Barbara Eden is ready to grant a birthday wish.
The I Dream of Jeannie star stepped out in Los Angeles on Aug. 23 for a trip to her local beauty salon. And it was an extra special day for the TV icon, as it also marked her 94th birthday.
Barbara gave a small smile as she left the salon wearing a long sleeve red shirt and a red and white flowery maxi skirt, paired with heeled sandals and white sunglasses. And of course, her signature blonde locks were fully on display.
The outing marks a rare one for Barbara, who has mostly guest starred in smaller roles over the past few years. But while it’s been more than 60 years since I Dream of Jeannie’s debut, the actress—who costarred in the show alongside LarryHagman from 1965 to 1970—she is incredibly honored to be best remembered as the iconic Jeannie from the bottle.
“I enjoyed doing it,” she shared on Club Random Aug. 25. “I felt very lucky that I was doing it.”
But that’s not to say the NBC sitcom was without controversy, especially when it came to Jeannie’s pink costume. As Barbara explained, the TV network issued a big no-no on showing her belly button.
“I’ve often said that women in the film are often known for their beautiful eyes or their other body parts, but I ended up with the belly button,” she told Remind Magazine in an interview published Aug. 25. “In this day and age, you would not believe that. But at the time, even I was giggling about it because it was silly.”
As she joked, “Not only did I have pants on that were like a bathing suit pant, I had everything covered except my arms.”
And regardless of the struggles Barbara has gone over the years—including the 2001 death of her only son MatthewAnsara from a drug overdose at the age of 36—she tries her best to look at the positive life lessons she’s learned from it all.
“People have to find their own way,” she said in a 2021 interview with People. “Don’t be afraid. Everyone’s life is different. Everyone’s beginnings are different. Learn to recognize in other people what you have inside yourself because that’s the one thing we all have. We’re all connected.”
And the actress is incredibly thankful for the life she shares with husband of 34 years Jon Eicholtz.
“I’m really lucky,” she continued. “I have dear friends. I have a wonderful family, a very supportive husband, a dog who is adorable, but a brat! Yes, I’m very happy. I think life, everything, has to work itself out. There’s a reason for most things, and I can’t wish for it.”
Of course, as she’s gotten older, Barbara is very conscious of taking the best care of herself that she can, especially when it comes to her diet. While she practices moderation, the self proclaimed “sugar eater” does love a sweet treat.
“I like key lime pie,” she confessed to Fox News in 2024, via People. “My sister brought me one for my birthday. I also like angel food cake. I make my own angel food cake and then put a very sharp, sweet lemon icing on it.”
To counteract the sweets, Barbara makes sure to stay active in her older age.
“I have a stationary bicycle and I lift five pounds,” she added. “I use very lightweight weights, but they’re good for your bones.”
To see what more stars have to say about taking care of themselves while getting older in the public eye, keep reading.
Heidi Klum
“I don’t think of getting older as looking better or worse; it’s just different. You change, and that’s okay. Life is about change,” she told Self.
Cameron Diaz
“There’s no such thing as anti-aging. We’re all aging, period. Women take it as something personal that they are getting older. They think that they failed somehow by not staying 25. This is crazy to me because my belief is that it’s a privilege to get older—not everybody gets to get older,” she told Access Hollywood.
Kate Beckinsale
“Historically when women have made strides of some type, culturally things rise up to oppress them. Right now I feel like we’ve made a lot of strides, but nobody’s allowed to age or look pregnant. I feel all of that stuff has gotten worse. It’s a brilliant way to keep people enslaved, by having them horrified by themselves. Well I refuse to feel shame about being human,” she told the Los Angeles Times.
Jennifer Lopez
“When I turned 40, I was like, huh. I accept myself more now. It was much more comforting,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
Cindy Crawford
“I’m actually happier with my body now… because the body I have now is the body I’ve worked for. I have a better relationship with it. From a purely aesthetic point of view, my body was better when I was 22, 23. But I didn’t enjoy it. I was too busy comparing it to everyone else’s,” she told Popsugar.
Drew Barrymore
“Gravity and wrinkles are fine with me. They’re a small price to pay for the new wisdom inside my head and my heart. If my breasts fall down to the floor and everything starts to sag, becoming hideous and gross, I won’t worry,” as she told Bustle.
Madonna
“F–k you. I’m 50. That’s what I’m going to say when I turn 50. Sorry,” as she told Popsugar.
Diane Keaton
“Here is my biggest takeaway after 60 years on the planet: There is great value in being fearless. For too much of my life, I was too afraid, too frightened by it all. That fear is one of my biggest regrets,” as the told PopSugar.
Helen Mirren
“When you’re 16, you think 28 is so old! And then you get to 28 and it’s fabulous. You think, then, what about 42? Ugh! And then 42 is great. As you reach each age, you gain the understanding you need to deal with it and enjoy it,” she told Bustle.
Jennifer Garner
Celine Dion
“There’s no such thing is aging, but maturing and knowledge. It’s beautiful, I call that beauty,” she told Ok! Magazine.
Penelope Cruz
Kate Winslet
“I’m baffled that anyone might not think women get more beautiful as they get older. Confidence comes with age, and looking beautiful comes from the confidence someone has in themselves,” she told Net-a-Porter Magazine.
Oprah Winfrey
“People who lie about their age are denying the truth and contributing to a sickness pervading our society—the sickness of wanting to be what you’re not…. I know for sure that only by owning who and what you are can you step into the fullness of life,” she wrote in O Magazine.
Diane Von Furstenberg
“Aging is out of your control. How you handle it, though, is in your hands…. In my older face, I see my life. Every wrinkle, every smile line, every age spot. There is a saying that with age, you look outside what you are inside. If you are someone who never smiles, your face gets saggy. If you’re a person who smiles a lot, you will have more smile lines. Your wrinkles reflect the roads you have taken; they form the map of your life. My face reflects the wind and sun and rain and dust from the trips I’ve taken. My face carries all my memories. Why should I erase them?” she told Vogue.
Reese Witherspoon
“But I think as a woman, you get older, you feel more confident in your sexuality. You’re not as intimidated by it, not as embarrassed by it. Sexuality and femininity is an accumulation of age and wisdom and comfort in your own skin,” she told Glamour.
