Barbra Joan Streisand (
STRY-sand; born
Barbara Joan Streisand, April 24, 1942) is an
American singer, songwriter, film maker and actress. She has won
two
Academy Awards, eight
Grammy Awards, four
Emmy Awards, a Special
Tony Award, an
American Film Institute award, and a
Peabody Award.
She is one of the most commercially and critically successful
female entertainers in modern entertainment history and one of the
best-selling solo recording artists with more than 71 million
albums shipped in the United States and 140 million albums sold
worldwide. She is the best selling female artist on the
Recording Industry
Association of America's (RIAA) Top Selling Artists list and
the only female recording artist in the top ten.
According to the
RIAA, Streisand has a total of
31 top ten albums to her credit since 1963. Streisand has the
widest span (46 years) between first and latest Top 10 albums of
any female recording artist. With her
2009
album
Love Is the
Answer , she became the only artist to achieve number 1
albums in five consecutive decades. Streisand also holds the record
for the most top 10 albums of any female recording artist. Her RIAA
tally shows she has released 51 Gold albums, 30 Platinum albums,
and 13 Multi-Platinum albums in the United States.
Early years
After a music competition, Streisand became a nightclub singer
while in her teens. She originally wanted to be an actress and
appeared in summer stock and in a number of
Off-Off-Broadway productions, including
Driftwood (1959), with the then-unknown
Joan Rivers. (In her autobiography, Rivers wrote
that she played a lesbian with a crush on Barbra's character, but
this was later refuted by the play's author.)
Driftwood
ran for only six weeks.
When her boyfriend Barry Dennen helped her create a club act—first
performed in The Lion, a gay bar in Manhattan's Greenwich
Village
in 1960, she achieved success as a singer.
One early
appearance outside of New York City was at Enrico Banducci's
hungry
i
nightclub in San Francisco. In 1961 Streisand
appeared at the Town and Country nightclub in Winnipeg
, Manitoba,
but her appearance was cut short; audiences did not understand her
revolutionary singing style.
Portrait photograph, 1962
Streisand's first television appearance was on
The Tonight Show, then hosted by
Jack Paar, in 1961, singing
Harold Arlen's
A
Sleepin' Bee.
Orson Bean, who
substituted for Paar that night, had seen the singer perform at a
gay bar and booked her for the telecast. Streisand became a
semi-regular on
PM East/PM West, a talk/variety series
hosted by
Mike Wallace, in
late 1961.
Westinghouse
Broadcasting, which aired
PM East/PM
West in a select few cities (Boston, New York, Baltimore,
Washington, DC, Cleveland, Chicago and San Francisco), has since
wiped all the videotapes, due to the cost of videotape at the time.
Audio segments from some episodes are part of the compilation CD
Just for the Record, which went platinum in 1991. The
singer said on
60 Minutes in
1991 that thirty years earlier Mike Wallace had been "mean" to her
on
PM East/PM West. He countered that she had been
"self-absorbed."
60 Minutes included the audio of
Streisand saying to him in 1961, "I like the fact that you are
provoking. But don't provoke
me."
In 1962,
after several appearances on PM East/PM 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. Her first album,
The Barbra Streisand Album,
won two
Grammy Awards in 1963.
Following her success in
I Can Get It for You Wholesale,
Streisand made several appearances on
The Tonight Show in 1962. Topics
covered in her interviews with host
Johnny
Carson included the empire waisted 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.
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. Due to
the play's overnight success she appeared on the cover of
Time.
In 1966, she repeated
her success with Funny Girl in London
's West End
at the Prince of
Wales Theatre
.
Singing career
Streisand has recorded 35 studio 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 theater
and cabaret standards, including her slow version of the normally
uptempo
Happy Days Are
Here Again. She performed this in a duet on
The Judy Garland Show. Garland
referred to her on the air as one of the last great
belters. They also sang
There's No
Business Like Show Business with
Ethel Merman joining them.
