Everything about Barbara Streisand totally explained
Barbra Streisand (
"STRY-sand"; born
April 24,
1942) is an
American two time
Academy Award-winning
singer,
film and
theatre actress. She has also achieved some note as a
composer, political activist,
film producer and
director. She has won
Oscars for
Best Actress and
Best Original Song as well as multiple
Emmy Awards,
Grammy Awards, and
Golden Globe Awards.
She is considered one of the most commercially and critically successful female entertainers in modern entertainment history and one of the best selling solo recording artists in the US, with RIAA-certified shipments of over 71 million albums. She is the highest ranking female artist on the
Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) Top Selling Artists list. She has sold approximately 145 million albums worldwide.
Streisand is a member of
the short list of entertainers with the distinction of having won an
Emmy, a
Grammy, an
Oscar and a
Tony award.
Early years
Barbara Joan Streisand was born in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn to a Jewish family. Her father, Emanuel Streisand, a grammar school teacher who emigrated from
Vienna,
Austria, died when she was 15 months old; she'd a turbulent relationship with her
stepfather, Louis Kind. She has a half-sister from her mother's second marriage,
Roslyn Kind, who was also a performer.
(External Link
)
Her mother, Diana, a school secretary, didn't encourage her daughter to pursue a show business career, opining that Streisand wasn't attractive enough, and encouraged her to learn to type. Streisand attended
Erasmus Hall High School, where she graduated third in her class in 1959, and where she sang in the school choir with
Neil Diamond. She was also friendly there with future World Chess Champion
Bobby Fischer. She never attended college.
Early singing, theater, and television career
After a music competition, Streisand became a
nightclub singer while in her teens. She originally wanted to be an actress and appeared in a number of
Off-Off-Broadway productions, including one with then-aspiring actress
Joan Rivers, but when her boyfriend
Barry Dennen helped her create a club act — first performed in a
gay bar in
Manhattan's
Greenwich Village in 1960; she achieved success as a singer. In 1961 Streisand appeared at the Town and Country nightclub in Winnipeg, MB, but her appearance was cut short; audiences didn't understand her revolutionary singing style. It was at this time that she shortened her
first name to
Barbra to make it more distinctive.
A
kinescope exists of Streisand's first television appearance, which was on
The Tonight Show in 1961 during the era when
Jack Paar hosted it. The kinescope, which has circulated on
Youtube, exists because in 1961 Streisand's older brother bought the kinescope from
NBC. She became a semi-regular on a talk/variety series hosted by
Mike Wallace and Joyce Davidson, who recently had moved to the United States after a stint as an interviewer on Canadian television. An audio segment from one episode (or possibly combined from two or more episodes) is part of Streisand's compilation CD
Just for the Record, which went platinum in 1991.
Westinghouse Broadcasting, which aired the series (titled
P.M. East P.M. West) exclusively in a select few cities (Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Cleveland, Chicago and San Francisco), wiped all the videotapes, which means that no moving image exists of Streisand on the show. In 1991, Mike Wallace had to grant permission for the audio segment to be included on
Just for the Record, and it was for this reason that Streisand allowed Wallace to interview her on
60 Minutes that year. The singer said on
60 Minutes that thirty years earlier Wallace had been "mean" to her on the airwaves. Wallace countered that she'd been "self-absorbed." Their 1991 interview included the audio of Streisand saying to him thirty years earlier, "I like the fact that you're provoking. But don't provoke
me."
In 1962, after several appearances on
P.M. East P.M. West, Streisand first appeared on
Broadway, in the small but star-making role of Miss Marmelstein in the
musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale. She also signed her first recording contract that year with
Columbia Records. She appeared on the
Ed Sullivan Show in 1962, and this brought Streisand to the attention of fellow guest
Liberace, who featured her in his acts in Las Vegas.
On September 9, 1963, Streisand appeared as the opening act for piano virtuoso
Liberace at Harrah's Lake Tahoe South Shore Room. She was touted as "the nation's newest singing sensation . . . who comes to Tahoe from a record-smashing engagement at Hollywood's Cocoanut Grove." In July, Streisand had first performed with Liberace at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas.
Her first album,
The Barbra Streisand Album, won two
Grammy Awards in 1963. Her recording success continued, and at one time Streisand's first three albums appeared simultaneously on
Billboard's pop albums Top Ten - an unusual feat considering it was at a time when
rock and roll and
The Beatles dominated the charts.
Following her success in
I Can Get It for You Wholesale, Streisand made several appearances on
The Tonight Show when it was hosted by
Johnny Carson. Portions of their conversations in 1962 and 1963 survive in audio. When they first sat down together in 1962, they covered topics ranging from her En Pierre dresses that she bought wholesale to her "crazy" reputation at
Erasmus Hall High School to her desire to sing at the
Metropolitan Opera and travel around the world.
