Born in a small village in Syria, Ansara came to the U.S. with his American parents at the age of two, living in New England, until the family's relocation to California ten years later. He entered Los Angeles City College with the intention of becoming a doctor, but got sidetracked into the dramatics department. A stint at the Pasadena Playhouse (where fellow students included Charles Bronson, Carolyn Jones and Aaron Spelling) led to roles on stage and in films; the starring role (as Cochise) on the popular Broken Arrow series elevated Ansara to TV stardom. During the series' run, he met actress Barbara Eden on a date arranged by the 20th Century-Fox publicity department; the two later married. He is now semi-retired.
Son, with Barbara Eden, was Matthew Ansara (d. 25 June 2001, Monrovia, California, USA). Along with Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Armin Shimerman, John de Lancie and Richard Poe, he is one of only six actors to play the same character on three different 'Star Trek' series. He played Kang in Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. He has played the same character, Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze, in four different series: The Adventures of Batman & Robin, The New Batman Adventures, _"New Batman Superman Adventures, The" (1997)_ and Batman Beyond. Ex-uncle-in-law of Katherine Fugate.