Barbra Streisand facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Barbra Streisand
Streisand in 2018
Born	Barbara Joan Streisand (1942-04-24) April 24, 1942 (age 83) New York City, U.S.
Education	Erasmus Hall High School
Occupation	Singer actress filmmaker songwriter
Works	Discography songs filmography
Spouse(s)	Elliott Gould ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1971)​ James Brolin ​ (m. 1998)​
Partner(s)	Jon Peters (1973–1982) Richard Baskin (1983–1987)
Children	Jason Gould
Relatives	Roslyn Kind (half-sister) Adam Streisand (second cousin)
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	Broadway traditional pop disco jazz
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1960–present
Labels	Columbia
Signature

Barbra Streisand is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. She was born Barbara Joan Streisand on April 24, 1942. Her career has lasted over six decades, and she has achieved great success in many areas of entertainment. She is one of the few artists to win an EGOT, which means she has won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Academy Award (Oscar), and a Tony Award.

Streisand started her career in the early 1960s. She performed in nightclubs and on Broadway. She signed with Columbia Records and made sure she had full artistic control over her music. Her first album, The Barbra Streisand Album (1963), won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. She has had many platinum-certified albums, including People (1964) and Guilty (1980). She was the first woman to have 11 number-one albums on the US Billboard 200 chart. She is also the only artist to have a number-one album in six different decades. Streisand also had five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, like "The Way We Were" and "Woman in Love".

After becoming a successful singer, Streisand started acting in films in the late 1960s. She starred in Funny Girl (1968) and won an Academy Award for Best Actress. She also starred in Hello, Dolly! (1969) and The Way We Were (1973). Streisand won another Oscar for writing the song "Evergreen" from A Star Is Born (1976). She was the first woman to win an Oscar as a composer. With her film Yentl (1983), Streisand became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major studio film. She also directed The Prince of Tides (1991) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).

Barbra Streisand has sold over 150 million records worldwide. This makes her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has received many awards, including ten Grammy Awards, nine Golden Globe Awards, five Emmy Awards, and two Academy Awards. She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is a very high honor in the United States.

Early Life and Education

Family Background

Barbra Streisand was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on April 24, 1942. Her mother, Diana, was a school secretary who had a beautiful singing voice when she was younger. Her father, Emanuel, was a high school teacher. Barbra's family is Jewish. Her grandparents came from parts of Europe that are now Poland and Ukraine, and her grandfather was a cantor (a singer who leads prayers in a synagogue).

When Barbra was just over a year old, her father passed away at age 34. This made her family very poor. Barbra remembered feeling like an "outcast" because her father wasn't there like other kids' fathers. She also felt her mother gave her food instead of the attention she wanted.

When Barbra was 13, she and her mother recorded some songs together. Barbra said this was her "first moment of inspiration" as an artist. She has an older brother, Sheldon, and a younger half-sister, Roslyn Kind, who is also a singer.

School Days and Early Dreams

Barbra started school at a Jewish Orthodox Yeshiva in Brooklyn when she was five. She was smart but sometimes shouted out answers in class. She later went to Public School 89. During these years, she started watching television and movies. She always dreamed of being famous and leaving Brooklyn.

People in her neighborhood knew she had a good voice. She would practice singing in her apartment building's hallway, which made her voice echo. She first sang in public at a PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) meeting. She was a hit with everyone except her mother, who was often critical. Barbra sang at weddings and summer camps. When she was 13, her mother helped her make a demo tape with four songs.

Becoming an actress was her main goal. This dream grew stronger when she saw the play The Diary of Anne Frank at age 14. She admired the star, Susan Strasberg, and wanted to act like her. Barbra spent time in the library, reading about famous actresses and studying acting theories.

In 1956, she attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. She was a good student and sang in the chorus with her classmate, Neil Diamond. Diamond remembered them as "two poor kids in Brooklyn" who would hang out and smoke cigarettes. Barbra also had a crush on a fellow student, chess champion Bobby Fischer.

In the summer of 1957, she got her first small acting parts in plays. When she was a senior, she worked backstage at the Cherry Lane Theatre. She graduated from high school in January 1959 at 16. Even though her mother wanted her to stay out of show business, Barbra moved to New York City to pursue acting. She took any job she could find related to the stage and constantly looked for acting roles.

