Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand (born
April 24,
1942) is two-time
Academy Award-winning
American singer,
theatre and
film actress,
composer,
film producer and
director. She won
Oscars for
Best Actress and
Best Original Song.
Early years
She was born
Barbara Joan Streisand to a Jewish family in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn,
New York then moved to
Brooklyn. Her father, Emanuel Streisand, a grammar teacher, died when she was only 15 months old, and she had a turbulent relationship with her
stepfather, Louis Kind. Her mother, Diana Ida Rosen, did not encourage her daughter to pursue a show business career, opining that Barbara was not attractive enough. This criticism, many speculate, led to a lifelong insecurity about her appearance, despite her success in show business.
She was educated at
Erasmus Hall High School, where she graduated fourth in her class in 1959, and sang in the school choir with
Neil Diamond. She never attended college.
Early singing, theater, and television career
Following a music competition, she became a
nightclub singer 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 shape a club act — first performed in a
gay bar in
Manhattan's
Greenwich Village in
1960 — she became a success as a singer. It was at this time that she shortened her
first name to
Barbra to make it more distinctive.
In
1962 Streisand appeared on
Broadway, first in a small but star-making role in the
musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962), and she quickly signed her first recording contract with
Columbia Records in
1962. 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.
Jule Styne's and
Bob Merrill's
Funny Girl (
1964), based upon the life of
Fanny Brice, was fashioned for Streisand after Styne saw Streisand's
Wholesale performance, though the wife of Ray Stark (the show's producer), daughter of Fannie Brice, was strongly opposed, and preferred
Carol Burnett.
After some notable television appearances, Streisand built on her success with a number of television specials for
CBS. The first special,
My Name Is Barbra (1965), has been praised by critics and fans.
Singing career
Barbra Streisand has recorded more than 60 albums, almost all with the
Columbia Records label. 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 theatre and nightclub standards, including her famously
ironic version of "Happy Days Are Here Again". Beginning with
My Name Is Barbra her albums were often medley-filled keepsakes of her television specials.
Starting in
1969, Streisand tackled contemporary songwriters; she floundered on attempts to tackle
rock, but finally found success with the pop and ballad-oriented,
Richard Perry-produced
Stoney End in
1971, whose
Laura Nyro-written title track was a big hit.
|
Streisand's 1980 album, Guilty featured the songwriting, production and vocal talents of Barry Gibb and was one of her biggest successes |
During the
1970s she was also highly prominent in the pop charts, with number-one records like "The Way We Were", "Evergreen", "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" and "
Woman In Love"; some of these came from soundtrack records to her films.
When the 1970s ended, Streisand was named the most successful female singer in the U.S., with only
Elvis Presley and
The Beatles having sold more albums.
[Recording Industry Association of America: Newsletter 1999] In 1982, music critic Stephen Holden wrote that Streisand was "The most influential mainstream American pop singer since Frank Sinatra."
Streisand returned to her musical-theater roots with
1985's
The Broadway Album. This was an unexpected success, holding the coveted #1 Billboard position for 3 straight weeks, and being certified 3x Platinum. The album featured songs reworked by
Stephen Sondheim especially for this recording, was critically acclaimed, nominated as Album of the Yearand landed Streisand her 8th Grammy as Best Female Vocalist.
In
1991 a four-disc box set, entitled
Just for the Record was released, spanning Streisand's entire career. It featured over 70 tracks, including live material, greatest hits, and rarities, from her early recordings up to 1991.
Around
1992 music success was not in Streisand's favor. She was again, proclaimed the most influential entertainer by the
New York Times, for her relationship with President
Bill Clinton. Streisand's concert fundraising events helped propel Clinton into the spotlight and into office.
[George Magazine: November, 1996] Streisand later introduced Clinton at his inauguration in 1992. However, Streisand's music career was on hold. A tour was suggested and she debated it for 2 yrs, due to her stage fright. A year later, Streisand landed another #1
Back to Broadway (show-tunes themed piece). In September 1993, Streisand made news, announcing her first public concert tour in 27 years. Tickets to the limited tour were sold out in under 1 hr. Streisand also hit the cover 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 $50 to $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 2 Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, and the taped broadcast on HBO is to-date, the highest rated concert special in HBO's 30 year history.
On New Year's Eve
1999 she returned to the concert stage, scoring another triumph for giving the highest grossing single concert in
Las Vegas history to date. At the end of the last millennium, she was the number-one female singer in the US, with at least 2 # 1 albums in each decade since she had started out.
Her most recent albums have been
Christmas Memories (
2001), a collection of somber holiday songs, 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 album to their previous
Guilty, was released worldwide in
2005.
Film career
Her first film was a reprise ofher Broadway hit,
Funny Girl (
1968), 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 (1970).
