Barbara was trained on a prestigious Fulbright Grant at the renowned London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where she honed her craft and prepared for a successful career in the New York theatre scene.
Throughout her illustrious career, Barbara has had the privilege of performing in a wide range of productions, including Harold Pinter's "Landscape & Silence", David Mamet's "Water Engine", Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound", Joseph Chaikin's production of "America Hurrah!", and Maria Irene Fornes' "Enter The Night".
More recently, Barbara has taken on leading roles in various regional productions, including "Long Days Journey Into Night" at the Dallas Theatre Center, "Death of a Salesman" at the San Diego Repertory, "The Cripple Of Inishman" at the Geffen, "Wonderful World" at the Laguna Playhouse, "Six Characters in Search of an Author" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and "Blue Window" and "Sidney Bechet Killed a Man" at the South Coast Repertory.
Some of Barbara's most memorable screen roles include her portrayal of the woman with 12 dogs on the hit TV series ER (1994),the aged mother on Cold Case (2003) who comes to terms with her murdered son's homosexuality, Dwayne Johnson's mother in the film Walking Tall (2004),and Kevin McKidd's mother on the TV series Journeyman (2007).