Getting started

Niven went to see the news director at KGW in Portland and asked to make sample stories for him to critique. She promised to ‘pay it forward’ if she had a successful career. He agreed and provided a typical script. She was later hired as an intern, and her story about the White House Easter Egg Roll made the network news.^[4]

She spent hours reading from the theater section of Powell's Books and memorized a monologue from Neil Simon's Chapter Two. In the early 1980s, there was a nationwide search to replace the character Tina Lord on One Life to Live. One audition was held in Seattle. Niven drove in freezing rain from Portland, taped the monologue, and drove back home without telling anyone what she had done. She was one of several people chosen to go to New York for a screen test.^[10]

In New York she was told by Mari Lyn Henry, then ABC casting director,^[11] that she did not have star quality and her voice would only lead to victims' roles.^[12] She went back to Portland determined to work on her voice and her craft. She got a retired radio man to be her voice coach. She was cast in Hallmark Hall of Fame’s 1986 Promise, which filmed in Oregon. She received her SAG card on this movie.^[13] When her daughter was ten,^[14] she packed their belongings into a truck and trailer and moved to Los Angeles.

Television and film

For twelve years, she attended the master classes^[15] of Milton Katselas at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.^[16] Between 1986 and 1993 she was billed as Barbara Lee Alexander, and as Barbara Lee Niven for the film Lone Tiger (1994).^{see Filmography} She is known for her roles on soap operas The Bold and the Beautiful as Brenda Dickerson, and in One Life to Live as Liz Coleman Reynolds.^[17][18]

She served for three years on the National Board of Directors for the Screen Actors Guild.^[19] From March 20 - September 8, 1989, she was hostess and announcer, with host Michael Burger, for the syndicated game show, Straight to the Heart.^[20] In 2000, served as a celebrity blue-team contestant for St. Thomas on Search Party.^[21][22]

Niven starred on the syndicated drama series Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1998-2000). Niven also has appeared in guest roles on numerous television series, including ER, Cold Case, Las Vegas, NCIS,^[23] Charmed, Eli Stone, and Parks and Recreation. Additionally, she had multiple roles on Silk Stalkings, and a recurring role on Pacific Palisades.^[24][25]

She played Marilyn Monroe in the HBO film The Rat Pack^[18] (1998) and has appeared in many films such as Under Lock and Key (1995), Forest Warrior (1996), Foxfire (1996), Breast Men (1997), The Drone Virus (2004), Chasing Ghosts (2005), Redline (2007), and Summer's Blood (2009). She had the leading role in A Perfect Ending (2012)^[26] and co-starred with Kat Dennings and Ray Wise in the horror comedy Suburban Gothic (2014).^[27]

Niven has also appeared in over a dozen Lifetime movies, including Stranger in My Bed (2005), The Perfect Neighbor (2005), Double Cross (2006), Murder in My House (2006), The Rival (2006), A Valentine Carol (2007), Black Widow (2008), Dead at 17 (2008), Accused at 17 (2009), Heat Wave (2009), My Mother's Secret (2012), Home Invasion (2012),^[24] The Wife He Met Online (2012), and Disney Channel's Tiger Cruise (2004).^[28]

She has multiple credits for Hallmark, starting with her first role in Hallmark Hall of Fame's Promise (1986), with James Garner and James Woods. Among other appearances, there are A Carol Christmas (2003),^[29] Wedding Daze (2004), Back to You and Me (2005), Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery (2006), McBride: Semper Fi (2007), and Moonlight & Mistletoe (2008). In 2013, Niven was cast in Hallmark Channel's first original drama series Cedar Cove, opposite Andie MacDowell and Bruce Boxleitner.^[30] Niven is currently appearing in the series Chesapeake Shores with Treat Williams and Diane Ladd. For Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, she has been cast in the Murder, She Baked and Crossword Mysteries movies.^[25]

Speaker and coach

Barbara Niven has made motivational speeches and said that if she could become an actor as a single mother at thirty, others can also fulfill their dreams. She has spoken to school classes, professional groups, and on television shows. The subjects have included: "Giving up Perfect to Claim Your Dreams", "Paralyzed to Powerful" (tips to save yourself from a stalker), "Eating Disorders & Pressures to be Perfect", and "The Pressure to be Thin in Hollywood".^[31]

She has done media training^[32] for individuals and corporations. Niven has a studio and developed workshops to educate people to make a positive impression with speaking, presentation, and media video. Her instructions include: for presentations, consciously create a character with voice, use good lighting, and connect heart to heart; and when performing, build relationships, be a personal producer and the welcoming person in the room.^[13][33] She says, "the older one gets the more beautiful tools and instruments you have to add to your orchestra and your palette".^[4]

She has described her writing process as do anything but write, clean the desk, then write from the heart and let the words flow.^[34]

Author

• Niven, Barbara (2011). 111 Star Power Tips – Insider Secrets from a Hollywood Pro : For Videos, Audios, On-Camera Interviews, TV, Radio & Presentations. Shadoeworks. ISBN 978-1460912331.

Contributor

• Niven, Barbara (2006). "Barbara Niven [actor]". In Stromberg, Gary; Merrill, Jane. Feeding the Fame : Celebrities Tell Their Real-Life Stories of Eating Disorders. Hazelden. pp. 96–107. ISBN 1-59285-350-1.
• Niven, Barbara (2009). "ACT AS IF!". In Kingsbury, Gail (ed.). How Did You Do That! Stories of Going for It. Yinspire Media. pp. 99–104. ISBN 978-0-9819708-8-2.
• Niven, Barbara (2011). "Shine Your Light", In Lim, Kimber (ed.). Get Your Woman On! Embracing Beauty, Grace & the Power of Women. Yinspire Media. pp. 41–46. ISBN 978-0-9819708-3-7.
• Niven, Barbara (2013). "A Perfect Ending...and a New Beginning", In Mayfield, Karen (ed.). Wake Up Women Be You : Spread Your Wings and Fly Emotionally. Wake Up Women. pp. 32–39. ISBN 978-1508705420.
• Niven, Barbara (2015). "Success, Goosebumps & Your Next Evolution". In Allen, Debbie (ed.). Experts Wisdom : Life Changing Principles and Transformational Business Strategies from the Go-To Authorities. Authentic Endeavors Publishing. pp. 203–218. ISBN 978-0-692-52264-6.
• Niven, Barbara (2016). "Taking a Leap of Faith, Dreams, Money, & Show Biz" In Giankas, Patricia (ed.). Great Credit Now : Set Your GPS for Positive Success. Authentic Endeavors Publishing. pp. 105–116. ISBN 978-0-9982105-0-6.