-> 

v

"Out of all the actors I have worked with, I love working with Larry Hagman the most. We were very close and it was just a wonderful time." Barbara Jean Morehead, known by her stage name as Barbara Eden, first entered the entertainment world with a starring role in the 1956 film, Back from Eternity. While Eden struck out with several projects over the next several years, she would hit gold when she was cast in the starring role of I Dream of Jeannie.

 -> 

v

Since Eden became a national television star as the genie, Jeannie, she has earned a pair of Golden Globe nominations, and a role in 90 projects during her career. While Eden hasn't performed since 2016's Shimmer and Shine, she has certainly left behind more than enough work for fans to comb through for years to come.

The Great Depression and San Francisco

Barbara Eden was born on August 23, 1931, in the town of Tucson, Arizona. Eden's mother was Alice Mary and her father was Hubert Morehead. Eden mistakenly grew up believing that she had been born in 1934 which meant that she had grown up with a three-year discrepancy between her legal birth and what she presented to the world.

 -> 

v

After her parents divorced in, Eden would move to San Francisco with her mother. Her mother would go on to marry Harrison Huffman, a telephone lineman, and the couple would have a daughter together. During this period of their lives, the Great Depression was in full effect. Eden recalls how the Great Depression hurt their family. As a result, her family turned toward the arts in order to cope with their poverty.

Eden enjoyed her first public performance as a member of her church's choir. Eden would then earn the opportunity to sing for a variety of local bands at night clubs throughout the city. She was paid roughly $10 per performance which translates to roughly $130 in today's currency. Fully immersed in the arts, Eden would join the Actor's Equity group at the age of 16. She began to study singing at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music while honing her acting skills at the Elizabeth Holloway School of Theater.

 -> 

v

Eden would graduate from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1949, and she would study theater at the City College of San Francisco for a year. In 1951, Eden would enter into the  Miss California Pageant after being nominated as Miss San Francisco.

Dreaming of Jeannie

Eden would kickstart her entertainment career by appearing as a semi-regular performer on The Johnny Carson Show (1955). Eden would also get to perform on How to Marry a Millionaire (1957), I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, and a never-to-be-released pilot called, The Barbara Eden Show. How to Marry a Millionaire would help to cement Eden as a capable television performer. She would appear in 52 episodes over a three-year period before the program was taken off of the air.

 -> 

v

While Eden had enjoyed numerous projects throughout the early portions of her career, she wouldn't hit her stride until she was cast in the 1965 television series, I Dream of Jeannie as Jeannie herself. Eden had gotten the role off of the strength of her performance in The Brass Bottle.  Eden would star as a genie who was set free by the United States Air Force Captain played by Larry Hagman. Eden and Hagman would have wonderful chemistry together, and they would quickly become one of the most-watched duos on television. Eden starred in I Dream of Jeannie for five years, appearing in 139 episodes. Eden even had a notable side arc where she played a second character, the evil sister of Jeannie.  Eden would gain two Golden Globe nominations for her work on the program.

Hagman would pass away in 2012 due to complications relating to cancer. After news of his death broke, Eden looked back on her first day of filming with Hagman. Eden said of that experience, "Larry was the center of so many fun, wild, shocking and, in retrospect, memorable moments that will remain in my heart forever."

 -> 

v

When Jeannie was taken off of the air, Eden would struggle to find that same level of success again. It would take almost eight years for Eden to come close to her prior success, this time in the series, Harper Valley P.T.A. (1978). In the show, Eden played Stella Johnson as a single mother who was raising her teen daughter in Harper Valley, Ohio. The show would air for two seasons and it would earn commercial acclaim, though it was received in lukewarm fashion when compared to Eden's prior work.

Eden would step away from the silver screen in order to join the Tony Award-winning musical, Woman of the Year in 1984. Eden would play Tess Harding Craig along with Don Chastain and Marilyn Cooper.  Eden would get back in front of cameras for a recurring role in the final season of the dynastic program, Dallas (1991). Eden would play opposite of her Jeannie co-star, Hagman, during her time in Dallas. In the blink of an eye, Eden was back touring with another stage play, this time The Odd Couple: The Female Version. From 2000 to 2004, Eden portrayed the role of Florence Unger while touring in support of the play. Eden hasn't performed on camera since 2016's TV show, Shimmer and Shine. Prior to that, she hadn't acted since 2009's Always and Forever.

While Eden may be remembered most for her work on a sitcom in the '60s, the truth is that she has had an enduring impact on the world of pop-culture. She would appear during the opening ceremony of the 21st Life Ball, alongside Bill Clinton and Elton John. Eden would also release her memoir, Jeannie Out of the Bottle (2011) to critical and commercial acclaim. Eden would earn her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1988. She would also be granted an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law.

Barbara Eden has done a spectacular job of keeping her love life quiet, even despite her pronounced fame. She is currently married to Jon Eicholtz, and the couple has been together since 1991. Eden had one child, Matthew Ansara, who has since tragically passed away.