as the sexual revolution was redefining women's roles. By the time it went off the air, the once risqué show was already considered a "quaint" remnant of a bygone era.

Post-"Jeannie," Eden starred in the lightweight 1978 feature film comedy based on the 1968 Jeannie C. Riley country hit, "Harper Valley PTA." The film's success spawned a short-lived TV series of the same name, "Harper Valley PTA" (NBC, 1981-82), in which Eden reprised her role. Since then, the actress appeared on screen only intermittently.

In 1991, Eden was signed to a five-episode guest-starring role on "Dallas" (CBS, 1978-1991), reuniting her with Hagman. In 1998, it was reported that Eden would make a cameo as Jeannie's aunt in a feature remake of "I Dream of Jeannie" starring Alicia Silverstone. Though the film was never produced, Eden got to play a similar role in 2002 as Sabrina's Great Aunt Irma on the hit comedy series, "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" (ABC, 1996-2003).

Credits

On the Red Carpet Icons: Barbara Eden

Guest
Show
2023

My Adventures with Santa

Actor
Mrs. Claus
Movie
2019

Live with Kelly and Ryan

Guest
Talk
2017

Shimmer and ShineStream

Guest Voice
Empress Caliana
Series
2015

Long Island MediumStream

Self
Reality
2011

Piers Morgan Tonight

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Talk
2011

The Talk

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Talk
2010

Access Hollywood Live

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2010

Worst Cooks in AmericaStream

Contestant
Reality
2010

Let's Make a DealStream

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Game Show
2009

The Joy Behar Show

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2009

Always and Forever

Actor
Mary Anderson
Movie
2009

The Wendy Williams Show

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Talk
2008

Army WivesStream

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Victoria Grayson
Series
2007

The Morning Show With Mike & Juliet

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2007

Loco Love

Actor
Jackie
Movie
2003

George LopezStream

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Series
2002

Live With Regis and Kelly

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2001

Famous Homes and Hideaways

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Show
2000

Sabrina the Teenage WitchStream

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Aunt Irma
Series
1996

Access Hollywood

Guest
News
1996

Dead Man's Island

Actor
Henrietta O'Dwyer Collins
Movie
1996

Eyes of Terror

Actor
Jesse Newman
Movie
1994

Visions of Murder

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Jesse Newman
Movie
1993

Her Wicked Ways

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Tess O'Brien
Movie
1991

Hell Hath No Fury

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Terri Ferguson
Movie
1991

I Still Dream of Jeannie

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Jeannie/Jeannie II
Movie
1991

Opposites Attract

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Charlie McKeon
Movie
1990

Charme mortel

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Movie
1990

Your Mother Wears Combat Boots

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Brenda Andersen
Movie
1989

Brand New Life

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Barbara McCray Gibbons
Movie
1989

El Secreto de Cenicienta

Actor
Movie
1988

The Secret Life of Kathy McCormick

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Kathy McCormick
Movie
1988

The Stepford Children

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Laura Harding
Movie
1987

Mi Bella Genio: 15 Años Después

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Movie
1985

I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later

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Jeannie/Jeannie II
Movie
1985

Chattanooga Choo Choo

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Maggie Jones
Movie
1984

Entertainment Tonight

Guest
News
1981

Harper Valley P.T.A.

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Stella Johnson
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1981

Return of the Rebels

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Mary Beth Allen
Movie
1981

Condominium

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Barbara Messenger
Movie
1980

The Girls in the Office

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Lee Rawlins
Movie
1979

Les Filles au bureau

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1979

America 2-Night

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1978

DallasStream

Actor
Soap
1978

Harper Valley P.T.A.

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Stella Johnson
Movie
1978

Who Killed the Centerfold Model?

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Liz Stonestreet
Movie
1977

Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model?

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Liz Stonestreet
Movie
1977

The Sonny and Cher Show

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Variety Show
1976

The Amazing Dobermans

Actor
Justine
Movie
1976

How to Break Up a Happy Divorce

Actor
Ellen Dowling
Movie
1976

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

Let's Switch

Actor
Lacy Colbert
Movie
1975

The Stranger Within

Actor
Ann Collins
Movie
1974

Guess Who's Sleeping in My Bed?

Actor
Francine Gregory
Movie
1973

The Woman HunterStream

Actor
Dina Hunter
Movie
1972

The Feminist and the Fuzz

Actor
Dr. Jane Bowers
Movie
1971

A Howling in the Woods

Actor
Liza Crocker
Movie
1971

Romp!!!

Guest
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1968

The Hellcats

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Melinda
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1967

The Carol Burnett ShowStream

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Variety Show
1967

Kismet

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Lalume
Movie
1967

I Dream of JeannieStream

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Jeannie
Series
1965

The Rogues

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1964

Ride the Wild SurfStream

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Augie Poole
Movie
1964

The Brass Bottle

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Sylvia Kenton
Movie
1964

Quick, Let's Get Married

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Pia Pacelli
Movie
1964

7 Faces of Dr. Lao

Actor
Angela Benedict
Movie
1964

Hellcats

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Movie
1964

Fractured Flickers

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Show
1963

The Yellow Canary

Actor
Lissa Paxton
Movie
1963

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonStream

Guest
Talk
1962

The VirginianStream

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Samantha Fry
Series
1962

The Wonderful World of the Brothers GrimmStream

Actor
Greta Heinrich
Movie
1962

Five Weeks in a Balloon

Actor
Susan Gale
Movie
1962

Swingin' Along

Actor
Carol Walker
Movie
1962

Target: The Corruptors

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Show
1961

Dr. Kildare

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Series
1961

Cain's Hundred

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Show
1961

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

Actor
Lt Cathy Connors
Movie
1961
72%

All Hands on Deck

Actor
Sally Hobson
Movie
1961

The Andy Griffith ShowStream

Guest Star
Ellen Brown
Series
1960

Flaming StarStream

Actor
Roslyn Pierce
Movie
1960
91%

From the TerraceStream

Actor
Clemmie Shreve
Movie
1960
31%

Twelve Hours to Kill

Actor
Lucy Hall
Movie
1960

RawhideStream

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Series
1959

A Private's Affair

Actor
Sgt. Katie Mulligan
Movie
1959

How to Marry a Millionaire

Actor
Loco Jones
Series
1957

Perry MasonStream

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Carla Adrian
Series
1957

Highway Patrol

Guest Star
Kathy O'Shea
Series
1955

GunsmokeStream

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Judy Pierce
Series
1955

Father Knows BestStream

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Series
1954

The Best of This Is Your Life

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1952

Today

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News
1952

I Love LucyStream

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Series
1951