Barbara Jeanne Anderson, a talented actress, is most famously known for her portrayal of Eve Whitfield, a socialite-turned-San Francisco police officer, in the first four seasons of the NBC police drama Ironside, starring the renowned Raymond Burr. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Anderson was the daughter of an enlisted navy man, and her family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, following her father's latest posting. To overcome her strong Brooklyn accent and newly-acquired Southern drawl, Anderson took elocution lessons. She attended Memphis State University, participated in amateur dramatics, and made her professional acting debut with the Southwestern University Players.
In 1963, Anderson was crowned "Miss Memphis" and later relocated to California to further her career prospects. She joined the ensemble of the Los Angeles Art Theatre for two years, acting at night while working as a phone receptionist and telemarketer during the day. Her career took off after she was discovered by a talent agent playing the lead role of Cyrenne in a stage production of Rattle of a Simple Man.
Anderson was signed to a contract with Universal and made her television debut in an episode of The Virginian. She went on to appear in guest roles in Star Trek and Mannix before landing the role of Eve Whitfield in the Ironside movie-length TV pilot. Her subsequent performance in the series earned her a 1968 Primetime Emmy for 'Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Drama.' After leaving Ironside in 1971, her role was taken by Elizabeth Baur, who played the character Fran Belding.
Anderson's subsequent roles included a recurring part in the final season of Mission: Impossible as Mimi Davis, an ex-con and recovering alcoholic who participated in seven missions for the team. Until the early 1980s, she continued to make guest appearances in TV movies and prime-time shows like Marcus Welby, M.D., Hawaii Five-O, and Simon & Simon. In 1993, Anderson returned to the screen one final time to reunite with her fellow cast members for The Return of Ironside, ironically, Elizabeth Baur, who had replaced her in the series, also retired after this film. Raymond Burr passed away just four months after the film's release.
Anderson retired from show business in 1993 to devote time to her family, playing tennis, sailing, and painting. Her husband, Don Burnett, whom she married in 1971, had also retired early and became a successful investment broker.
