Streisand << STRY sand >>, Barbra (1942-…), became one of the leading entertainers in modern American show business. Streisand gained popularity as a singer and actress. In addition, she has directed and produced motion pictures and composed film music. Streisand has also been active in liberal politics and has supported many charities.
Barbra Joan Streisand was born on April 24, 1942, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Her career began in 1961 when she entered a talent contest in a New York City nightclub, winning $50 and a nightclub engagement. Streisand was first recognized for her dramatic interpretation of popular songs. She has recorded more than 60 albums.
Streisand made her Broadway debut in the musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962). She became a star in the musical Funny Girl (1964), in which she portrayed the American comedian and singer Fanny Brice. Streisand later won praise as a comic actress both on the stage and in films. She made her first motion-picture appearance in the adaptation of Funny Girl in 1968, winning the Academy Award as best actress. Streisand acted in the nonmusical films The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), Up the Sandbox and What’s Up, Doc? (both 1972), The Way We Were (1973), For Pete’s Sake (1974), The Main Event (1979), Nuts (1987), Meet the Fockers (2004) and the sequel Little Fockers (2010), and The Guilt Trip (2012). She shared an Academy Award as a songwriter with Paul Williams for “Evergreen” from the film A Star Is Born (1976). She directed and starred in the movie musical Yentl (1983), the drama The Prince of Tides (1991), and the romantic comedy The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).
Her hit songs include “People” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (both 1964, from Funny Girl), “Stoney End” (1971), “The Way We Were” (1973, from the film of the same title), “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (with Neil Diamond, 1978), “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” (with Donna Summer, 1979), “Woman in Love” (1980), and “Guilty” and “What Kind of Fool” (both with Barry Gibb, 1980). In 2014, with the release of her duets album Partners, Streisand became the first recording artist to release number-one albums in six consecutive decades. Her 2016 duets album, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, broke her own record for the most albums to reach number one as a female artist. Streisand also wrote a memoir, My Name Is Barbra (2023).
In addition to her Academy Awards, Streisand received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. She became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2008.
