[5] Barbe was born Millicent Jane Schneider in Winter Haven, Florida, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.

After graduating, Barbe worked as a copywriter, though due to her poor spelling, she opted to read her first commercial out loud to her boss instead of submitting it in writing.

Although her native dialect was Southern, she learned to adopt her trademark "General American" speech while studying drama.

Barbe was also a former professional singer, meeting her husband while touring with the Buddy Morrow Orchestra, and gained a bit of notoriety in later years, appearing in commercials and on television shows based on her recognition as the "Time Lady".

She also did voice-over work on TV and films, including the voice of Southern author Margaret Mitchell in the 1988 documentary The Making of a Legend: Gone With the Wind.