Had two sons: Leo, who is a teacher by Elia Kazan, and Marco Joachim, a folk singer / songwriter by Laurence Joachim. Laurence Joachim was Barbara's first husband and was responsible for promoting her before the introduction of Kazan.
She had agreed to divorce Elia Kazan in 1979, but her diagnosis of breast cancer, and later, terminal liver cancer, stopped the proceedings.
She was cast as Beverly Abbott in The Swimmer (1968), a crucial part in that she has had an affair with the title character, played by Burt Lancaster. According to multiple biographies of Lancaster, Loden's performance overshadowed him in the scene, which was shot in 1966 by Frank Perry, who is credited as the director on the film. Lancaster was dissatisfied and had the role recast with Janice Rule and had the scene reshot by Sydney Pollack. Friction between Lancaster and Perry led to the director leaving the film.
Stepmother of Nicholas Kazan.
The character of Gwen in her second husband Elia Kazan's best-selling 1967 novel and later film, The Arrangement (1969) , was based on her. Gwen was played by Faye Dunaway in the 1969 movie, which was a terrible flop. Ironically, Dunaway had been Loden's understudy in the 1964 Broadway production of After the Fall (1974) (TV), for which Loden won the 1964 Tony Award for best featured actress in a play. The play, written by Arthur Miller, was directed by Kazan. According to Mark Harris in his 2008 book [i]Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood[/i] (one of which was Bonnie and Clyde (1967), which made Dunaway a star), Dunaway as a tyro actress who was part of Kazan's Lincoln Center repertory company, carefully studied Loden's performance.
Won Broadway's 1964 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for "After the Fall."