The beautiful Barbara Eden (nee Barbara Jean Moorehead) was born in Tuscon, Arizona on August 23rd. She soon found herself in the wonderful city by the bay, San Francisco, where she quickly pursued her dream of becoming an actress, starring in numerous plays as a child. While still a teenager, she put her wonderful voice to use entertaining the crowds as a nightclub singer, but soon decided this wasn't the life for her, so packed her bags for Hollywood and stardom.

Barbara first began appearing on television in the 1950's. She landed numerous plum guest starring roles in shows as diverse as "Gunsmoke" (1955) and "I Love Lucy" (1957) before her first recurring part as Loco Jones in "How to Marry a Millionaire" (1958). That show was, unfortunately, cancelled the next year, and she returned to working in a variety of other television shows and films, including "The Andy Griffith Show" (1962), "Route 66"(1960), "From the Terrace" (1960), and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1961). In 1958, she married Michael Ansara, and the young couple escaped to a ranch in Sherman Oaks, California.

Nineteen sixty-five proved to be incredibly lucky and productive for Barbara. She became pregnant with her son, Matthew, and her combination of exotic beauty and a certain charming innocence helped her to land the part that would make her a star - television's favorite genie, of course. That first season had to be filmed quickly, though, so Barbara could take on her second important role of the year becoming a new mother. Being a new mother and a television star didn't stop Barbara, though. She continued working outside the series, in 1965 alone appearing in "Slattery's People: When Do We Hang the Good Samaritan?," "The Rogues: Wherefore Art Thou, Harold?" and "Burke's Law: Who Killed the Man on the White Horse?"

* This was Barbara Eden's biographical information at the time when she portrayed Jeannie in "I Dream of Jeannie."