She also starred in the original screwball comedies
What's Up, Doc? (
1972), with
Ryan O'Neal, and
For Pete's Sake (
1974), and the hugely successful drama
The Way We Were with
Robert Redford. Her second
Academy Award was for
Best Original Song as
composer of the song "
Evergreen", from
A Star Is Born (
1976) and was the first time a woman had received this award (the film itself, though, was widely criticized as a vanity project).
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, while not a huge success, was the personal
Up the Sandbox (1972).
In 1970, she had a topless scene in
The Owl and the Pussycat. She regretted the move and bought up all prints of the film, deleting the scene. When
High Society magazine published the original photos of her bare breasts, Streisand sued them. She was the largest female box office draw of the 1970s.
She has 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
[1983 Academy Awards Winners and History]. There was more controversy when
Prince of Tides received even more nominations, including Best Picture, but Streisand was snubbed for Best Director. Some claimed that her well-known uncompromising, tough behavior was to blame for the slight, while others felt that Hollywood was punishing her for being a woman, and if a man behaved the same way, he would have been given recognition.
In
2004, Streisand made a return to film acting in the comedy
Meet the Fockers (a sequel to the popular
Meet the Parents), playing opposite
Dustin Hoffman,
Ben Stiller, and
Robert DeNiro. The film was successful and garnered positive reviews for Streisand's performance as Stiller's overbearing mother.
2006: The return
In 2006, Streisand made a bold announcement that few in the public actually believed they would ever hear again. Barbra announced her intent to tour again, in an effort to raise money and awareness for multiple issues dear to Streisand's heart. The tour kicks off
October 4,
2006, at the
Wachovia Center in
Philadelphia; followed by
October 9 at
Madison Square Garden in
New York City;
October 13 at
Verizon Center in
Washington, DC;
October 18 at the Palace of
Auburn Hills, Michigan;
October 22 at the
TD Bank North Garden in
Boston;
October 28 at the
Bank Atlantic Center in
Sunrise, Florida;
November 2 at the
Phillips Arena in
Atlanta;
November 7 at the
United Center in
Chicago;
November 13 at the
HP Pavilion at
San Jose, California;
November 18 at the
MGM Grand Hotel in
Las Vegas; and ending on
November 20 at
Staples Center in
Los Angeles.
Over the years, Streisand has been the recipient of an award in every medium she has worked in. Among her awards are two Oscars, six
Emmys, eleven
Golden Globes, ten
Grammys, a Tony award, two Cable Ace awards, the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as a number of other awards.
In
1995 she received a
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
As of 2005, her U.S. album sales rank her as the
top-selling female recording artist in the US.
Even though her Tony was a special "Star of the Decade" award, Streisand remains one of only a few individuals (including
Helen Hayes,
Rita Moreno,
Liza Minnelli,
Randy Newman and
Whoopi Goldberg) to have won an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy. Her Tony was honorary rather than one of the regular awards, so she is generally not counted as on one the
winners.
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 actor
James Brolin, whom she married on
July 1,
1998. The wedding was reported regularly in the celebrity gossip media. While they have no children together, Brolin has two children from his first marriage and one child from his second marriage.
Streisand has also allegedly dated
Ryan O'Neal,
Alan Alda,
Robert Redford,
Tom Smothers,
Warren Beatty,
Jon Voight,
Canadian Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau, producer
Jon Peters,
Kris Kristofferson,
Don Johnson,
Steve McQueen,
Richard Gere,
Andre Agassi,
Dodi Al Fayed,
Peter Jennings, and (according to one biographer)
Prince Charles.
I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962),
musical -
Tony Nomination for
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a MusicalFunny Girl (1964), musical -
Tony Nomination for
Best Leading Actress in a MusicalStreisand's lowest note in record is Eb3 in her recording of "Memory". Her highest note is a D6 in "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" both live and on record.
| Year | Title | Station | Role | 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' | | | |
| 1987 | One Voice | | | |
| 1994 | Barbra Streisand: The Concert | | | Also producer |
| 2000 | Barbra Streisand: Timeless | | | |
See Barbra Streisand discography*
Best selling music artists*
List of best selling music artists in U.S.*
List of number-one hits (United States)*
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)*
List of number-one dance hits (United States)*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart*
Streisand Effect*"
Send in the Clowns", from the musical
A Little Night Music*
Official Site*
BarbraNews.com*
BarbraStreisand.de*
Classic Movies (1939 - 1969): Barbra Streisand*
Guilty Pleasures Blog*
Barbra Streisand Barbra Streisand Fan Site
*
Barbra Streisand at the
Internet Broadway Database*
Barbra Streisand Brief Biography & Filmography*
Camille Paglia discusses Barbra's current tour and her career legacy, July 2006