Beginning with
My Name Is Barbra, her early albums were
often medley-filled keepsakes of her television specials. Starting
in 1969, she began attempting more contemporary material, but like
many talented singers of the day, she found herself out of her
element with
rock. 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 on 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) (1979, 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
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 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
Stephen Sondheim, who was persuaded to
rework some of his songs especially for this recording.
The
Broadway Album was met with 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 was not 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.
At the beginning of the 1990s, Streisand started focusing on her
directorial efforts and became almost 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 live
performances. A tour was suggested, though Streisand would not
immediately commit to it, citing 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 1993. The album was not 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, who Streisand said is one of
her favorite singers.
In 1993,
New York Times music critic
Stephen Holden wrote that Streisand "enjoys a
cultural status that only one other American entertainer,
Frank Sinatra, has achieved in the last half
century."
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 performed versions
of the "Timeless" concert in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia in
early 2000.
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.
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 2006, Streisand 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
, continued with the featured stop in Ft.
Lauderdale
, Florida (this was the concert Streisand chose to
film for a TV special), 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
Streisand: The Tour.
On
October 9, 2006, Streisand performed a concert at Madison
Square Garden
, featuring a skit that made fun of President
George W. Bush. When one heckler continued to yell
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, canceled), 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 £100.00 and GB£1,500.00 and for the Ireland date
between €118 and €500. The tour included a 58-piece
orchestra.
In February 2008,
Forbes Magazine
listed Streisand as the #2 top-earning female musician, between
June 2006 and June 2007, with earnings of about US$60 million.
Although Streisand's range has changed with time and her voice has
become deeper over the years, her vocal prowess has remained
remarkably secure for a singer whose career has endured for nearly
half a century.
On November 17, 2008, Streisand returned to the studio to begin
recording what will be her sixty-third album and it was announced
that
Diana Krall was producing the
album.
On April
25, 2009, CBS aired Streisand's latest TV
special, Streisand: Live
In Concert, highlighting the aforementioned featured stop
from her 2006 North American tour, in Ft.
Lauderdale
, Florida.
Streisand is one of the recipients of the 2008 Kennedy Center
Honors. On December 7, 2008, she visited the White House as part of
the ceremonies.
On September 26, 2009, Streisand performed a one-night-only show at
the
Village Vanguard in New York
City's Greenwich Village.
On September 29, 2009, Streisand and Columbia Records released her
newest studio album titled
Love is the Answer, produced
by
Diana Krall. On October 2, 2009,
Streisand made her British television performance debut after her
interview on
Friday
Night With Jonathan Ross, promoting the album. It resulted to
be a big success, debuting straight at #1 on the Billboard 200 and
registering her biggest weekly-sales since 1997. This made
Streisand the only artist in history to achieve #1 albums in five
different decades.
Film career
Her first film was a reprise of her Broadway hit,
Funny Girl (1968), an artistic and
commercial success directed by Hollywood veteran
William Wyler, for which she won the 1968
Academy Award for Best
Actress, sharing it with
Katharine
Hepburn (
The Lion
in Winter), the first (and only) time there was a tie in
this
Oscar category. Her next two
movies were also based on musicals,
Jerry
Herman's
Hello,
Dolly! directed by
Gene Kelly
(1969) and
Alan Jay Lerner's and
Burton Lane's
On a Clear Day You Can
See Forever directed by
Vincente Minnelli (1970), while her fourth
film was based on the Broadway play
The Owl and the
Pussycat (1970).
During the 1970s, Streisand starred in several
screwball comedies, including
What's Up, Doc? (1972) and
The Main Event
(1979), both co-starring
Ryan O'Neal,
and
For Pete's Sake
(1974) with
Michael Sarrazin. One
of her most famous roles during this period was in the drama
The Way We Were (1973) with
Robert Redford, for which she
received an
Academy Award nomination
as Best Actress. She earned her second
Academy Award for
Best Original Song as
composer (together with lyricist
Paul Williams) for the song
"
Evergreen", from
A Star Is Born
in 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
Up the Sandbox (1972).
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,
and star, an experience she repeated for
The Prince of Tides (1991) and
The Mirror Has Two
Faces (1996).
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 Oscar nominations, including Best
Picture, but the director was not nominated. Streisand is also the
writer of Yentl, something she is not always given credit for.
