Barbara Jeanne Anderson is a retired American actress whose most-watched performance was Lenore in the original Star Trek episode, "The Conscience of the King". She is best known for portraying police officer Eve Whitfield on Ironside, for which she won an Emmy Award. She is also known for her appearance as the secret agent Mimi Davis during the final season of the American TV series .
Early years
Anderson was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, George Anderson, was a Navy enlisted man. She spent her early years in New York City, but during her teenage years, she resided in the Memphis, Tennessee, area, where her parents had moved. Her interest in acting was kindled during her teens. "I did a Tennessee Williams play when I was 16," she said, "I knew I'd be an actress. There was no doubt in my mind." While she was a student at Memphis State University, Anderson won the title of Miss Memphis in 1963. Anderson was an actress with the Front Street Repertory Theatre and debuted professionally in Memphis with the Southwestern University Players. Later, she acted with the Los Angeles Art Theatre.
Television
Anderson decided to move to Los Angeles. In 1966, one of her first TV appearances came in a first-season episode of , "The Conscience of the King |The Conscience of the King". She premiered her Eve Whitfield character in the March 1967 IronsideTV movie, and continued the role when the series debuted in September. That same week in September, she had a featured role in the first episode of the TV series Mannix. Anderson was one of the four original cast members of Ironside and was the lead actress in the series for the first 105 episodes. Anderson played the role of one of two police officers chosen to assist Robert Ironside, former chief of detectives for San Francisco, after he lost the use of his legs due to a shooting. Anderson continued in her role as Officer Whitfield for four seasons. Later performances included the wife of a man who inherits a notoriously haunted house in the Night Gallery episode "Fright Night" and as a witness to a mob hit in the Harry O episode "Material Witness". She accepted a recurring role in the final season of Mission Impossible. In 1971, Anderson left Ironside, and full-time TV acting, to spend more time with her husband Don Burnett. However she did continue to work, accepting supporting roles in several TV movies, including the 1973 pilot film for The Six Million Dollar Man, the cult horror TV classic Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, and 1977's You Lie So Deep, My Love. She also accepted guest roles on popular TV shows of the period including The Love Boat, Wonder Woman, and Marcus Welby, M.D.. In 1993, Anderson reunited with her former Ironside co-stars for the TV movie Return of Ironside, reprising her role as Eve Whitfield, now the mother of a daughter. After this role, Anderson retired from acting permanently.
