barbara eden became an overnight sensation thanks to her starring turn in the hit 1960s sitcom
i dream of jeannie sadly the actress's life has often been less of a dream and more of a nightmare
thanks to numerous family tragedies despite this barbara has persevered thanks to her own healthy
habits and positive attitude join facts first as we take a look at barbara eden's life of tragedy
barbara eden was born in tucson arizona on august 23 1931. her parents divorced when she was young
and her mother subsequently moved barbara out to san francisco there her mother married and
had another child barbara grew up during the great depression which meant her family couldn't afford
many luxuries barbara has recalled her mother would sing for her and her half-sibling during the
nights for entertainment barbara enjoyed singing herself and took up the habit at the local church
choir she stood out amongst the other voices in the choir and was always the one given the solos
starting during her teenage years she would make ten dollars a night performing in local nightclubs
which was a hefty sum of money back then when barbara was 16 she began studying acting and
singing in 1951 she was named miss san francisco she went on to appear in tv shows during the 50s
and had become a notable film actress by the 60s but her biggest break didn't come until she got
her iconic role on a dream of genie in 1965. she found out she was pregnant with her first and only
child soon after signing her contract to appear on i dream of jeannie she feared she was going to
be let go from the show but the producers ended up deciding to film the first several episodes
around the actress's pregnancy while barbara was glad at the time for the ability to work she would
go on to deeply regret the fact that her time on the show prevented her from being there as
much as she would have liked for her newborn son i dream eugenie came on the air in 1965.
barbara had been married to her first husband michael ansara since 58 their son was named
matthew after i dream of jeannie came to an end in 1970 barbara intended to make up for the time
she had missed with her son matthew however her husband didn't have stable enough work for this
to be a reality michael ansar was a tv actor who never had quite as much success as his wife
in 1971 barbara became pregnant with a second child sadly her and michael's economic situation
made it necessary for barbara to continue working through her pregnancy with few roles being offered
to her on television barbara was forced to take up with touring productions of various plays
including the sound of music and the unsinkable molly brown these productions proved incredibly
demanding on the pregnant actress and her would-be second child was stillborn after already feeling
so much guilt for having to work while matthew was growing up her second child being stillborn
as a result of her rigorous stage performances pushed barbara over the edge she and her first
husband's relationship never recovered and barbara would never have another child barbara and michael
divorced in 1974 after suffering through several years of a deteriorating marriage young matthew
was devastated by the divorce when barbara married her second husband charles fergurt in 1977 matthew
went to live with his father when barbara divorced charles in 82 matthew returned to live with her at
that point he was a young adult exhibiting troubling behaviors he had a great desire
to follow in his parents footsteps and become an actor but they discouraged him eventually barbara
relented and gave her son her blessing to pursue acting but in the early 80s matthew developed an
addiction to heroin apparently he had told his mother he was attending college one day barbara
noticed matthew had left his books behind while supposedly heading off to class she took the books
to the school matthew claimed he was attending and found out he was not a registered student
instead he had been wasting the days away doing heroin and living off his mother when barbara
confronted matthew about his lie matthew ended up leaving the house and not coming back barbara
was unsure where her son was for several months but it turned out he'd been living on the street
after eventually finding their son barbara and michael managed to convince matthew to go to rehab
he became clean and resumed living with his mother but would eventually fall back under the spell
of the drug again and again in 1991 barbara was married for a third time to an architect and real
estate developer named john eicholtz when matthew was 27 things seemed to have turned around for him
he had taken up healthy living and began studying creative writing at ucla and he
became engaged to an accountant and the two were making plans to have a wedding ceremony in oregon
sadly these plans never came to fruition hey if you're enjoying this video so far be sure to give
it a like and subscribe to facts first if you haven't already matthew and sarah and his wife
were making plans to marry but matthew was still secretly addicted to heroin when it became so
rampant that his fiancee couldn't ignore it she left him barbara eden didn't blame his fiancee
for leaving him as barbara had shut matthew out of her life time and time again herself after
cycling through periods of addiction for over a decade his battle with heroin came to a tragic
end when he died on june 27 2001 at the time he was preparing for a bodybuilding competition
in addition to acting and creative writing matthew had become interested in bodybuilding as an adult
after he was found dead an autopsy revealed there were steroids in his system as well as heroin
when barbara got the news matthew had been found dead from a heroin overdose she was shocked as far
as she had known her son had been clean and sober for two years and matthew had once again become
engaged to a woman and even planned a ceremony after matthew's passing barbara was left alone
to reflect on the role she had played and how her son turned out the actress survived her son and
is still alive today and has plenty of regrets about how she raised him not only has barbara
never been able to forgive herself for the fact that she wasn't there for matthew as a newborn
because of her work she also came to regret the fact she hadn't waited to divorce michael until
matthew was older although these regrets often plague barbara she's managed to overcome and let
go of the past for the most part today she's 90 years old and still married to her third husband
she's expressed that it's important for her to move forward and let go of the past which is
part of why she's managed to make it this far in life and she maintains healthy living habits in
her older age such as a nutritious diet and steady exercise and although she maintains a healthy diet
and tries to get out of the house at least once a day she isn't above splurging every once in a
while unlike many other actresses she is a proud meat eater who can't get enough pork and steak and
she likes to indulge in circus peanuts because she feels doing so brings her back to her childhood
the actress has largely been able to maintain her looks and figure up until today which is
incredibly admirable for an actress who just turned 90. now it's time to hear from you comment
down below to share what your favorite role from barbara eden's career is besides her iconic turn
on i dream of genie and before you go make sure you give this video a like and subscribe to fax
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