Barbara Eden from “I Dream of Jeannie” celebrates her 93rd birthday (exclusive)

Barbara Eden celebrates her birthday in the best way she can – surrounded by family and friends!

The television and film icon, who turned 93 on Friday, August 23, tells PEOPLE how she plans to spend her special day.

“I am so grateful to have made another trip around the sun,” she said in a statement. “I will be spending my birthday at lunch with my husband and some dear friends. I will also be enjoying the weekend with my family, my sister Alison, her husband and their children. I want to thank all my friends and fans around the world for their love and well wishes on my special day.”

Eden has a lot to celebrate. Since her big break in 1955, when she became a recurring sketch actress The Johnny Carson Show, The actress has appeared in more than 25 films, 19 television films and five television series over a period of almost 70 years.

She is best known for her role as Jeannie, a 2,000-year-old genie who falls in love with astronaut Major Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman) in the NBC series The Last Man. I Dream of Jeannie, which ran for five seasons from 1965 to 1970. The popular sitcom catapulted Eden to stardom and made her a household name.

While fans continue to identify the actress with Jeannie, Eden told PEOPLE in August 2023 that viewers also ask her about smaller roles she has played.

“Every time I appear in person, someone comes up to me and asks me about the manicure I did in an episode when The Andy Griffith Show”, she explained at the time. “I also have an episode of I love Lucy, and the fans remember it too. When I made it, I just didn’t think it would ever last this long or that people would remember it.”

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Longevity and dedication to her craft were crucial to Eden, who married her husband Jon Eicholtz in 1991.

“Over the years, I’ve noticed that a lot of people don’t realize what a joy and what a gift it is to be able to work in a field that you really love,” she also told PEOPLE in 2023. “So many people have to work in jobs that they hate and they have to do it just to make a living, but aren’t we lucky when we can study for something, enjoy it and know that other people enjoy it? I think that’s a gift that life gives us if we’re willing to work for it.”