In 1964, Barbara Barrie starred in a film about interracial marriage; 3 years later, the US Supreme Court changed the law; what happened?

Barbara Barrie died at her Manhattan home on October 28, 2026, aged 95, after a terminal cancer diagnosis. Her representative, Gary Gersh, confirmed to USA TODAY that her death was medically assisted under New York State's Medical Aid in Dying law, which she had supported. Her daughter, Jane Harnick, confirmed the death to The New York Times.

Barrie was an Oscar-nominated actress best known for Breaking Away (1979), as well as television roles in Barney Miller and Suddenly Susan. She also earned a Tony Award nomination for originating the role of Sarah in Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical Company.

The film that made her part of a civil rights-era story

In 1964, Barrie starred in One Potato, Two Potato, directed by Larry Peerce and released on July 29 that year. She played Julie Cullen, white woman who marries Franck Richards, a Black man played by Bernie Hamilton.


Julie's former husband, Joe Cullen, later seeks custody of their daughter, Ellen. The resulting court battle exposes racial prejudice against the interracial couple, with the judge ultimately awarding custody to the former husband.

ALSO READ: In 2015, two sisters co-founded Dudley Stephens; one worked with Gucci, Calvin Klein, other managed American Express VIP experiences; how their brand crossed $45 million in sales

The film confronted a subject that Hollywood distributors were wary of. According to the American Film Institute, one distributor declined after the filmmakers refused to give the story a happier ending.

The film screened at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, where Barrie won and award for best actress. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for its original screenplay.

ALSO READ: Meet Lukas Biewald, who lost his CEO role at his first startup; how an unpaid internship at OpenAI helped him build an AI company behind a karate studio that sold for $1.7 billion

The real-world legal backdrop and how US law was changed

When the film was released in 1964, several US states still prohibited interracial marriage. These restrictions made interracial relationships a legal as well as a social issue.

Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter Loving, a Black woman were involved in the case. They married in Washington, DC, in 1958. After returning to Virginia, they were prosecuted for violating the state's ban on interracial marriage. They got suspended one-year prison sentences on the condition that they leave Virginia for 25 years.

ALSO READ: In 2015, Airtree backed Canva's $6 million Series A; 6 years later, a partial sale at a $39 billion valuation returned 1.4x its first fund; here's how

They challenged the law, and took the case to the US Supreme Court. On June 12, 1967, the court unanimously ruled in Loving v. Virginia.