The adored actress who played the legendary spy in the classic 1960s comedy series has retired from performing and pursued a meaningful life away from the limelight.

Barbara Feldon, widely remembered for her role as Agent 99 in the iconic  TV series “Get Smart,” turned 92 on March 12, 2025. The gifted actress left Hollywood decades ago to return to her home, New York City, where she now lives a full and satisfying life away from the cameras that once characterized her profession.

Feldon, born on March 12, 1933, in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, pursued an acting career that would propel her to stardom. She played the bright and capable Agent 99 opposite Don Adams’ bumbling Maxwell Smart in the classic espionage comedy series “Get Smart” from 1965 to 1970.

Aside from her hallmark role, Feldon has acted in films such as “Fitzwilly” (1967) and “Smile” (1975). Feldon, unlike many performers who are resistant to being connected with a particular character, has always welcomed her relationship with Agent 99 and has never been concerned about being typecast.

“I was just happy to be working back then,” she joked in a Forbes interview from 2016. “I was too busy to be thinking about anything like that.” When asked about her favorite episode of “Get Smart,” the actress shared warm recollections of fun disguises.

“I always like dressing up and playing like we were in kindergarten. “I loved the one where Don [Adams] and I are disguised as Charlie Chaplin, both of us, mustaches and all,” she said. This episode featured Max proposing to Agent 99.

However, while she enjoyed her career, the actress lived a life that was much different from her character’s.

Life Beyond the Camera

Agent 99 gave birth to twins on the show, although Feldon never had children in real life. When asked if she regretted it, the actress replied with calm acceptance. “No. It just didn’t happen. “Time passed, and my life became very different,” she stated.

She thoughtfully added, “There are so many ways to be joyful, and one of them is with children. I am confident that I would have experienced joy if I had them. But you may be content without them, as I have been.

Feldon did, however, recall wearing a maternity pad during filming and joked, “I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m quite not [sic] sure this would be fun.’”

Although she did not have children, the actress was in a public relationship with Burt Nodella from 1968 to 1979. He was the Emmy-winning producer of “Get Smart,” who died in 2016 at the age of 91.

Advice for Her Younger Self

When asked what advice she would give to her younger self, Feldon demonstrated exceptional insight. “I would give her advice, but she would not accept it. “Older people have wisdom, but younger people are unable to accept it because it is not relevant to them,” she explained.

She would encourage people to “take things more lightly, see life in a bigger context than just a total vision of success or being good enough.”

Feldon remarked that young people frequently seek an unrealistic ideal, advising instead to enjoy the people on set, forget concerns about acceptability or TV Q scores, and take a more humorous attitude to life.

Finding Joy in Solitude.

Feldon authored the book “Living Alone And Loving It” in the early 2000s, which chronicled her struggle to discover happiness on her own terms. “I’d been in relationships all my life. I had been married and then lived with someone for a few years. After that, I simply figured I’d find another relationship. “But it didn’t happen,” she admitted.

As time passed, she realized that seclusion may be beneficial. Her inspiration for creating the book came from meeting people “who feel living by themselves is a second-rate life.”

The actress added that many people had written to praise her for the book. She questioned people’s attitudes about partnerships during her conversation with Forbes, highlighting the frequent teaching that marriage is the best option.

“However, times have changed. “Did you know that 49% of New Yorkers live alone?” she said. The actress, who relocated back to New York decades ago, would undoubtedly be aware of this fact and others about the city.

Return to New York.

In 1977, she made the life-changing choice to return to New York City, leaving Los Angeles and Hollywood behind. “I just never had the acting itch,” said Feldon, who formally retired in 2006.

Following her graduation from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1955, the Pittsburgh native embarked on a journey to New York, eventually settling in Los Angeles to further her career. “It was like a 12-year interruption of my life in New York,” she explained to Closer Weekly in 2018. “I was longing to come back.”

Furthermore, the colorful metropolis continues to inspire her. “There’s so much artistic and intellectual stimulation in New York,” she told me. “Every day is different.” Even though she retired from performing, she remains popular today.

Fans Continue to Cherish Agent 99.

Fans have long admired Feldon, demonstrating the lasting impact of her role as Agent 99. On March 12, 2022, one admirer said, “Sending 99 birthday wishes to Barbara Feldon.”

Another person commented with, “What a beauty!” “What an actress!” Recently, an admirer shared one of her statements, and someone commented, “I have a secret crush.”

Furthermore, when an account named Hollywood Golden Age of Cinema tweeted birthday wishes on March 12, 2025, one netizen promptly responded, “Wow, 99 is 92! God bless her; I enjoyed seeing her in Get Smart as much as her performances.” Another user commented, “Make it to 99 😂💪.”

Even though Feldon now enjoys a reclusive existence outside of Hollywood, her fans’ continued adoration demonstrates her global impact and that of other celebrities from the 1960s and 1970s, such as Lana Wood.