Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden Facts
| Sign | Virgo |
| Born |
Aug 23, 1931 Tucson, AZ |
| Age | 95 |
| Total Facts | 38 |
Lucille Ball became her mentor and wanted to put Barbara under contract, Barbara signed with 20th Century Fox, instead.
Gene Schwam is her friend and manager.
After "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965) she had a nightclub act for a while. She was actually a talented singer, and she performed various kinds of songs in her act.
Although she was born Barbara Jean Moorhead she began using the name Barbara Jean Huffman in 1945 and then became Barbara Eden in 1956.
Although she was born Barbara Jean Moorhead, she took her stepfather's last name of Huffman when her mother Alice remarried.
As a child, she had to wear glasses, an eye patch and pigtails. Because of this, she became very shy. To help overcome her shyness, her mother had Barbara get singing lessons.
Aunt of Katherine Fugate. Barbara is godmother of Katherine's daughter, Madeleine Barbara Fugate.
Barbara and her husband, Jon Eicholtz, were married in 1991 in San Francisco at Grace Cathedral, where Barbara attended as a child.
Barbara's last name was changed from "Huffman" to "Eden" by her first agent.
Ex-mother-in-law of Julie Ansara.
Friend of Rita McKenzie.
Graduated in 1949 Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco.
Has a younger sister, Alison Scanlon, who is 12 years younger.
Her aunt Marjorie Franklin Shumaker and uncle Grandvell Moore Shumaker had 2 children, Patricia and Katherine.
Her aunt, Marjorie Franklin Shumaker, was born on Tuesday, May 2nd, 1911, she lived to be 91.
Her father, Hubert Henry Moorhead, was born on Monday, April 17th, 1911 in Leesburg, Ohio and died on Monday, March 18th, 1974 in Los Angeles, California. He lived 22,981 days, equaling 3,283 weeks, exactly.
Her grandfather, Charles Benjamin Franklin, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1870.
Her grandmother, Frances Elvira O'Leary Franklin, was born in 1879 in Galena, Nevada.
Her husband, Jon Eicholtz, celebrates his birthday on August 3
Her mother, Alice Huffman, was born on Sunday, August 13th, 1915. Barbara and her mother were very close. After her mother developed lung cancer, Barbara took care of her until she died on Wednesday, November 12th, 1986.
Her niece, Mary Michelle Scanlon was born on Sunday, January 18th, 1969.
Her parents divorced when she was 3 and her mother Alice later married Harrison Connor Huffman.
Her step-father, Harrison Connor Huffman was born on Wednesday, November 19th, 1907.
Her uncle, Grandvell Moore Shumaker, was born on Monday, June 1st, 1908.
Measurements: 36B-24-36 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).
Miss San Francisco of 1951.
On Monday, June 25th, 2001, her son Matthew Ansara (with first husband Michael Ansara) died of an accidental drug overdose. He was 35. His body was found in his car in a parking lot off a freeway in Los Angeles.
Owns a chocolate Labradoodle named Djinn-Djinn (The dog is named after Jeannie's dog on "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965)).
Portrayed by Paris Hilton on "American Dreams" (2002).
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She also double rolled, a few times, as Jeannie, her title roll, and her identical twin sister, Jeannie II, in "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965). Their only differences were opposite personalities and each one's hair color. Jeannie is a blonde and Jeannie II is a brunette.
She did a screen test in May, 1960 for State Fair (1962).
She was inducted into the California Broadcasting Hall Of Fame in a special ceremony July 18, 2003
She was not allowed to show her belly button on "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965) because of NBC's "No Navel Edict".
She's directly descended from American founding father Benjamin Franklin.
Shortly after shooting began on the pilot episode for "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965), it was learned that she was pregnant. Director Gene Nelson invented a shot he playfully called the "ATB" ("Above the Baby"). "Sometimes," he stated, "We'd have to follow Jeannie's arm across the room".
Son, Matthew Ansara, (b. 29 August 1965).
When her son, Matthew Ansara, was 19 months old, she brought him on stage and sang to him while co-hosting "The Mike Douglas Show" (1961).