Quick Bio
Barbara Ann Luna was born on March 2, 1939 in New York, Manhattan to parents from Budapest, Hungary and Italian descent, while her paternal grandmother was from Spain and gave birth to her father in the Philippines. This mixed ethnicity is one of the reasons Luna was cast in roles in which she had to play characters of Hispanic or Italian descent. As a child, she was exhibited on Broadway and always had a love for drama and acting.
Barbara Luna’s acting career
Her first role was in 1949 when she played the character of Ngana in the play. South Pacific, the production she was part of was the Broadway one. The entire play was in French and Luna was able to learn her lines for the play. She was only ten years old when she played Ngana.
Her next role was in a production of The King and Me. This all happened while she was still in high school. After graduating, she was given the lead role of Lotus Blossom in the play, August Moon Teahouse, a play in which she performed the stunt double. After spending the double in the lead role, Barbara Luna spent the next three years touring with the production company.
The tour had a show in Los Angeles and that’s when she was noticed by Mervyn LeRoy, who was a producer at the time. LeRoy was impressed with her acting and decided that she be cast in the film, The Devil at 4 O’Clock (1962). She played the role of Camille, a blind woman; alongside Frank Sinatra who was her romantic interest. Her work in this film was not her big screen debut, but it was the film that opened the doors to the next gigs she would earn.
Barbara Luna’s other works include Such as Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), Ship of Fools (1965), Che! (1969), Mail Order Bride (1964), Firecreek (1968), Zorro (1958), Tales from Wells Fargo (196o), The Outer Limits (1963), The Man from UNCLE (1967), Love, American Style ( 1971), Hawaii Five-o (1969) and many other films, as well as TV shows.
Of Barbara Luna’s many TV show appearances (a number that exceeds the work she’s done in movies), the performance she’s most remembered for is the one she performed for. Star Trek in the years 2004 and 2010, it is among its most recent appearances.
Her family – husband and divorce
In 1961, at the age of twenty-two, Barbara Luna married Doug McClure. They had met on the set of Overland Trail, a television show in which McClure was the lead actor. Their marriage was short-lived, with the couple splitting up in 1963, just two years after they married. The couple had no children together and, while Luna was married to Doug, she had adopted her daughter from a previous marriage, Tane McClure.
It is believed that she had other relationships after her marriage ended and may even remarry, but none of these relationships can be verified.
other facts
• Barbara Luna’s net worth is estimated at $4 million.
• This actress stands at a height of 1.77 meters, which is 5 feet and 8 inches.
• Barbara Luna has an eponymous website where facts about her trip to Hollywood are documented.
• The actress is a big sports fan and follows at least three sports: tennis, golf and roller skating.
• Barbara Luna is part of the charity The Thalians, which is dedicated to helping people with mental illness.