NBC wiped all the videotapes as it did with a large majority of
Tonight broadcasts in the 1950s and 1960s.
Streisand returned to Broadway in 1964 with an acclaimed performance as entertainer
Fanny Brice in
Funny Girl at the
Winter Garden Theatre. The show introduced two of her signature songs,
People and
Don't Rain on My Parade. The play's overnight success resulted in Streisand's becoming one of the youngest women ever to grace the cover of
Time. Although she continued to sing on television shows, she evidently decided during this period not to sit down with Johnny Carson again and to stop adlibbing with other talk hosts in the United States. In 1966, she repeated her success with
Funny Girl in London's West End at the
Prince of Wales Theatre.
One notable American TV special was a documentation of her 1967 free concert in New York's Central Park, at which she sang to a crowd of some 135,000 people.
Singing career
Streisand has recorded more than 60 albums, almost all with the
Columbia Records label. Streisand has stamped nearly every song she's sung with her unique style of interpretation. Her early works in the 1960s (her debut,
The Second Barbra Streisand Album,
The Third Album,
My Name Is Barbra, etc.) are considered classic renditions of theater and cabaret standards, including her version of "Happy Days Are Here Again". She performed this in a duet on The Judy Garland Show. Garland referred to her as one of the last great belters. Beginning with
My Name Is Barbra, her early albums were often medley-filled keepsakes of her television specials.
Starting in 1969, Streisand began attempting more contemporary material, but like many talented singers of the day, she found herself out of her element with
rock. But her vocal talents prevailed, and she gained newfound success with the pop and ballad-oriented
Richard Perry-produced album
Stoney End in 1971. The title track, written by
Laura Nyro, was a major hit for Streisand.
During the 1970s, she was also highly prominent in the pop charts, with Top 10 recordings such as
The Way We Were (US No. 1),
Evergreen (US No. 1),
No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (with
Donna Summer) (US No. 1),
You Don't Bring Me Flowers (with
Neil Diamond) (US No. 1) and
The Main Event (US No. 3), some of which came from soundtrack recordings of her films.
As the 1970s ended, Streisand was named the most successful female singer in the U.S. - only
Elvis Presley and
The Beatles had sold more albums. In 1982,
New York Times music critic
Stephen Holden wrote that Streisand was "the most influential mainstream American pop singer since
Frank Sinatra.". In 1980, she released her best-selling effort to date, the
Barry Gibb-produced
Guilty. The album contained the hits
Woman In Love (which spent several weeks atop the pop charts in the Fall of 1980),
Guilty and
What Kind of Fool.
After years of largely ignoring Broadway and traditional pop music in favor of more contemporary material, Streisand finally returned to her musical-theater roots with 1985's
The Broadway Album, which was unexpectedly successful, holding the coveted #1 Billboard position for three straight weeks, and being certified quadruple Platinum. The album featured tunes by
Rodgers & Hammerstein,
George Gershwin,
Jerome Kern and, most notably,
Stephen Sondheim - who was even persuaded to rework some of his songs especially for this recording. The Broadway Album was met with nearly universal acclaim including a nomination for Album of the Year and, ultimately, handed Streisand her eighth Grammy as Best Female Vocalist. After releasing the live album
One Voice in 1986, Streisand was set to take another musical journey along the Great White Way in 1988. She recorded several cuts for the album under the direction of
Rupert Holmes, including
On My Own (from
Les Misérables), a medley of
How Are Things in Glocca Morra? and
Heather on the Hill (from
Finian's Rainbow and
Brigadoon, respectively),
All I Ask of You (from
Phantom of the Opera),
Warm All Over (from
The Most Happy Fella) and an unusual solo version of
Make Our Garden Grow (from
Candide). Streisand wasn't happy with the direction of the project and it was ultimately scrapped. Only
Warm All Over and a reworked, Lite FM-friendly version of
All I Ask of You were ever released - the latter appearing on Streisand's 1988 effort,
Till I Loved You.
The beginning of the 1990s found Streisand focusing on her directorial efforts and largely inactive in the recording studio. In 1991, a four-disc box set,
Just for the Record, was released. A compilation spanning Streisand's entire career to date, it featured over 70 tracks of live performances, greatest hits, rarities and previously-unreleased material.
The following year, Streisand's concert fundraising events helped propel former President
Bill Clinton into the spotlight and into office. Streisand later introduced Clinton at his inauguration in 1993. Streisand's music career, however, was largely on hold. A 1992 appearance at an APLA benefit as well as the aforementioned inaugural performance hinted that Streisand was becoming more receptive to the idea of a live performances. A tour was suggested, though Streisand wouldn't immediately commit to it, citing her her well-known stage fright as well as security concerns. During this time, Streisand finally returned to the recording studio and released
Back to Broadway in June of 1993. The album wasn't as universally lauded as its predecessor, but it did debut at #1 on the pop charts (a rare feat for an artist of Streisand's age, especially given that it relegated Janet Jackson's
Janet to the #2 spot). One of the album's highlights was a medley of
I Have A Love / One Hand, One Heart a duet with the legendary
Johnny Mathis, whom Streisand said is one of her favorite singers.
