The series was created by Sidney Sheldon and made its debut on NBC on September 8, 1965 and ran until September 1, 1970 after 139 half hour episodes. The show centers around the mishaps and misadventures of astronaut Anthony Nelson (Larry Hagman) and a genie named Jeannie (Barbara Eden). Nelson discovers Jeannie in a bottle on a desert island during an aborted space mission. He keeps her (or she keeps him) - but he wants to suppress her magical powers and keep her true identity hidden from the human race. 
Each episode is usually full of unusal occurences that Jeannie conjures up with the wink of an eye to please her master. Most of the time, these are mistakenly interpreted as abnormal  psychological behavior by Nelson's superior officer, Colonel Alfred Bellows, the base psychiatrist at NASA. Nevertheless, the show's emphasis was always on lighthearted comedy. Comic actor Bill Daily (as Nelson's girl-chasing, dimwitted astronaut friend Roger Healey) was an essential ingredient in this respect, as was the fast-paced editing, expertly timed slapstick, and witty incidental music of Hugo Montenegro.
 

Eden's TV career began with several guest roles on 1950s shows, including "West Point", "Perry Mason" and "Father Knows Best". In 1958 she got married to actor Michael Ansara and in the same year she had her first regular role on "How to Marry a Millionaire". After the show finished in 1959, she went back to guest appearances in different series.
 
 
 

When 1970 came and "I Dream of Jeannie" shot it's last blink, things didn't go well for Barbara. In 1971, she became pregnant but lost her baby at seven months. After that, Barbara acted every chance she got. That same year, Ansara and she broke up and were divorced in 1972.

Since this turbulent time her life has become more stable and she still makes many television and movie appearances, including "I Still Dream of Jeannie" in 1991.