According to New York Times Editorial Page Editor
Andrew Rosenthal in an
interview (story begins at minute 16) with
Allan Wolper, "the one thing that makes
Barbra Streisand crazy is when nobody gives her the credit for
having written Yentl."
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.
In 2005 Streisand's Barwood Films, Gary Smith Co. and Sonny Murray
purchased the rights to
Simon Mawer's
book
Mendel's Dwarf. As of
December 2008, Streisand stated she is considering directing an
adaptation of
Larry Kramer's play
The Normal Heart -- a
project Ms. Streisand has worked on since the mid-1990s Streisand
has been seen shooting scenes for sequel to 2004's
Meet the Fockers.
Andrew Lloyd Webber stated that
Streisand is one of several actresses interested in playing the
role of Norma Desmond in the film adaptation of Webber's musical
version of
Sunset
Boulevard (Meryl Streep and Glenn Close were also
interested), although Paramount Pictures has delayed the
film.
Politics
Streisand has long been an active supporter of the
Democratic Party and many
of their causes. Streisand said, "The Democrats have always been
the party of working people and minorities. I've always identified
with the minorities."Streisand has personally raised $15 million
for organizations through her live performances. The Streisand
Foundation, established in 1986, has contributed over $16 million
through its 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." In 2006, Streisand donated $1 million to the William
Jefferson Clinton Foundation in support of President Clinton’s
climate change initiative.
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
Streisand has been nominated for over 40
Grammy Awards, of which she won 15. She's been
inducted into the
Grammy Hall of
Fame three times.
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 Contemporary-Pop Vocal Performance (Funny
Lish 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 (" Evergreen
(Love Theme from A Star Is Born)") |
Winner |
1977 |
Grammy for Song Of The Year ("Evergreen (Love Theme from A
Star Is Born)") |
Winner |
1977 |
Grammy for Record Of The Year ("Evergreen (Love Theme from
A Star Is Born)") |
Nominated |
1977 |
Grammy for Best Original Score - Motion Picture or Television
Special ("Evergreen (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 |
Personal life
Streisand has been married twice. Her first husband was actor
Elliott Gould, to whom she was married
from 1963 to 1971. They had one child,
Jason
Gould, who would go on to star as her on-screen son in
Prince of Tides. Her second
husband is
James Brolin, whom she
married on July 1, 1998. While they have no children together,
Brolin has two children from his first marriage, including academy
award nominated actor
Josh Brolin, and
one child from his second marriage. Both of her husbands starred in
the 1970s conspiracy horror thriller
Capricorn One.
Jon Peters' daughters,
Caleigh Peters and
Skye Peters, are her goddaughters.
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.
In September 2008, Parade magazine included Streisand on their
Giving Back Fund's second annual Giving Back 30 survey, "a ranking
of the celebrities who have made the largest donations to charity
in 2007 according to public records". Streisand was named third
most generous celebrity. The Giving Back Fund claimed Streisand
donated $11 million, which The Streisand Foundation
distributed.
At Julien’s Auctions in October 2009, Streisand, a long-time
collector of art and furniture, sold 526 items with all the
proceeds toward her foundation. Items included a costume from
Funny Lady and a vintage dental cabinet purchased by the
performer at 18 years old. The sale’s most valuable lot was a
painting by Kees van Dongen.
References in popular culture
On television
The most memorable parody of Streisand's iconic status has been 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. Mike Myers also
appeared as the Linda Richman character on stage with Streisand at
her 1994 MGM Grand concert, as well as a few of the 1994 Streisand
tour shows .
Streisand is mentioned many times in television sitcoms. In the CBS
1993–1999 sitcom
The Nanny,
Fran Drescher's character
Fran Fine, along with her entire family, is
obsessed with the performer.
Streisand is frequently mentioned in the sitcom
Will & Grace, particularly by the
character
Jack McFarland. Songs made
famous by Streisand, such as "
Papa, Can You Hear Me?" and "
Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" are
reproduced by characters in the show.