In September 1993, Streisand made global news, announcing her first public concert appearances in 27 years. What began as a two-night New Year's event at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas eventually led to a multi-city tour in the Summer of 1994. Tickets to the tour were sold out in under one hour. Streisand also appeared on the covers of major magazines in anticipation of what
Time magazine named "The Music Event of the Century". The tour was one of the biggest all-media merchandise parlays in history. Ticket prices ranged from
US$50 to US$1,500 - making Streisand the highest paid concert performer in history.
Barbra Streisand: The Concert went on to be the top grossing concert of the year, earned five
Emmy Awards and the
Peabody Award, and the taped broadcast on
HBO is, to date, the highest rated concert special in HBO's 30 year history.
Following the tour's conclusion, Streisand once again kept a low profile musically, instead focusing her efforts on her acting and directing duties as well as her burgeoning romance with actor
James Brolin. In 1997, Streisand finally returned to the recording studio, releasing
Higher Ground - a collection of songs of a loosely-inspirational nature which also featured a duet with
Celine Dion. The album received generally favorable reviews and, remarkably, once again debuted at #1 on the pop charts.
Following her marriage to Brolin in 1998, Streisand recorded an album of love songs entitled
A Love Like Ours the following year. Reviews were mixed, with many critics carping about the somewhat syrupy sentiments and overly-lush arrangements; however, it did produce a modest hit for Streisand in the country-tinged
If You Ever Leave Me, a duet with
Vince Gill.
On New Year's Eve 1999, Streisand returned to the concert stage, giving the highest grossing single concert in
Las Vegas history to date. At the end of the millennium, she was the number one female singer in the U.S., with at least two #1 albums in each decade since she began performing. A 2-disc live album of the concert entitled
Timeless: Live in Concert was released in 2000.
Streisand's most recent albums have been
Christmas Memories (2001), a somewhat somber collection of holiday songs (which felt entirely - albeit unintentionally - appropriate in the early post-9/11 days), and
The Movie Album (2003), featuring famous movie themes and backed by a large symphony
orchestra.
Guilty Pleasures (called
Guilty Too in the UK), a collaboration with Barry Gibb and a sequel to their previous
Guilty, was released worldwide in 2005.
In February 2006, Streisand recorded the song
Smile alongside
Tony Bennett at Streisand's
Malibu home. The song is included on Tony Bennett's 80th Birthday Album,
Duets. In September 2006, the pair filmed a live performance of the song for a special directed by Rob Marshall entitled
Tony Bennett: An American Classic. The special aired on NBC Television
November 21,
2006, and was released on DVD the same day. Streisand's duet with Bennett opens the special.
In advance of four concerts (two each in Los Angeles and New York) in September 2000, Streisand announced she was retiring from future paying public concerts. Her performance of the song
People was broadcast on the Internet via America Online.
In 2006, Streisand came out of retirement and announced her intent to tour again, in an effort to raise money and awareness for multiple issues. After four days of rehearsal at the
Sovereign Bank Arena in
Trenton, New Jersey, the tour began on
October 4 at the Wachovia Center in
Philadelphia and concluded at Staples Center in Los Angeles on
November 20,
2006. Special guests
Il Divo were interwoven throughout the show. On stage closing night, Streisand hinted that six more concerts may follow on foreign soil. The show was known as .
On
October 9,
2006, Streisand performed a concert at the
Madison Square Garden, featuring a
skit that made fun of President
George W. Bush. When one
heckler continued to yell repeated taunts during and long after the skit had ended, Streisand responded by shouting "Shut the fuck up!" She later apologized, but added that "The artist's role is to disturb." Ultimately, Streisand endured negative reaction to the sketch at only two out of her twenty concert dates. It was thought that an audience member in Fort Lauderdale threw liquid from a cup at her because of the skit, but the incident was found to be non-political.
Streisand's 20-concert tour set record box office numbers. At the age of 64, well past the prime of most performers, she grossed US$92,457,062 and set house gross records in 14 of the 16 arenas played on the tour. She set the third place record for her
October 9, 2006 show at Madison Square Garden, the first and second place records of which are held by her two shows in September 2000. She set the second place record at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with her
December 31, 1999 show being the house record and the highest grossing concert of all time. This led many people to openly criticize Streisand for price gouging, as many tickets sold for upwards of US$1,000.
