Vivacious blonde American actress, a prolific performer in TV westerns and sitcoms from 1954. After completing high school, she attended acting classes at the Schuster-Martin School of Drama in Cincinatti, subsequently continuing her training in New York, under
Uta Hagen and
Stella Adler. She financed her studies by working as a model on the side. Barbara got her first break when invited to join the touring company of
Zero Mostel's comedy play, "Lunatics and Lovers". She made her screen debut in the cold war drama series,
I Led 3 Lives (1953), and remained a much sought-after actress on the small screen for the next half a century.