Barbara's Biography
Barbara recently played Elizabeth "Liz" Reynolds on the ABC Soap Opera, One Life To Live. And she has relocated to New York City for the role. Before the soap, she played "Kate" on Pensacola: Wings of Gold. She also played "Marilyn Monroe" in HBO's The Rat Pack and she said it was a dream come true to play her favorite icon. Niven loves taking risks, playing out there characters. In the independent film Anoosh of the Airways she plays eight different wacky characters. She also recently starred in a John Patrick Shanley play, Psychopathia Sexualis playing an outrageous beer-drinking Texan called "Lucille." She says that Katherine Hepburn and Jessica Tandy are her idols. A native of Portland, Oregon, Niven's upbringing hardly suggested the career she chose to pursue. She dreamed of being an actress and write - and loved being the center of attention as a child - but Niven was also decidedly a tomboy, hunting and fishing for fun. She married at a young age and had a daughter, Jessica, now is 23. She's proud of her daughter, she's going after her own dreams now, getting her master's degree in Environmental Engineering. Niven put her own dreams on hold while she became a wife and mother. Finally, one day she received something in the mail from her upcoming ten year high school reunion. She was only living everybody else's idea of who she should be, she decided she didn't want to wind up wondering what if at the end of her life. So despite being a single mother and hearing that it was impossible without a degree, she talked her way into a news internship at Portland's NBC affiliate, KGW, and sold her first story to network. Then realized she wasn't suited for news and discovered acting. She says that she is living proof that anyone can make their dreams come true, at any age. While in Portland, she appeared in more than 2500 radio and television commercials and served as spokesperson for a number of companies. She also won her first dramatic role, opposite James Garner and James Woods, in the Emmy-winnin "Hallmark Hall of Fame" telefim The Promise. She subsequently won reoccuring roles in such series as Pacific Palisades, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Silk Stalkings, as well as guest-starring spots on Love Boat: The New Wave, Mike Hammer, and Wings. Her telefilm credits include HBO's Breast Men, and the offbeat comedy I Married a Monster, a remake of the classic that she describes as "David Lynch meets Norman Rockwell with lots of special effects." courtesy of "www.barbaraniven.com"
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