A collection of performances culled from different stops on this tour,
Live in Concert 2006, debuted at #7 on the
Billboard 200, making it Streisand's 29th Top 10 album. In the summer of 2007, Streisand gave concerts for the first time in continental
Europe. The first concert took place in
Zürich (June 18), then
Vienna (June 22),
Paris (June 26),
Berlin (June 30),
Stockholm (July 4, cancelled),
Manchester (July 10) and
Celbridge, near Dublin (July 14), followed by three concerts in
London (July 18, 22 and 25), the only European city where Streisand had performed before 2007. Tickets for the London dates cost between
GB£100.00 and GB£1,500.00 and for the Ireland date between
€118.00 and €500.00. The tour included a 58 piece orchestra.
In February 2008, Forbes Magazine listed Streisand as the #2 richest woman (as a singer) in 2007, with earnings of about US$60 million.
(External Link
) Although Streisand's range has diminished with time and her voice has become deeper and huskier in recent years (which is particularly evident in her live performances), her vocal prowess has remained remarkably secure for a singer whose career has endured for nearly half a century.
Film career
Her first film was a reprise of her Broadway hit,
Funny Girl (1968), an artistic and commercial success, for which she won the 1968
Academy Award for Best Actress, sharing it with
Katharine Hepburn (
The Lion in Winter), the first time there was a tie in this
Oscar category. Her next two movies were also based on musicals,
Jerry Herman's
Hello, Dolly! (1969) and
Alan Jay Lerner's and
Burton Lane's
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970), while her fourth film was based on the Broadway play
The Owl and the Pussycat (film) (1970).
She also starred in the original
screwball comedies, including
What's Up, Doc? (1972), with
Ryan O'Neal, and
For Pete's Sake (1974), and the drama
The Way We Were (1973) with
Robert Redford.
Her second
Academy Award was for
Best Original Song as
composer of the song "
Evergreen", from
A Star Is Born (1976); this was the first time a woman had received this award.
Along with
Paul Newman and
Sidney Poitier, Streisand formed First Artists Production Company in 1969 so the actors could secure properties and develop movie projects for themselves. Streisand's initial outing with First Artists was the personal
Up the Sandbox (1972).
In 1970, she'd a topless scene in
The Owl and the Pussycat. She regretted the move and requested that director Herbert Ross delete the scene from the movie. Years later,
High Society magazine obtained the original negative from the film, which included the topless scene. When they published the photos of her bare breasts, Streisand took action to remove the magazine from the stands.
The Owl and the Pussycat is also notable for being the first Hollywood film in which a major Hollywood star (Streisand) uttered the word "fuck."
From a period beginning in 1969 and ending in 1980, Streisand appeared in the annual motion picture exhibitors poll of Top 10 Box Office attractions a total of 10 times, often as the only woman on the list. But after the disappointment of
All Night Long in 1981, Streisand's film output decreased considerably. She has only acted in five films since.
Streisand produced a number of her own films, setting up
Barwood Films in 1972. For
Yentl (1983), she was producer, director, writer, and star, an experience she repeated for
The Prince of Tides (1991).
Steven Spielberg called
Yentl a masterpiece, and both won critical acclaim. There was controversy when
Yentl received five Academy Award nominations but none for the major categories of Best Picture, Actress, or Director.
Prince of Tides received even more nominations, including Best Picture, but the director wasn't nominated.
In
2004, Streisand made a return to film acting, after an eight-year hiatus, in the comedy
Meet the Fockers (a sequel to
Meet the Parents), playing opposite
Dustin Hoffman,
Ben Stiller,
Blythe Danner and
Robert De Niro.
Streisand has made only 17 films in her 40 year movie career, this however hasn't stopped her accumulative worldwide box office total being over 1.3 billion US Dollars.
Politics
Streisand has long been an active supporter of the
Democratic Party and many of its causes, such as working against
global warming, supporting
gun control (she executive-produced the film
The Long Island Incident, about a mass shooting on the
Long Island Railroad), getting more useful aid for victims of
Hurricane Katrina, and questioning the motives behind the
2003 invasion of Iraq. She also strongly supports abortion rights. Streisand performed both at
Lyndon B. Johnson's (1965) and
Bill Clinton's (1993) inauguration galas. On
November 27,
2007, Streisand endorsed 2008 presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton.
Lawsuit
Streisand sued Kenneth Adelman, an aerial photographer who displayed a photo of her
Malibu, California home along with other photos of the entire California coastline on the website of the
California Coastal Records Project. Her suit was dismissed under the anti-
SLAPP provisions of California law.
Streisand v. Adelman Et al, in California Superior Court; Case SC077257. The publicity generated by her efforts to suppress the photograph has given rise to the term
Streisand effect.
