Barbara Lee Bucholz was born in 1953 in Portland, Oregon, to parents George and Edie Bucholz, has two sisters, Shelley and Kim, and attended David Douglas High School. Has stated she knew when she was five that she wanted to be an actress. Niven grew up hunting and fishing and was a senior in high school before getting involved in acting.

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

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), 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. 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.