Barbara Eden Lived a Parent’s Worst Nightmare

Sparkling Facts About Barbara Eden, TV’s Dream Genie
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Sparkling Facts About Barbara Eden, TV’s Dream Genie
August 27, 2025 |
Dancy Mason
Sparkling Facts About Barbara Eden, TV’s Dream Genie
Barbara Eden’s Life Was No Paradise
Starring as the titular genie in  I Dream of Jeannie,  Barbara Eden became a beloved icon nearly overnight, and her fame continues to this day. But Eden’s sweet blonde looks and bubbly disposition hid a multitude of nightmares. Behind the fantasy, she went through hell .
1. She Has A Hidden Talent
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Born Barbare Jean Morehead in August of 1931, Eden grew up in a musical, performance-minded family, with her mother getting them through the Great Depression by singing to them. Eden followed suit: She began studying voice work and acting, and by 1955 she had changed her name to “Eden” and was  making regular sketch appearances  on  The Johnny Carson Show .
But it wasn’t an easy road to  Jeannie .
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
2. She Worked With The Best
Over the next decade, Eden worked with practically every star in 1950s Hollywood, including  Lucille Ball  and  Andy Griffth , grinding away in supporting and guest roles first in television and then in films. There was  some  payoff: In 1959, she starred in  A Private’s Affair , and the next year was co-lead with  Elvis Presley  in  Flaming Star .
But even then, Eden didn’t have complete control of her life.
Archive Photos, Getty Images
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3. The Studio Set Her Up
In 1957, Eden was starring in the television version of  How to Marry a Millionaire  and had been dating a non-actor—much to the dismay of her studio, Twentieth Century Fox, who wanted her to promote the show with a celebrity boyfriend in tow.  The studio pulled the oldest trick in the book.  They organized to have Eden go on a date with  Broken Arrow  heartthrob Michael Ansara.
The executives thought it would be good publicity for both of them. It turned into a lot more.
Hulton Archive, Getty Images
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4. She Accidentally Fell In Love
Neither Eden nor Ansara likely had high hopes for the studio date—Eden, after all, was seeing someone else, and Ansara had something of a high opinion of himself, knowing he was beloved by women around the world as  Broken Arrow ’s Cochise. It would have been a huge surprise to both of them, then, that they hit it off, and just a year later they were married.
Yet as both actors kept working, one heartbreaking issue emerged.
Ron Galella, Getty Images
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5. She Had Difficulty Getting Pregnant
Eden and Ansara would spend the next years working on films together, including  Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea  and  Seven Different Ways .  One thing was still missing.  They tried to have a child, but even after six years nothing seemed to be taking.
By the 1960s, Eden was exhausted in both work and life. But the most momentous coincidence was just around the corner.
United Archives, Getty Images
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6. She Was In A Familiar Film
In 1964, Eden was back in a supporting role in  The Brass Bottle , and its plot probably sounds eerily familiar:   Harold Ventimore happens upon an old brass bottle and unwittingly releases a genie. As it happened, however, Eden didn’t play either of the genies (one male and one female) in the film, but rather took on the part of Harold’s fiancee.
One critic called  The Brass Bottle  “about as funny as your own funeral"—but it would end up giving Eden everything she needed.
United Archives, Getty Images
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7. Her Show Was A Copycat
In the mid 1960s, producer Sidney Sheldon was trying to come up with an answer to ABC’s popular suburban fantasy  Bewitched , starring  Elizabeth Montgomery , for NBC. When he saw  The Brass Bottle , he had just the idea: Why not have a man unleash a female genie, and watch the hijinks ensue? So,  I Dream of Jeannie  was born.
You’d think it would be a straight line from this to Barbara Eden, only that’s not what happened.
NBC Television , Wikimedia Commons
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8. The Producer Didn’t Want Her
Because  Bewitched ’s Elizabeth Montgomery was so obviously blonde, Sheldon was determined to make his genie a brunette and thus set his new show apart from the ABC juggernaut. Since Barbara Eden was blonder than blonde, she was out from the get-go.
Except, audition after audition, all the hopeful brunettes just didn’t seem to understand the Jeannie character, and Sheldon was left empty-handed. Almost, anyway.
Sony Pictures, I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970)
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9. He Finally Called Her
Throughout Sheldon’s quest to cast the lead of  I Dream of Jeannie , people kept recommending one name to him: Barbara Eden. After all, she’d  just  acted in  The Brass Bottle , and more than that, she had a decade of experience on a multitude of television shows. Finally, Sheldon caved, called Eden up, and soon realized she was perfect for the part, blonde hair and all.
Then he heard  her  news, and his jaw dropped.
Sony Pictures, I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970)
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10. She Had Big News
Soon after Sheldon told Eden she had gotten the role,  the actress made a confession.  The very day he had told her she was in, she’d also found out she was pregnant (at last), and her son Matthew was born in 1965.
It was immensely happy personal news for both Eden and her husband Ansara, but neither she nor Sheldon knew what they were going to do when it came to shooting the first season of  I Dream of Jeannie . Their solution was ingenious.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
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11. She Acted Fast
In the end, Sidney Sheldon was so certain that Barbara Eden was his Jeannie, he set up the show at lightning speed, and they filmed 13 episodes before she was even showing. Once she was, clever tricks of art direction, like draping her in fabrics or having her stand behind counters, took care of the rest.
In any case, there were worse problems on set than Eden’s pregnancy.
Sony Pictures, I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970)
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12. Her Co-Star Was A Diva
In  I Dream of Jeannie , Eden’s Jeannie is released from her bottle by astronaut Captain Tony Nelson, played by television legend  Larry Hagman , and quickly falls in love despite Tony’s reservations. Hagman went on to star as JR Ewing in the soap opera Dallas —but he was something of a soap opera all his own.
While Eden was happy with the show, Hagman was dissatisfied with the scripts and often moody on set. He took it  way  too far.
Sony Pictures, I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970)
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13. He Acted Out On Set
According to one report,  Hagman’s snits turned disturbing.  At one point, frustrated at the writing of the latest episode and sick of playing second fiddle to Eden’s effervescent Jeannie, Hagman apparently threw a script down…and peed on it.
Eden, ever the consummate professional, only lightly recalled that Hagman’s dramas grew “wearying”. But she hadn’t seen anything yet.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
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14. Therapy Only Made It Worse
Throughout  Jeannie ’s run, Hagman didn’t calm down one bit. Eventually, producer Sidney Sheldon pushed him to get a therapist—and when Hagman complied, it only turned into a new kind of nightmare. According to Eden, Hagman came back saying that the therapist was encouraging him to relieve his stress by smoking joints and drinking bubbly…on set.
As if this wasn’t enough, the studio kept making its own drama.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
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15. The Studio Didn’t Believe In Her
I Dream of Jeannie  debuted right before the color age of television, and even though Sheldon wanted its first season in color, NBC insisted it be in black and white.  There was a cynical reason for this.  Color would cost more—and NBC didn’t think the show would get renewed and so didn’t want to pony up the money. Then, when Sheldon offered to pay the difference personally, an executive told him, “Sidney, don’t throw your money away”.
Well, they were in for…

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