Awards
Music awards
| Year |
Award |
Position |
| 1963 |
Grammy for Album Of The Year (The Barbra Streisand Album) |
Winner |
| 1963 |
Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance (The Barbra Streisand Album) |
Winner |
| 1963 |
Grammy for Record Of The Year ("Happy Days Are Here Again") |
Nominated |
| 1964 |
Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance ("People") |
Winner |
| 1964 |
Grammy for Album Of The Year (People) |
Nominated |
| 1964 |
Grammy for Record Of The Year ("People") |
Nominated |
| 1965 |
Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance (My Name Is Barbra) |
Winner |
| 1965 |
Grammy for Album Of The Year (My Name Is Barbra) |
Nominated |
| 1966 |
Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance (Color Me Barbra) |
Nominated |
| 1966 |
Grammy for Album Of The Year (Color Me Barbra) |
Nominated |
| 1968 |
Grammy for Best Contemporany-Pop Vocal Performance (Funny Girl Soundtrack) |
Nominated |
| 1970 |
AGVA Georgie Award for Entertainer Of The Year |
Winner |
| 1972 |
Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance ("Sweet Inspiration/Where You Lead") |
Nominated |
| 1972 |
AGVA Georgie Award for Singing Star Of The Year |
Winner |
| 1975 |
People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Singer Of The Year |
Winner |
| 1976 |
Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance (Classical Barbra) |
Nominated |
| 1977 |
Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance ("Love Theme from A Star Is Born") |
Winner |
| 1977 |
Grammy for Song Of The Year ("Love Theme from A Star Is Born") |
Winner |
| 1977 |
Grammy for Record Of The Year ("Love Theme from A Star Is Born") |
Nominated |
| 1977 |
Grammy for Best Original Score - Motion Picture or Television Special (A Star Is Born) |
Nominated |
| 1977 |
AGVA Georgie Award for Singing Star Of The Year |
Winner |
| 1978 |
Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance ("You Don't Bring Me Flowers - Solo Version") |
Nominated |
| 1979 |
Grammy for Record Of The Year ("You Don't Bring Me Flowers - duet with Neil Diamond") |
Nominated |
| 1979 |
Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Duo, Group, or Chorus ("You Don't Bring Me Flowers - duet with Neil Diamond") |
Nominated |
| 1980 |
Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Duo, Group, or Chorus ("Guilty - duet with Barry Gibb") |
Winner |
| 1980 |
Grammy for Album Of The Year (Guilty) |
Nominated |
| 1980 |
Grammy for Record Of The Year ("Woman In Love") |
Nominated |
| 1980 |
Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Female Performance ("Woman In Love") |
Nominated |
| 1980 |
AGVA Georgie Award for Singing Star Of The Year |
Winner |
| 1985 |
People's Choice Award for Favorite All-Around Female Entertainer |
Winner |
| 1986 |
Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Female Performance (The Broadway Album) |
Winner |
| 1986 |
Grammy for Album Of The Year (The Broadway Album) |
Nominated |
| 1986 |
Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement Acompanying Vocal ("Being Alive") |
Nominated |
| 1987 |
Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Female Performance (One Voice) |
Nominated |
| 1987 |
Grammy for Best Music Video Performance (One Voice) |
Nominated |
| 1988 |
People's Choice Award for Favorite All-Time Musical Performer |
Winner |
| 1991 |
Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance ("Warm All Over") |
Nominated |
| 1992 |
Grammy Legend Award |
Special Award |
| 1993 |
Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance (Back To Broadway) |
Nominated |
| 1994 |
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award |
Special Award |
| 1994 |
Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance (Barbra: The Concert) |
Nominated |
| 1994 |
Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance ("Ordinary Miracles") |
Nominated |
| 1997 |
Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals ("Tell Him - with Céline Dion") |
Nominated |
| 1997 |
Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals ("I Finally Found Someone - with Bryan Adams") |
Nominated |
| 2000 |
Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (Timeless - Live In Concert) |
Nominated |
| 2002 |
Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (Christmas Memories) |
Nominated |
| 2003 |
Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (The Movie Album) |
Nominated |
| 2004 |
Grammy Hall Of Fame (Funny Girl) Original Broadway Cast; Barbra Streisand And Sydney Chaplin |
Inducted |
| 2006 |
Grammy Hall Of Fame (The Barbra Streisand Album) |
Inducted |
| 2007 |
Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (Live In Concert 2006) |
Nominated |
| 2008 |
Grammy Hall Of Fame ("The Way We Were") |
Inducted |
Other awards
Other recognitions (for career, political woman...) / 42 wins and 29 nominations
| Year |
Award |
Position |
| 1962 |
New York Drama Critics Poll for Best Supporting Actress In a Musical (as Miss Marmelstein in I Can Get It For You Whosale) |
Winner |
| 1962 |
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress In a Musical (as Miss Marmelstein in I Can Get It For You Whosale) |
Nominated |
| 1964 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series (The Judy Garland Show) |
Nominated |
| 1964 |
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl) |
Nominated |
| 1965 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement (My Name Is Barbra) |
Winner |
| 1965 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Program Achievement (My Name Is Barbra) |
Winner |
| 1966 |
Peabody Award for Outstanding Program Achievement (My Name Is Barbra) |
Winner |
| 1968 |
Golden Apple Award for Female Star Of The Year |
Winner |
| 1969 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety or Musical Program (A Happening In Central Park) |
Nominated |
| 1969 |
Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl) |
Winner |
| 1969 |
Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy (as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl) |
Winner |
| 1969 |
David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress (as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl) |
Winner |
| 1970 |
BAFTA Film Award for Best Actres (as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl) |
Nominated |
| 1970 |
BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress (as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!) |
