Barbara Eden, or Barbara Jean Morehead, was an American singer, actress, and later producer born August 23, 1931. She is well known for starring as Jeannie in the sitcom Dream of Jeannie from 1965 to 1970.
Barbara was born to Alice Mary and Hubert Morehead in Tucson, Arizona. Her parents would eventually divorce, which led Barabra and her mother to move to San Francisco.
She is a distant relative to the famous scholar and scientist Benjamin Franklin.
Eden first began singing in her church choir at a young age, where she performed solos. As a teenager, she started to sing for local bands in various nightclubs earning herself around $150 per night.
By the time Barbara was 16, she had joined the Actors Equity, where she had studied singing at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and acting with the Elizabeth Holloway School of Theater.
After she graduated from Abraham Lincoln high school in 1949, he went on to study theater for one year at the City College of San Francisco. A few years later, she was elected Miss San Francisco.
Barbara’s television career began in 1955 when she started on the Johnny Carson Show. Small features followed on shows such as Highway Patrol, The Millionaire, Father Knows Best, and Route 66.
Director Mark Robson would eventually give Barbara a chance to work for 20th Century Fox studios after her performance in a play with James Drury. She had a screen test for No Down Payment (1957), and while she did not receive the role, the studio gave Barbara a contract.
Her first leading role came in 1960, when she started alongside Gary Crosby and Sal Mineo in A Private’s Affair, then went on to have a co-star role in Flaming Star (1960) beside Elvis Presley.
The following year, Barbara earned a supporting role as Lt. Cathay Connors in Irwin Allens, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. She also starred in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and another Irwin Allen production in 1962, Five Weeks in a Balloon.
The role of Jeannie in the hit NBC show Dream of Jeannie brought her into stardom. In 1965, producer Sidney Sheldon signed Barbara to star in the fantasy sitcom.
Barbara took on the role of a beautiful genie set free from her bottle by an astronaut and air force captain, Tony Nelson, played by Larry Gagman.
Barbara played this role for five years and starred in 139 episodes. In eight of the episodes, Barbara donned a brunette wig to portray Jeannie’s evil sister and Jeannie’s mother in two episodes.
After the sitcom, Barabra went on to star in multiple movies such as The Feminist and the Fuzz (1971), A Stranger Within (1974), and Harper Valley PTA (1978.)
Barbara continued to star in movies and TV shows through the 90s and went on to musical and comedic productions such as Nite Club Confidential, The Sound of Music, and Annie Get Your Gun.
Barbara’s latest role was in 2013, where she was cast in the movie One Song. On November 17, 1988, Barabra was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television.
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