The sitcom
Friends refers to
Streisand in at least two episodes. In
The One Where
Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister,
Monica names a sandwich at her 1950s-styled
restaurant after Barbra Streisand. A soup is also named after
Streisand's movie
Yentl. Meanwhile, in The One After 'I
Do', Phoebe pretends she is pregnant with
James Brolin's baby, to which
Chandler Bing responds "[A]s in Barbra
Streisand's husband, James Brolin?" In the same episode, Gould
appears on the show as Ross and Monica's father.
At least four episodes of the animated sitcom
The Simpsons refer to Streisand. 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 "
Simple Simpson," the
on-stage patriotic western-singer says that Ms. Streisand is
unpatriotic and could be pleased by spitting on the flag and
strangling a bald eagle.
Another enduring satirical reference is in the animated series
South Park, most notably in the
episode "
Mecha-Streisand", where
Streisand is portrayed as a self-important, evil, gigantic robotic
dinosaur with a terrible singing voice about to conquer the
universe before being defeated by
Robert Smith of
The Cure. On another occasion, the
Halloween episode "
Spookyfish" is promoted for a week as being done
in "Spooky-Vision", which involves Streisand's face seen at times
during the episode in the four corners of the screen. At the end of
the feature film
South Park: Bigger, Longer
and Uncut, her name is used as a powerful curse word, a
gag repeated in the episode "
Osama bin Laden Has Farty
Pants".
In the 2002–04
Icebox.com cartoon and
animated TV series
Queer Duck,
the title character is obsessed with Streisand. He undergoes
Christian-based conversion therapy to be made straight; only
Barbra's magic nose can return him to his gayness.
In the Fox animated sitcom
Family
Guy, one episode shows Lois singing a cabaret act with
"Don't Rain On My Parade," only slowed down and jazzier, as an act
of defiance to Peter. In another episode, Peter received life
insurance after Lois died and claimed that he has 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 2009, the character Rachel
from the
Fox TV Musical
Glee mentions that Streisand refused
to alter her nose in order to become famous in the show's third
episode
Acafellas.
In the Fox animated comedy
American
Dad, Roger spends the episode preparing to watch
Barbara Streisand sing
the collected works of
Celine Dion in
Las Vegas.
On film
In movies, Streisand is remembered as the favorite of the character
Howard Brackett, played by
Kevin Kline,
who finally admits to being gay while standing at the altar in the
1997 romantic comedy
In &
Out. His unfortunate bride-to-be, played by
Joan Cusack, cries out in frustration to family
and friends present, "Does anybody here 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.
In the 1980 musical film
Fame, one of the characters announces
that Barbra Streisand did not have to change her name to get to the
top.
In the 1993 romantic comedy
Mrs.
Doubtfire,
Robin Williams,
while trying different looks to apply to the Mrs. Doubtfire
character that he portrays, uses a wig "a la Streisand" and sings
some lines from "Don't Rain On My Parade".
In the 1996 comedy "
The Associate",
Whoopi Goldberg plays a business
woman, Laurel Ayers, who creates a business associate, Robert S.
Cutty, who is said to have known and dated Streisand. In addition
to having an autographed picture of Streisand in her office, Ayers
also has a cross-dressing friend who dresses up to resemble
Streisand throughout the film.
In the 1998 film adaptation of the novel
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 1999 film
South Park: Bigger, Longer
and Uncut based on the
TV series,
Cartman shouted out Barbra Streisand's name and shot electricity
out of his hands. She is also mentioned in a relationship
conversation between the characters of Satan and Saddam
Hussein.
In the 2000 remake of the comedy
Bedazzled, the Devil (
Elizabeth Hurley) tells Elliot (
Brendan Fraser): "It's not easy being the
Barbra Streisand of evil, you know."
The characters Carla and Connie, as aspiring song-and-dance acts in
the 2004 comedy
Connie and
Carla, include four Streisand references. They sing
"
Papa, Can You Hear Me?" and
"
Memory" at an airport lounge and
"
Don't Rain on My Parade"
onstage in a gay bar, and talk about the plot of
Yentl at the climax of the film after they ask
how many in their audience have seen the movie (everyone raised
their hands).
