Step aside, Aladdin. Barbara Eden—the woman who made the world dream of genies—is celebrating her 92nd birthday, and the nonagenarian still looks fantastic. Nearly 60 years after she first appeared as Jeannie in I Dream of Jeannie, Eden remains beloved by fans who once shamelessly polished imaginary bottles, hoping for their own wish-granting blonde.

Born during the Great Depression, Eden turned poverty into a Hollywood dream. In 1956, she began appearing in films like A Private’s Affair and Twelve Hours to Kill, and on television in shows such as The Johnny Carson Show and I Love Lucy. In 1960, she acted alongside Elvis Presley in Flaming Star, gaining international attention.

But it was in 1965 that she truly rose to fame. Playing Jeannie, the beautiful genie set free by astronaut Tony Nelson (played by Larry Hagman), Eden captured the hearts of audiences around the world in the five-season fantasy sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.

That same year, Eden and her husband, actor Michael Ansara (known for Broken Arrow), welcomed their only child, Matthew Ansara. Their 15-year marriage ended when Matthew was nine, a moment Eden later said was pivotal in her son’s life. She believes the divorce was a factor that led him toward drug use.

Eden first noticed something was wrong in 1984, when Matthew, then 19, moved in with his father after she remarried. He later returned home, but Eden saw troubling signs—excessive sleeping, lying about college, weight loss, and staying out all night. Eventually, she insisted he enter rehab.

“But he started using again,” she said. “The professionals told us that if your child is using drugs, he has become the drug: He is no longer your child, and he no longer has a home with you. So, I locked him out when he was 20, which was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”

Matthew, who began using drugs at the age of 10, spent 12 years in and out of rehab. Eden and Michael Ansara worked together to support him. Sometimes, he would joke, “Here I am, better lock up everything,” and when sober, he’d express deep regret and love for his parents.

During a brief period of sobriety at 27, Matthew got married and studied creative writing at UCLA. But the addiction returned, and his wife left him. After a months-long disappearance, Eden found him living in filthy conditions in Venice, California, after an overdose.

“He weighed 200 lbs., but we three women got him up and to the car and took him to the hospital, which saved his life.”

At 29, he was diagnosed with clinical depression and began treatment, but the medication didn’t help. At 31, Matthew appeared to be on a better path again, with acting roles in To Protect and Serve and Con Games. He had plans to marry again, and Eden remembered him telling her, “Life is great, Mom. I can’t believe I spent so many years not being awake to how green the trees are.”

But on June 26, 2001, Eden was awakened by a 3 a.m. phone call. Six hours earlier, police had found 35-year-old Matthew slumped over the steering wheel of his truck. Vials of anabolic steroids were also found. The autopsy confirmed an accidental heroin overdose.

“Then he was dead,” Eden said. “He had shot up with a dose of unusually pure heroin, and it was too much for his heart. Even when he was getting in shape, he did it like an addict—obsessively. He was unable to do anything in moderation.”

Matthew Ansara is buried next to his father, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 91 from Alzheimer’s-related complications.

Now 92 and married to Jon Eicholtz since 1991, Eden still grieves her only child and reflects on what might have been. “Matthew took it horribly. He wanted his mommy and daddy to stay together,” she said. “He won a lot of battles. But he lost his personal war.”

Eden has remained active in recent years, appearing on Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition and in the 2019 film My Adventures with Santa as Mrs. Claus. Her last stage appearance was also in 2019 in Love Letters.