As the star of the legendary sitcom “I Dream of Jeannie,” Barbara Eden charmed audiences all over the world with her beauty and talent. The 87 year-old just gave a wide-ranging interview in which she surprised her fans by revealing she originally didn’t think she had a chance of getting on the sitcom.

“They were testing every single gorgeous brunette in town,” the blonde star recalled. “They were all beauty queens — Miss Syria, Miss Israel, Miss Greece, Miss Italy. I thought, ‘Well, it’s not for me. But it certainly sounds good.’ I was sent a script. My agent called and said, ‘What do you think, Barbara?’ I said, ‘Well, I think it’s fabulous. But are you sure they know what I look like?’ And he said, ‘Well, they must, they’ve made an offer.’”

Eden ended up getting the role, and she starred on the show from 1965 until 1970. Though she became something of a sex symbol in her belly-baring costume, Eden said that she never saw herself that way.

“I have never thought of myself as the sexy actress,” she said. “I’m not. There are a lot more beautiful women out there. But I was always comedic. [Comedy], that’s for me.”

Eden was able to have such a successful career after “I Dream of Jeannie” that she forgot about her character on the show at times!

“I didn’t really think about her,” she said. “The show was on the air — it’s never been off the air — but I was doing lots of movies, appearing in Vegas, doing shows. I think people are making a lot more out about Jeannie than they did in the ‘80s and ‘90s.”

Today, Eden splits her time between Beverly Hills and Las Vegas with her third husband, Jon Eicholtz, who she has been married to since 1991. These days, she doesn’t mind that to many, she will always be remembered as Jeannie.

“She is also easy to live with,” said Eden. “I really like her.”