In the 2005 animated feature
Chicken
Little, Chicken's best friend Runt's mom says, after she
thinks he is 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!"
On stage
Daniel Stern's 2003 Off-Broadway play
Barbra's Wedding was
set against the backdrop of Streisand's 1998 wedding to James
Brolin. The 2005 Broadway musical
Spamalot carries the song "You won't succeed
on Broadway" which references lines from "
People" and "
Papa, Can You Hear Me?".
Appearances
Broadway performances
West End performances
Year |
Title |
Notes |
1966 |
Funny Girl |
April 13, 1966—July 16, 1966 at the Prince of Wales Theatre,
London. |
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 and director |
2001 |
Barbra Streisand:
Timeless |
Aired on FOX TV February 14, 2001 (1 hour edited version) |
2009 |
Streisand: Live in
Concert |
Aired on CBS April 25, 2009 (Filmed in Florida in 2006) |
2009 |
Friday
Night with Streisand and Ross |
First Ever UK Performance |
|
Discography
Tours and live performances
Filmography
Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
1968 |
Funny Girl |
Fanny Brice |
Academy Award for
Best Actress Tied with Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in
Winter
David di Donatello
for Best Foreign Actress Tied with Mia Farrow for Rosemary's Baby
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy
Nominated—BAFTA Award for
Best Actress in a Leading Role also for Hello, Dolly!
|
1969 |
Hello, Dolly! |
Dolly Levi |
Nominated—BAFTA Award for
Best Actress in a Leading Role also for Funny Girl
Nominated—Golden
Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy
|
1970 |
On a
Clear Day You Can See Forever |
Daisy Gamble / Melinda Tentres |
The Owl and the
Pussycat |
Doris Wilgus/Wadsworth/Wellington/Waverly |
Nominated—Golden
Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy |
1972 |
What's Up,
Doc? |
Judy Maxwell |
|
Up the Sandbox |
Margaret Reynolds |
|
1973 |
The Way We Were |
Katie Morosky |
David di
Donatello for Best Foreign Actress Tied with Tatum O'Neal for Paper Moon
Nominated—Academy Award
for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden
Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
|
1974 |
For Pete's
Sake |
Henrietta 'Henry' Robbins |
|
1975 |
Funny Lady |
Fanny Brice |
Nominated—Golden
Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy |
1976 |
A Star Is
Born |
Esther Hoffman Howard |
Academy Award
for Best Original Song Shared with Paul Williams (lyrics) for the
song "Evergreen
"
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy
Golden Globe
Award for Best Original Song Shared with Paul Williams (lyrics) for the
song "Evergreen
"
Nominated—BAFTA Award
for Best Film Music Shared with Paul Williams, Kenny Ascher, Rupert
Holmes, Leon Russell, Kenny Loggins, Alan
Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Donna
Weiss
|
1979 |
The Main
Event |
Hillary Kramer |
|
1981 |
All Night
Long |
Cheryl Gibbons |
|
1983 |
Yentl |
Yentl/Anshel |
(also director)
Golden Globe Award
for Best Director
Nastro d'Argento for
Best New Foreign Director
Nominated—Golden
Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy
|
1987 |
Nuts |
Claudia Faith Draper |
Nominated—Golden
Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
1991 |
The Prince of
Tides |
Dr. Susan Lowenstein |
(also director)
Nominated—Academy Award
for Best Picture Shared with Andrew S.
Karsch
Nominated—Directors
Guild of America Award
Nominated—Golden
Globe Award for Best Director
|
1996 |
The Mirror Has Two
Faces |
Rose Morgan |
(also director)
Nominated—Academy
Award for Best Original Song Shared with Marvin Hamlisch, Robert John Lange and Bryan Adams for the song "I Finally Found
Someone"
Nominated—Golden
Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for
Best Original Song Shared with Marvin Hamlisch, Robert John Lange and Bryan Adams for the song "I Finally Found
Someone"
|
2004 |
Meet the Fockers |
Roz Focker |
|
2010 |
Little Fockers |
Roz Focker |
|
References
Further reading
External links