At 91, Barbara Eden continues to thrive over 50 years after her iconic role in “I Dream of Jeannie.”

At 91, Barbara Eden continues her remarkable seven-decade career and remains active.

The actress, singer, and producer is best known for her role in “I Dream of Jeannie,” which premiered in 1965, though she had already been appearing on screen for a decade before.

Generations of TV fans have enjoyed I Dream of Jeannie, the 1960s sitcom about an astronaut who finds a 2,000-year-old genie. Despite its whimsical premise, Barbara Eden’s charm as Jeannie kept audiences engaged. It’s hard to believe, but Barbara is now 91! While it’s been a while since she donned her iconic harem costume, she is still thriving.

Barbara’s journey hasn’t always been smooth. Born in 1931 in Tucson, Arizona, she moved to San Francisco after her parents divorced, studying singing at the Conservatory of Music. As a young performer in the city, she sang with small bands at local clubs but soon shifted focus to acting.

“Barbara, you don’t sound like you mean a word you’re singing,” her mother once commented. “I think you should study acting too,” Eden recalled. Acting proved to be a natural fit, leading her to Los Angeles, where she began appearing on some of the top shows of the 1950s.

Her screen debut came in 1955 as a semi-regular guest on The Johnny Carson Show, but her role in the legendary fantasy sitcom “I Dream of Jeannie” truly launched her into stardom.

The Arizona native portrayed Jeannie, a charming genie who was freed from her bottle by astronaut and U.S. Air Force Captain Anthony “Tony” Nelson, played by Larry Hagman.

“We just… clicked. We had the same rhythm. Whatever we were doing revealed the same truth,” Eden explained.

“I liked him. With some actors, you have to work hard to like them, but with Larry, I never had to. He was always fully present.”

She played the role for five years, even appearing as Jeannie’s mother and mischievous sister. Eden’s harem attire, considered slightly risqué for TV at the time, contributed to the show’s popularity.

“NBC executives were quite nervous,” she told Today in 2015, around the show’s 50th anniversary. “They were very strict about not showing the navel.”

Eden recalled how a joke from her friend and columnist Mike Connolly, alongside an earlier interview with the Hollywood Reporter, helped fuel the navel controversy.

“When Mike teased me about my belly button, it spread like wildfire. We had fun with it, but I had no idea it would become such a big deal.”

The iconic costume also helped establish Eden as a TV sex symbol, with notable admirers like John F. Kennedy, who once sent her his phone number, and Elvis Presley.

“I threw away the paper, but now I wish I’d kept it,” she wrote in her 2011 memoir, Jeannie Out of the Bottle.

Eden has appeared in over 50 films and is still working at 91.

In 2019, she starred as Mrs. Claus in My Adventures with Santa, and that same year, she made her theatrical debut in Love Letters as Melissa Gardner.

“I feel young!” Barbara said, adding that she’s grateful for her career. “I feel for people like my father, who worked daily at a job he didn’t love. I’m fortunate to enjoy what I do. I still work.”

Up until recently, she kept up with her gym routine, including spin classes and weightlifting. Now, a trainer visits her home for resistance training, and they take walks together.

“I have many friends,” the TV legend said. “I’m still very active socially.”

She even has an appearance scheduled for March 2022.

“If I’m around, I’ll be there,” she quipped.

In addition to acting, Barbara has written children’s books. One of them, Barbara and the Djinn, is about a young girl named Barbara who encounters a “charming and magical Genie” that takes her on adventures reminiscent of her famous TV role.

She hopes her books encourage children to read, “since now all they do is stare at their phones!”

Barbara also dismisses the idea that *I Dream of Jeannie* might seem outdated to today’s audiences.

“Come on, this is a timeless theme,” she said. “Like One Thousand and One Nights. It’s a beautiful, wonderful fantasy.”

“And let’s be clear, she was always in control. She wasn’t submissive at all.”

Barbara Eden has lived an extraordinary life, made possible by her incredible energy and positive outlook. She truly proves that age is just a number.

Share if you love this legendary actress as much as we do!