Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Moorhead in Tucson, Arizona on August 23, 1934, although some sources give 1930 as her year of birth) is an American actress. She was also known as Barbara Huffman, following her mother's re-marriage. Eden made an early featured appearance on an I Love Lucy episode, playing a pretty girl who, Lucy feared, would catch Ricky's roving eye at a party. Lucille Ball was impressed with Eden's work and promoted the young actress. Eden made her film debut in Back from Eternity (1956), and the following year 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 a notable, if odd, movie, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, with Tony Randall, before being signed to play the character of Jeannie in the television series I Dream of Jeannie, opposite 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's husband, actor Michael Ansara made guest appearances on the series as "The Blue Ginn". They had one son together, actor Matthew Ansara, who tragically passed away on June 25, 2001 after a heroin overdose. Michael Ansara and Barbara Eden divorced in 1974. She was married to Chicago Sun-Times news journalist Charles Donald Fegert from September 3, 1977 until their divorce in 1983. She married LA real estate developer Jon Eicholtz on January 5, 1991. She appeared regularly on television after the series was cancelled and starred in the feature film Harper Valley PTA based on the popular country song. This led to a Harper Valley PTA series in 1981. In 1991, Barbara 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 Eden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television at 2003 Hollywood Boulevard. |
