Hollywood has lost a shining star, and for Barbara Eden, the grief is deeply personal. The I Dream of Jeannie icon is mourning the death of her longtime friend, actress Loni Anderson, who passed away on August 3 at age 79 at a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness.

A friendship that began with laughter

Eden, 93, told Fox News Digital she feels a profound emptiness in Anderson’s absence. “I feel very lonely now that she’s not here,” she admitted. “I miss her – I really miss her. I miss everything about Loni. She was just a very special, kind, sweet, good mother. You can’t say anything bad about her.”

The pair first met in 1981 while filming a Bob Hope special alongside Dynasty star Linda Evans. Eden fondly remembered walking out in white hosiery for a nurse costume when Anderson immediately exclaimed, “You can’t wear those!” and urged her to ask for skin-colored ones instead. “I didn’t even know her then,” Eden laughed, recalling how the moment sparked their friendship. “She was just really what my mother would call ‘a good egg.’”

From that day forward, the two actresses became fast friends, supporting one another through decades in the entertainment industry.

Remembered as more than a “blonde bombshell”

Anderson rose to fame on WKRP in Cincinnati, cementing herself as one of TV’s most glamorous women. But behind the glamour, Eden insists, was someone far more meaningful: a devoted mother, a sharp wit, and a deeply kind soul.

“You wouldn’t think a glamour girl like Loni would be fun. But she was fun and funny. And she was also a really good mother,” Eden said. “She just did a good job with everything.”

Actress Morgan Fairchild echoed those sentiments, describing Anderson as “one of the nicest people I’ve ever had the honor of working with.” Fairchild also shared a sweet memory from their recent Lifetime movie Ladies of the ’80s: A Diva’s Christmas, recalling how stunning Anderson looked in a gray wig. “She was radiant in that gray wig, and she was a radiant soul in real life,” Fairchild said. “I am just devastated to lose her.”

A lasting legacy

Eden, who has been one of the first to publicly grieve, summed up her sorrow in a heartfelt message on X: “Loni was a darling lady and a genuinely good person. I am truly at a loss for words… Loni, you were one in a trillion, my friend, and even a trillion more.”

Anderson herself once acknowledged the image that defined her career — the iconic blonde bombshell — but she also embraced it with pride. “I never thought I would be Loni Anderson, sex symbol,” she said in a 2021 interview. “But I embrace it.”

For Eden and so many others, though, Anderson will be remembered not just for her beauty, but for her warmth, humor, and friendship.

“She was everything fun,” Eden said softly. “And I miss her already.”