Nominated |
| 1970 |
Tony Award - Stars Of The Decade (for her career in theatre) |
Special Award |
| 1970 |
Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy (as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!) |
Nominated |
| 1970 |
Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite - Female |
Special Award |
| 1970 |
Golden Laurel Award for Female Comedy Performance (as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl) |
Winner |
| 1970 |
Golden Laurel Award for Female Star |
32rd Place |
| 1971 |
Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite - Female |
Special Award |
| 1971 |
Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/omedy (as Doris Wilgus in The Owl and The Pussycat) |
Nominated |
| 1971 |
Golden Laurel Award for Best Comedy Performance, Female (as Doris Wilgus in The Owl and The Pussycat) |
2nd Place |
| 1971 |
Golden Laurel Award for Female Star |
2nd Place |
| 1974 |
Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (as Katie Morosky in The Way We Were) |
Nominated |
| 1974 |
David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress (as Katie Morosky in The Way We Were) |
Winner |
| 1974 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy-Variety, Variety or Music Special (Barbra Streisand... and Other Musical Instruments) |
Nominated |
| 1974 |
Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama (as Katie Morosky in The Way We Were) |
Nominated |
| 1975 |
BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress (as Katie Morosky in The Way We Were) |
Nominated |
| 1975 |
Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite - Female |
Special Award |
| 1975 |
People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Actress |
Winner |
| 1976 |
Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy (as Fanny Brice in Funny Lady) |
Nominated |
| 1977 |
Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song (Evergreen - Love Theme from A Star Is Born) |
Winner |
| 1977 |
Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy (as Esther Hoffman in A Star Is Born) |
Winner |
| 1977 |
Golden Globe for Best Original Song - Motion Picture (green - Love Theme from A Star Is Born) |
Winner |
| 1977 |
People's Choice Award for World Film Favorite - Female |
Winner |
| 1978 |
BAFTA / AAAFM Award for Best Music (A Star Is Born) |
Nominated |
| 1978 |
Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite - Female |
Special Award |
| 1978 |
People's Choice Award for World Film Favorite - Female |
Winner |
| 1982 |
Razzie Award for Worst Actress (as Cheryl Gibbons in All Night Long) |
Nominated |
| 1984 |
Golden Globe for Best Director - Motion Picture (as director of Yentl) |
Winner |
| 1984 |
Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a MotPicture - Comedy/Musical (as Yentl/Ashel in Yentl) |
Nominated |
| 1984 |
Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy (as producer of Yentl) |
Winner |
| 1984 |
Special Silver Ribbon for Best Director of a Foreign Film (as director of Yentl) |
Winner |
| 1982 |
Razzie Award for Worst Actress (as Yentl/Ashel in Yentl) |
Nominated |
| 1984 |
Crystal Award (as a woman in film) |
Special Award |
| 1987 |
CableACE Award for Performance in a Music Special (Putting It Together: The Making of the Broadway Album) |
Nominated |
| 1988 |
ASCAP Award for Most Performed Feature Film Standards (Evergreen - Love Theme From A Star Is Born) |
Winner |
| 1988 |
Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (as Claudia Faith Draper in Nuts) |
Nominated |
| 1992 |
Academy Award for Best Picture (as producer of The Prince Of Tides) |
Nominated |
| 1992 |
DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (as director of The Prince Of Tides) |
Nominated |
| 1992 |
Golden Globe for Best Director - Motion Picture (as director of The Prince Of Tides) |
Nominated |
| 1992 |
Dorothy Arzner Special Recognition Award (as a woman in film) |
Special Award |
| 1994 |
DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical/Variety Television Program (Barbra: The Concert) |
Winner |
| 1995 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program (Barbra: The Concert) |
|
| 1995 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special (Barbra: The Concert) |
Winner |
| 1995 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Variety or Music Program (Barbra: The Concert) |
Nominated |
| 1995 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie (Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story) |
Nominated |
| 1995 |
CableACE Award for Best Performance in a Music Special or Series (Barbra: The Concert) |
Winner |
| 1995 |
CableACE Award for Best Direction of a Music Special or Series (Barbra: The Concert) |
Winner |
| 1995 |
Peabody Award (Barbra: The Concert) |
Winner |
| 1997 |
Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song (I Finally Found Someone - from The Mirror Has Two Faces) |
Nominated |
| 1997 |
Golden Globe for Best Original Song - Motion Picture (I Finally Found Someone - from The Mirror Has Two Faces) |
Nominated |
| 1997 |
Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical (as Rose Morgan in The Mirror Has Two Faces) |
Nominated |
| 1998 |
ASCAP Award for Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures (I Finally Found Someone from The Mirror Has Two Faces) |
Nominated |
| 2000 |
Cecil B. DeMille Award (for her film career) |
Special Award |
| 2001 |
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special (Reel Models: The First Women of Film) |
Winner |
| 2001 |
Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program (Timeless: Live In Concert) |
Winner |
| 2001 |
AFI Life Achievement Award (for her film career) |
Special Award |
| 2002 |
DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical/Variety (Timeless: Live In Concert) |
Nominated |
| 2007 |
Member of The Long Island Hall Of Fame |
Member |
| 2007 |
Officer of the Légion d'Honeur, France (for her career) |
Special Award |
Personal life
Barbra Streisand has been married twice. Her first husband was actor
Elliott Gould, to whom she was married from 1963 to 1971. They have one child,
Jason Gould. Her second husband is
James Brolin, whom she married on
July 1, 1998. The wedding was reported regularly in the celebrity gossip media. While they've no children together, Brolin has two children from his first marriage and one child from his second marriage.
