Agent 99 from 'Get Smart' Is 'Divine' at 90 - She Explained Why She Lives Alone without Husband & Kids

• Barbara Feldon, a.k.a Agent 99 from "Get Smart," was praised for her beauty on her 90th birthday!
• The actress explained why she had no husband and decided to live alone in New York.
• She also revealed why she was childless and what she did after leaving Hollywood behind.

Barbara Feldon, or Agent 99 from the 1965 to 1970 sitcom "Get Smart," celebrated her 90th birthday on March 12, 2023. Ann Hampton Callaway, the jazz singer, took to her Facebook page on the day to honor the actress.

Hampton Callaway shared a collage of Barbara posing with a slice of cake with a lit candle on and photos where she was seen with other people. The singer wished the star a happy birthday and revealed she was one of her dearest friends.

The artist said she saw Barbara in 1991's "Cut the Ribbons" before meeting her backstage at her Rainbow and Stars show, and they formed an "instant kinship." The duo went on many long lunches where they had improvised poetry.

The pair continued having creative and engaging fun throughout the years, which filled the jazz singer's heart with happiness. Hampton Callaway noted how her friend wasn't only an iconic actress but also a "magnificent writer and thinker."

The actress was also described as one of the best and most authentic people the musician knew. She concluded her post by sending Barbara her and her partner, Kari Strand's love, and believed the world was better having the star in it.

Fans were thrilled for the actress, with one person stating how happy they were to see her thriving and "ever-young." The follower revealed how the star might've been their first "crush" because she was so lovely and sophisticated.

They concluded their post by thanking Hampton Callaway for the "warm memory." A second person wished Barbara a happy birthday and described her as an "iconic and wonderful woman," while another fan said the actress was:

"Divine."

Two days after her birthday, the celebrity thanked all those who'd sent "lovely wishes" and made her birthday shine. While Barbara had many people to celebrate her milestone with, she once opened up about her life and why she lived alone with no spouse or offspring.

Why Doesn't Barbara Have a Husband, and Why Does She Live Alone?

Barbara first met Lucien Feldon Verdeaux outside Carnegie Hall. During that first meeting, he asked to borrow a dime from her to make a call, and before she had a chance to think about it, they were having coffee together.

The charming European man told her he was in advertising but had lost interest in the industry. Within a year of their whirlwind romance, the actress and the glamorous gentleman were married, but Barbara's father sensed something wasn't right with Lucien; however, he didn't say anything.

The couple was together when the actress' career took off, firstly as a showgirl and then as a fashion model of the Mod era. The star appeared on "East Side/West Side" before having her big break with Revlon's Top Brass medicated hair treatment.

Lucien's wife was featured in the famous commercial, and by then, she'd secured her role on "Get Smart." The actress simultaneously realized that her husband, with a Belgian accent, was deceitful and wasn't who he said he was, despite how refined he appeared.

In 1967, the pair's marriage ended in divorce after they'd been together for twelve years. By 1980, Barbara decided things needed a drastic shake-up so she could live the life she'd always envisioned and left Hollywood!

The star once confessed that she left her life to fate and moved to New York to see what was in store for her. The actress said, "a person's life is like a kaleidoscope," held still to see all the beads that made set patterns.

The celebrity noted how when it was turned, everything changed, and she "needed" that kind of change. So she gave the kaleidoscope of her life a big twist, but moving was a massive change as, although she'd lived in New York years before, she didn't have friends who lived there anymore.

Despite that, she closed her house, sold her sailboat in California, packed her clothes, and restructured her life. The star bought a part of a Manhattan townhouse and tried meeting people by accepting all the invitations that came her way she hoped would become her friends.

Barbara met hundreds of people and built satisfying friendships. In her 2003 book, "Living Alone and Loving It," the actress spoke about being independent and not dependent on romantic relationships.

She spoke of the joy of living in her times and having no one to answer to but herself. Jim Colucci, an author, discovered that the actress was still living that way when he visited her for a three-hour interview.

In a Facebook video, the actress [Barbara Feldon] revealed that the post was her social media debut...

In 2016, Barbara was asked why she'd written her book and explained how she'd always been in relationships. The star said she was married and then lived with another person for a couple of years.

After that period, she assumed she'd find another relationship, but that didn't happen, and as time went on, she learned, through guidance, how to live happily on her own. The celebrity met several men and women who felt living alone was "a second-rate life," with her adding:

"I thought that was sad, and since I had this technique of living alone, I decided to write a book."

Barbara was pleased she did because many people wrote to thank her. She believed times had changed from being influenced by culture to marrying because 49% of New Yorkers live alone, but having no offspring wasn't her choice.

Why Didn't Barbara Have Children?

On her famous show, Barbara had twins, but in real life, she didn't have children and didn't regret it because she said, "It just didn't happen." The star shared how time kept moving, and she lived a different life.

However, there was an instant when the actress was wearing a pregnancy pad while shooting where she thought she was unsure of the process being fun. The celebrity believed there were many ways of being happy without needing children.

Despite that, she knew she would've been happy if she had them but was equally fulfilled without them. In the meantime, Barbara was busy writing books, like the release of "Getting Smarter: A Memoir," in 2022.

In a Facebook video, the actress revealed that the post was her social media debut, as she'd imagined joining the platform would be like a "tsunami crashing" into her life and drowning it. However, she chose to brave it because of the memoir she wrote.

The star said she'd longed to tell the story of her moving to New York City, show business, meet the "most glamorous Frenchman," and how the romance led to a crazy adventure. Barbara also wished to speak about "Get Smart," with lots of photos included.

The celebrity also promised to post excerpts from the book and maybe read them occasionally. The actress then lifted and showed the book to her fans, hoping they'd have as much fun reading it as she had writing it.

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