“I Dream of Jeannie”’s Barbara Eden is still acting at 94 — and ready for her next big role: ‘I could be really mean’ (exclusive)

Rance CollinsSat, August 15, 2026 at 12:30 PM UTC

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Barbara Eden as Jeannie; Barbara Eden on June 27Credit: Silver Screen Collection/Getty; Paul Archuleta/GettyKey Points -

Barbara Eden tells Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive interview that she would love to play a role that’s “really mean.”

The I Dream of Jeannie star recurred on the classic sitcom as the kind-hearted genie’s evil twin.

Eden adds that she’s open to playing “anything,” provided that the script is “well-written.”

Barbara Eden still has plenty of blinks in her magical arsenal.

The television icon, who will turn 95 on Aug. 23, tells Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive interview that not only is she still in the acting game, but she very much knows what she would like to play next.

“I could be really mean,” she says slyly.

Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman on ‘Dallas’Credit: Lorimar Television / Everett Collection

“Bad Jeannie was bad, you know,” she recalls, remembering her character’s identical twin sister, also named Jeannie, on the classic sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.

While also played by Eden, the evil counterpart to the series’ lead not only contrasted in personality; she wore a green outfit versus her sister’s pink threads and was brunette instead of blonde. Bad Jeannie appeared in nine episodes of the series, as well as the two follow-up television films, I Dream of Jeannie... 15 Years Later (1985) and I Still Dream of Jeannie (1991).

Eden says, though, that she has one stipulation for saying “yes” to any role offered to her. “If it’s well written, I’d probably do anything. If it’s well written.”

Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden in ‘I Dream of Jeannie’Credit: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty

Eden will appear to introduce one of her early films, 1961’s All Hands On Deck, with the movie’s costar Pat Boone on Sept. 5 at the Cinecon Classic Film Festival. The comedy showcases Eden’s range as an actress, which was also displayed in other ’60s fare such as the western Flaming Star with Elvis Presley, the sci-fi Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and the thriller The Yellow Canary. For tickets and information about the festival, visit Cinecon’s website.

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In recent years, Eden has appeared more frequently on stage, including a performance in the play Love Letters in 2025. In movies, she last appeared in 2019’s My Adventures with Santa, playing, of course, Mrs. Claus.

Eden had a variety of memorable roles in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, including in the successful film and subsequent TV show Harper Valley PTA, a recurring role on Sabrina the Teenage Witch as the title character’s Aunt Irma, and a guest arc on Dallas that reunited her with her Jeannie costar Larry Hagman.

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“We were both playing characters who weren’t very nice. It was good,” Eden remembers. “Larry, gosh, Larry was a fine actor. He was wonderful. So I don’t care what you’d throw at him, he’d do it, and he’d do it well, beautifully. He played my master beautifully... I’ve seen him doing other movies. I think it’s another case of people not really knowing how talented he was. He wasn’t just a, you know, one-note singer. He had a lot of color to himself and what he was doing.”

Eden adds that she felt Dallas “saved” Hagman, who wanted to stretch his acting muscles past the comedic, straight-man Jeannie role for which he became known.

“I think it helped him in his whole life,” Eden says. “I think that kind of saved him, having that huge success. But it took so long for him to get it.”

Hagman not only played J.R. Ewing from 1979-1991 on the primetime Texas-set soap opera, but he reprised the role on the TNT follow-up for the first two seasons until his death in 2012.

on Entertainment Weekly

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