Both of her husbands starred in the 1970s conspiracy thriller
Capricorn One.
Streisand allegedly dated
Ryan O'Neal,
Tom Smothers,
Warren Beatty,
Jon Voight, former
Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau, producer
Jon Peters,
Omar Sharif,
Don Johnson,
Dodi Al-Fayed,
Steve McQueen,
Anthony Newley,
Kris Kristofferson,
Andre Agassi, and news anchor
Peter Jennings. Jon Peters' daughters,
Caleigh Peters and
Skye Peters, are her goddaughters.
On a Season 8 episode of
Friends, Brolin is mentioned in the script. In the same episode, Gould appears on the show as Ross and Monica's father.
Streisand shares a birthday with
Shirley MacLaine, and they celebrate together every year.
Streisand's philanthropic organization,
The Streisand Foundation, gives grants to "national organizations working on preservation of the environment, voter education, the protection of civil liberties and civil rights, women’s issues and nuclear disarmament" and has given large donations to programs related to women's health.
References in popular culture
Streisand's iconic status has been parodied on the
sketch comedy show
Saturday Night Live in the recurring skit
Coffee Talk where character
Linda Richman, played by
Mike Myers, hosts a
talk show dedicated to, among other things, the adoration of Streisand. Streisand, in turn, made an unannounced guest appearance on the show, surprising Myers and guests,
Madonna, and
Roseanne Barr.
Streisand has been repeatedly satirized in the animated series
South Park, most notably the episode "
Mecha-Streisand", where she's portrayed as self-important and turns into a gigantic robotic dinosaur in order to conquer the universe, before being defeated by
Robert Smith of
The Cure. On another occasion, the
Halloween episode "
Spookyfish" was promoted for a week as being done in "Spooky-Vision", which involved Streisand's face seen at times during the episode in the four corners of the screen. At the end of the feature film
, her name is used as a powerful curse word, a gag repeated in the episode "
Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants".
Streisand is the favorite of the character Howard Brackett, played by
Kevin Kline, in the film
In & Out, who finally admits to being gay while standing at the altar. His unfortunate bride-to-be, played by
Joan Cusack, cries out in frustration to family and friends present, "Do you know how many times I've had to sit through
Funny Lady?" In an earlier scene, Howard is taunted by a friend during an argument at a bar with a jeering, "The studio thought that Barbra was too ol-l-ld to play
Yentl." Barbra's signature tune, "People", is played by a school orchestra in honor of teacher Howard as the story wraps at the end of the credits. This and similar references refer to her popularity among gay men.
Streisand is mentioned many times in
Fran Drescher's
The Nanny, where
Fran Drescher played
Fran Fine who, along with her entire family, is obsessed with the performer.
In 1993
Robin Williams'
Mrs. Doubtfire, while trying different looks to apply to the Mrs. Doubtfire character, Williams uses a wig "a la Streisand" and sings some lines from "Don't Rain On My Parade", but discarded the idea.
Streisand is referenced in at least two episodes of
Friends. In
The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister,
Monica names a sandwich at her 50's-styled restaurant after Barbra. A soup is also named after Barbra's movie
Yentl. Meanwhile, in The One After 'I Do', Phoebe pretends she's pregnant with
James Brolin's baby, to which
Chandler Bing responds "[A]s in Barbra Streisand's husband, James Brolin?"
