Barbara Hale is an American actress best known for her role as legal secretary Della Street on more than 250 episodes of the long-running Perry Mason television series and later reprising the role in 30 made-for-TV movies.

Hale was born in DeKalb, Illinois, to Luther Ezra Hale, a landscape gardener, and his wife, Wilma Colvin. She is of Scots-Irish ancestry. Hale graduated from high school in Rockford, Illinois, then attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, planning to become an artist. Her performing career began in Chicago when she started modeling to pay for her education. She moved to Hollywood in 1943, and made her first screen appearances playing small parts (often uncredited).

Hale was under contract to RKO Radio Pictures through the late 1940s. She appeared in Higher and Higher (1943) with Frank Sinatra; played leading lady to Robert Mitchum in West of the Pecos (1945); enjoyed top billing in both Lady Luck (1946) opposite Robert Young and The Window (1949) with Arthur Kennedy; and co-starred in Jolson Sings Again (1949), with Larry Parks playing Al Jolson and Hale as Jolson's wife, Ellen Clark. She played the top-billed title role in Lorna Doone (1951) and portrayed Julia Hancock in The Far Horizons (1955) with Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston.

Her flourishing movie career more or less ended when Hale accepted her best known role, Della Street, secretary to attorney Perry Mason, in the TV series with Raymond Burr. The show ran from 1957 to 1966, and she reprised the role in several television movies. Her last performance to date was in 2000 at age 78. In 1967 she guest starred on the ABC series Custer. Hale also had a featured role in the 1970 ensemble film Airport, playing the wife of a jetliner pilot (Dean Martin).

Barbara Hale (DeKalb, Illinois, 18 d'abril de 1922 - Sherman Oaks, Califòrnia, 26 de gener de 2017) va ser una actriu estatunidenca. Per guanyar una mica de diners es va orientar cap la professió de model i va començar a posar per tira còmica titulada "Ramblin Bill". Poc després d'haver començat aquesta activitat, va ser descoberta per un agent que va enviar les seves fotos als estudis de la RKO. Barbara va signar un contracte i es va traslladar a Califòrnia. El 1956 li van oferir el paper de Della Street, la discreta i indispensable secretària personal de l'advocat Perry Mason en la sèrie de televisió del mateix nom, cosa que permet a l'actriu guanyar un premi Emmy el 1959 i obtenir una nova nominació el 1961. En el 1985 la televisió americana va rellançar el personatge de Perry Mason produint una sèrie de pel·lícules per la pantalla petita: Raymond Burr va acceptar el seu vell rol, però va posar com condició que el rol de Della Street fos novament interpretat per Barbara Hale. Van rodar 26 pel·lícules TV amb Burr, fins a la seva mort el 1993, i 4 més (l'última el 1995) amb el títol de Perry Mason Mistery, en els quals l'advocat, fora de ciutat per negocis, es substituït per col·legues experts.