“I have so many people that come up to me and tell me that they had an awful childhood, and that the only thing that helped them out was to go in their room and pretend it was a bottle,” said the 94-year-old, referring to the character\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
\u2018I DREAM OF JEANNIE\u2019 STAR BARBARA EDEN SHARES REAL REASON WHY FIRST SEASON WAS FILMED IN BLACK AND WHITE<\/a><\/p>\n Barbara Eden as Jeannie in “I Dream of Jeannie.” The sitcom turned 60 on Sept. 18, 2025. (NBCU Photo Bank\/NBCUniversal via Getty Images\u00a0)<\/p>\n “It makes me sad and happy at the same time,” the star admitted.<\/p>\n Eden has enjoyed a decades-long career in Hollywood, though many best remember her from the beloved 1960s sitcom<\/a> celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The series tells the tale of astronaut Major Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman), who finds a magic bottle with a 2,000-year-old genie (Eden) inside. The two fall in love and build a life together.<\/p>\n The series premiered on Sept. 18, 1965, catapulting Eden to superstardom. It aired for five seasons before ending in 1970.<\/p>\n Many fans told Barbara Eden that as children, they pretended to live inside a genie bottle. (Eddie Sanderson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “I didn\u2019t realize how popular \u2018Jeannie\u2019 was until several years after, and it still amazes me,” Eden said. “I can\u2019t believe it. I have mail from Russia. Can you imagine? I have fan mail from Russia, China, Japan, Poland, Italy, Germany, South America and the U.K. If you had told me that when we were shooting, I wouldn\u2019t have believed it.”<\/p>\n Eden told the outlet that fans often ask her to make Jeannie\u2019s signature arm-folding motion to “cast a spell” for them \u2014 and sometimes, they do it back.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s magic,” she said. “They always want magic. Magic is good.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n Barbara Eden and Jon Eicholtz married on Jan. 5, 1991. (Araya Doheny\/WireImage)<\/p>\n These days, Eden enjoys a quieter life with her husband, Jon Eicholtz, and their dog, Bentley.<\/p>\n “We\u2019re just happy to be together,” she told the outlet. “We really enjoy each other.”<\/p>\n When Fox News Digital recently asked Eden about being labeled a sex symbol, she replied, “I had no idea.”<\/p>\n Barbara Eden as Jeannie, circa 1967. The actress never saw herself as a sex symbol.\u00a0 (Silver Screen Collection\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “I never thought of [Jeannie] as sexual,” she said. “She was lovable because she was so honest and forthright and obviously devoted to her master. And she was learning. I enjoyed playing that part of it. She was learning everything about this time. She was 2,000 years old, which people seem to forget.”<\/p>\n “She was an entity \u2014 she wasn\u2019t a real woman,” Eden added. “She was female, of course, but an entity, not a human. And that\u2019s your comedy right there. She felt she could be human, and of course, he knew she wasn\u2019t.”<\/p>\n Barbara Eden poses for a portrait at the Los Angeles premiere of “My Life On A Diet” on April 5, 2019, in Beverly Hills. (Rodin Eckenroth\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n But one thing Eden couldn\u2019t have anticipated was the public\u2019s fascination with her belly button \u2014 or lack of one. The actress\u00a0famously wore a pink two-piece<\/a> with high-waisted, billowing pants and a crop top that concealed her navel.<\/p>\n LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n “I Dream of Jeannie” ended on May 26, 1970, after five seasons on NBC. (Silver Screen Collection\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “Mike Connolly [a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter] would come down to the set,” Eden recalled. “He would tease me about how I didn\u2019t have a belly button because it never showed. Well, it did, because I\u2019d raise my arms and do all kinds of physical things, and of course, my belly button would peek out.\u00a0<\/p>\n “But he enjoyed teasing me. He would poke me in the middle and say, \u2018I don\u2019t believe you have one!\u2019 And then he started to write about it. And then guys all across the United States began to write about it.”<\/p>\n “I thought it was funny, but strange,” she chuckled. “Suddenly, the standards and practices, or whatever they called it in the film industry, realized I had a belly button. Even the studio realized I had a belly button! But before that, no problem.”<\/p>\n Barbara Eden is seen here celebrating the 20th anniversary of “I Dream of Jeannie” in 1985 wearing a navel-baring costume.\u00a0 (Gary Null\/NBCU Photo Bank\/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Eden said no one at the studio initially insisted she cover her navel until the playful rumors spread like wildfire.<\/p>\n “They said I had to have the waist come up high,” she explained. “But not only that \u2014 I wore dancer\u2019s pantyhose, which are pretty thick, plus a pair of underwear over that, and then the chiffon. And then there was silk inside. It was so funny. All I could do was laugh at the whole thing. And men would come down to the set just to stare at my belly. It was a lot of foolishness, but fun.”<\/p>\n Eden gave input on one thing about her midriff-baring costume.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n Barbara Eden starred opposite Elvis Presley in the 1960 film “Flaming Star.” (Sunset Boulevard\/Corbis via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “The color,” she said. “Gwen Wakeling,\u00a0an Oscar-winning costume designer<\/a>, came to me and showed me her sketches. And of course, I loved them. Then she said, \u2018What\u2019s your favorite color?\u2019 I said, \u2018Well, it depends. Right now, it\u2019s hot pink.\u2019 And she went with pink. I\u2019m still so happy she did that.”<\/p>\n The star said that over the years, she never felt Jeannie\u2019s powerful presence overshadowed her Hollywood career.<\/p>\n WATCH: ELVIS PRESLEY’S 1968 BORDELLO SCENE WAS CUT FOR BEING TOO RACY: DOC<\/p>\n “I was always content and happy with her,” she explained. “Even when I was doing \u2018Jeannie,\u2019 I was lucky enough to still be doing other things. I opened the MGM Grand in\u00a0Las Vegas<\/a>. I went back to singing again.”<\/p>\n Barbara Eden told Fox News Digital she never felt typecast over the years. (NBCU Photo Bank\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “When we had breaks shooting \u2018Jeannie,\u2019 I would do another film in between and then go back. It was a long ping-pong. \u2026 And I\u2019m so pleased that people still like her. I had no idea that the show would have the impact that it\u2019s had all over the world.”<\/p>\n![\"Barbara](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/i-dream-of-jeannie-legacy.jpg\")
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