Streisand is referenced in at least three episodes of
The Simpsons. Outside Springfield Elementary School, announcing Lisa's jazz concert, is an advertisement for a Streisand concert in the same venue for the following day, with tickets still on sale. In another episode, after Marge undergoes therapy, she informs the therapist that whenever she hears the wind blow, she'll hear it saying "Lowenstein", Streisand's therapist character in
The Prince of Tides, despite Marge's therapist having a completely different name. Another reference comes in "
Sleeping with the Enemy" when Bart exclaims after seeing Lisa make a snow-angel in a cake on the kitchen table, "At least she's not singing Streisand".
In
The In-Laws,
Michael Douglas's character borrows Streisand's jet, and in the bathroom "The Way We Were" is playing on the speaker system and
Albert Brooks finds a large drawer full of nail polish, referencing her signature long fingernails.
In the movie
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas a teenage runaway (played by
Christina Ricci) paints images of Streisand while being administered large amounts of LSD by Hunter Thompson's Samoan attorney.
In the Broadway Musical
Spamalot, the song "You can't succeed on Broadway" references lines from "People" and "Papa, Can You Hear Me?".
In the internet cartoon and subsequent movie
Queer Duck, the character is obsessed with Streisand. In the film he undergoes Christian-based conversion therapy to be made straight, and only Barbra's magic nose can return him to his gayness.
In a
Family Guy episode, where Peter is a bartender, Lois does a cabaret act and sings "Don't Rain On My Parade," only slowed down and jazzier, as an act of defiance to Peter.
In a
Family Guy episode, Peter received life insurance after Lois died. Peter then claimed that he's more money than Streisand. This was followed by a cut scene showing Streisand and her husband in their home. The husband asked for money and Streisand pressed one nostril of her nose and dollar bills came out the other nostril.
In
Chicken Little, Chicken's best friend Runt's mom says, after she thinks he's lying about seeing an alien spaceship, "Don't make me take away your Streisand collection!" and Runt returns with, "Mother, you leave Barbra out of this!"
Appearances
Broadway performances
Television specials
| Year |
Title |
Notes |
| 1965 |
My Name Is Barbra |
|
| 1966 |
Color Me Barbra |
|
| 1967 |
The Belle of 14th Street |
|
| 1968 |
A Happening in Central Park |
filmed June 17 1967 |
| 1973 |
Barbra Streisand... and Other Musical Instruments |
|
| 1975 |
Funny Girl to Funny Lady |
|
| 1976 |
Barbra: With One More Look at You |
|
| 1983 |
A Film Is Born: The Making of 'Yentl' |
|
| 1986 |
Putting it Together: The Making of The Broadway Album |
|
| 1987 |
One Voice |
|
| 1994 |
Barbra Streisand: The Concert |
Also producer |
| 2000 |
Barbra Streisand: Timeless |
|
Discography
Filmography
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Box-Office Worldwide |
Rentals |
| 1968 |
Funny Girl |
Fanny Brice |
US$87.0 million |
US$30.0 million |
| 1969 |
Hello, Dolly! |
Dolly Levi |
US$56.0 million |
US$50.0 million |
| 1970 |
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever |
Daisy Gamble / Melinda Tentres |
US$26.0 million |
US$12.0 million |
| 1970 |
The Owl and the Pussycat |
Doris Wilgus/Wadsworth/Wellington/Waverly |
US$11.0 million |
US$6.0 million |
| 1972 |
What's Up, Doc? |
Judy Maxwell |
US$56.0 million |
US$37.0 million |
| 1972 |
Up the Sandbox |
Margaret Reynolds |
US$15.0 million |
US$13.0 million |
| 1973 |
The Way We Were |
Katie Morosky |
US$78.0 million |
US$31.0 million |
| 1974 |
For Pete's Sake |
Henrietta 'Henry' Robbins |
US$16.0 million |
US$11.0 million |
| 1975 |
Funny Lady |
Fanny Brice |
US$63.0 million |
US$19.3 million |
| 1976 |
A Star Is Born |
Esther Hoffman Howard |
US$123.0 million |
US$38.0 million |
| 1979 |
The Main Event |
Hillary Kramer |
US$62.2 million |
US$31.0 million |
| 1981 |
All Night Long |
Cheryl Gibbons |
US$10.0 million |
US$8.0 million |
| 1983 |
Yentl |
Yentl/Anshel (also director) |
US$63.2 million |
US$28.6 million |
| 1987 |
Nuts |
Claudia Faith Draper |
US$34.0 million |
US$14.0 million |
| 1991 |
The Prince of Tides |
Dr. Susan Lowenstein (also director) |
US$118.0 million |
US$43.0 million |
| 1996 |
The Mirror Has Two Faces |
Rose Morgan (also director) |
US$62.0 million |
US$26.0 million |
| 2004 |
Meet the Fockers |
Roz Focker |
US$516.0 million |
US$23.0 million |
| TOTAL BOX OFFICE AND RENTALS |
|
|
US$1.381,4 million |
US$707,6 million |
Further Information
Get more info on 'Barbara Streisand'.
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