Barbara Joan Streisand (b. 4/24/42,) known professionally as Barbra Streisand, is an American singer, actress, and filmmaker. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT).
Streisand began her career by performing in nightclubs and Broadway theaters in the early 1960s. Following her guest appearances on various television shows, she signed to Columbia Records, insisting that she retain full artistic control, and accepting lower pay in exchange, an arrangement that continued throughout her career, and released her debut The Barbra Streisand Album (1963,) which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Throughout her recording career, Streisand has topped the US Billboard 200 chart with 11 albums—a record for a woman—including People (1964,) The Way We Were (1974,) Guilty (1980,) and The Broadway Album (1985.) She also achieved five number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100—”The Way We Were,” “Evergreen,” “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough,)” and “Woman in Love.”
Following her established recording success in the 1960s, Streisand ventured into film by the end of that decade. She starred in the critically acclaimed Funny Girl (1968,), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Additional fame followed with films including the extravagant musical Hello, Dolly! (1969,) the screwball comedy What’s Up, Doc? (1972,) and the romantic drama The Way We Were (1973.) Streisand won a second Academy Award for writing the love theme from A Star Is Born (1976,) the first woman to be honored as a composer. With the release of Yentl (1983,) Streisand became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major studio film. The film won an Oscar for Best Score and a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical. Streisand also received the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, becoming the first (and for 37 years, the only) woman to win that award. Streisand later directed The Prince of Tides (1991) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996.)
With sales exceeding 150 million records worldwide, Streisand is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA,) she is the highest-certified female artist in the United States, with 68.5 million certified album units, tying with Mariah Carey. Billboard ranked Streisand as the greatest female artist on the Billboard 200 chart and the top Adult Contemporary female artist of all time. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, 10 Grammy Awards including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Grammy Legend Award, five Emmy Awards, four Peabody Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and nine Golden Globes.
Discography and Filmography, Etc:
| Studio albums |
36 |
|---|---|
| Live albums |
9 |
| Compilation albums |
11 |
| Video albums |
10 |
| Music videos |
24 |
| Singles |
117 |
| Soundtrack albums |
15 |
Films = 19
Broadway = 2
West End = 1
TV = 17
Tours = 6
Some things to share:
Streisand was born on April 24, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Diana Ida (née Rosen; 1908–2002) and Emanuel Streisand. Her mother had been a soprano in her youth and considered a career in music, but later became a school secretary. Her father was a high school teacher at the same school, where they first met. Streisand’s family was Jewish. Her paternal grandparents emigrated from Galicia (Poland–Ukraine) and her maternal grandparents from the Russian Empire, where her grandfather had been a cantor.
In August 1943, a few months after Streisand’s first birthday, her father died at age 34 from complications from an epileptic seizure, possibly the result of a head injury years earlier. The family fell into near-poverty, with her mother working as a low-paid bookkeeper. As an adult, Streisand remembered those early years as always feeling like an “outcast”, explaining, “Everybody else’s father came home from work at the end of the day. Mine didn’t.“ Her mother tried to pay their bills but could not give her daughter the attention she craved: “When I wanted love from my mother, she gave me food,” Streisand says.
Streisand has stated she is writing her autobiography but has stopped and started at various points. In May 2015, Viking Press announced it had bought Streisand’s memoirs, which will cover her entire life and career, and would publish it in 2017. As of 2020, the book remains unpublished.
Official website: here
ONE OF THE GREATS
Source: wikipedia
Tao Talk 
I wonder if she writes her birthday European style instead of American, so it is 24-4-42… Possible for someone who created a unique spelling of her name! Anyway, no matter how you spell it, she is a fantastic artist, one of the greatest.
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She needs to play those numbers! 😉 Yes, she is. So talented in every way. She’s given a lot of joy to the world.
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She has a beautiful voice and is a great entertainer
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She makes it look easy. I agree, Sadje. Glad you like her.
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I do Li.
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Gotta admit, I don’t especially like most of her music. But, you can’t discuss women in music without mentioning her, because millions upon millions of people do adore it, and one can’t help but admire her work ethic and range of talents. I have seen some movies she was in that I liked. Truly a great entertainer
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Everyone has their own taste, and I can see where one might not like the music but enjoy her acting. To me she is the consummate entertainer. She gives her all for her audience.
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Another legend. I always thought she owed a lot to Judy Garland in terms of her vocal delivery. Barbra, of course, managed her life and career much better. (K)
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Kerfe, in a bit of synchronicity, while looking for a video to share in today’s post, I came across a youtube of Judy and Barbra, where Barbra was just starting out. I think you’re absolutely right about Judy’s influence on her. OK now I need to go find that youtube:
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Oh this is wonderful! Thanks.
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Someone’s got a big 80th coming up next month!
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Wow does that make me feel old! Sorry for the late response I found your comment in my spam folder.
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She is an all around entertainer for sure. I’ve haven’t been a fan of her music but she is a good actress. She is a pro through and through…and a legend.
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I appreciate your glowing words about her.
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You just have to respect her. She has done everything…there is a point where being a fan doesn’t matter…it’s about respect.
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❤
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Barbra Streisand was always just someone I was aware of but didn’t give much thought to until I watched Hello Dolly last year. Hearing her singing in that movie, I was like, I get it now. Her voice is amazing!
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Liam, you won’t find many singers better than she is.
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she’s a very good singer. I love her songs!
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Yes, she is!
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Undoubtedly, Barbara Streisand is a very worthy addition to your great series. Her voice is just incredibly beautiful. “Memory” can literally bring me to tears!
My wife absolutely loves her in “The Way We Were”. Or is it Robert Redford? 🙂
Apparently, Barbara Streisand has horrible stage fright. That’s why she rarely ever gives public concerts.
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Christian, I adore her voice and her acting. As comfortable as she looks on the screen, it is amazing she has stage fright. She hides it well.
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I guess it’s the fear to “screw up” in front of a live audience that triggers her stage fright. If something goes wrong on a movie set, they can simply reshoot the scene. I don’t know. In any case, it sounds like a frighening thing.
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