Career Journey

Starting Out

Streisand, around 1962

Living on her own at 16, Barbra took many small jobs to earn money. Sometimes she didn't have a permanent place to stay and would sleep at friends' houses. When things were tough, she would go back to her mother's apartment for a meal. Her mother worried about her "gypsy-like lifestyle" and begged her to stop trying to be in show business. But Barbra felt this made her even more determined to become a star.

In early 1960, Barbra worked as an usher at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater. She heard they were looking for more singers and decided to audition. Even though she didn't get the part, the director told her to add singing to her resume.

Her boyfriend, Barry Dennen, helped her record her singing. He found a guitarist to play with her. Dennen was amazed by her voice. He convinced her to enter a talent contest at a nightclub called The Lion in Greenwich Village. She sang two songs and won! She was invited back to sing for several weeks. Around this time, she changed her name from "Barbara" to "Barbra" because she wanted to be unique. In her early career, some people told her she was "too ugly" to be a star and suggested she get a nose job, but she refused.

Nightclub Performances

Barbra was then asked to audition at the Bon Soir nightclub. She got the job, earning $125 a week, and became the opening act for comedian Phyllis Diller. She had never been in a fancy nightclub before she started singing in one.

Dennen introduced her to music by famous female singers like Billie Holiday and Judy Garland. Barbra realized she could become an actress by first becoming known as a singer. She found a song called A Sleepin' Bee that helped her connect acting and singing. She learned to create different emotional characters when she sang, which made her performances more powerful.

Barbra also got better at talking to the audience between songs. Her Brooklyn-style humor was a hit. Over the next six months, people started comparing her voice to famous singers like Judy Garland. She became very good at charming the audience with her humor. A theater critic wrote that by the time she was 30, she would "rewrite the record books."

Early Theater and Broadway

Barbra got her first role on the New York stage in a comedy play called Another Evening with Harry Stoones. She acted and sang two songs, but the show got bad reviews and closed quickly. With her new manager, Martin Erlichman, she had successful shows in Detroit and St. Louis. Erlichman then booked her at a fancier nightclub in Manhattan, the Blue Angel, where she became even more popular from 1961 to 1962.

While at the Blue Angel, director Arthur Laurents asked her to audition for a new musical comedy, I Can Get It for You Wholesale. She got the part of a secretary. She fell in love with the lead actor, Elliott Gould, during rehearsals, and they later moved in together. The show opened on March 22, 1962, and received great reviews. Her performance was so good that it "stopped the show cold." Groucho Marx even told her on the Tonight Show that being a success on Broadway at 20 was "extremely young." Barbra was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress.

First TV Appearances and Albums

Barbra's first television appearance was on The Tonight Show in April 1961. She sang "A Sleepin' Bee." Phyllis Diller, who was also a guest, called her "one of the great singing talents in the world."

In 1962, she recorded the cast album for I Can Get It for You Wholesale. She also appeared on The Garry Moore Show, where she sang "Happy Days Are Here Again" for the first time. Her slow, sad version of this upbeat song became her signature song. Johnny Carson had her on the Tonight Show many times, and she became a favorite of his audience.

In December 1962, Barbra appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. She also co-hosted The Mike Douglas Show and appeared on Bob Hope specials. Liberace saw her on The Ed Sullivan Show and invited her to Las Vegas to open for him at the Riviera Hotel. He helped introduce her to audiences on the West Coast. In September 1963, while performing in Lake Tahoe, she and Elliott Gould got married.

At age 21, Barbra signed a contract with Columbia Records. She insisted on having full creative control over her music, even if it meant less money. This was very important to her. Columbia wanted to name her first album Sweet and Saucy Streisand, but she insisted it be called The Barbra Streisand Album. It reached the top 10 on the Billboard chart and won three Grammy Awards. This album made her the best-selling female singer in the country. Her second album, The Second Barbra Streisand Album, came out later that year.

Broadway Return

Barbra returned to Broadway in 1964 in the musical Funny Girl, playing the entertainer Fanny Brice. The show was a huge success and introduced two of her most famous songs, "People" and "Don't Rain on My Parade". She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. In 1966, she performed Funny Girl in London. From 1965 to 1968, she had her first four solo television specials, including the Emmy-winning My Name is Barbra.

Stardom and Achievements

Singing Career

Barbra Streisand has recorded 50 studio albums, mostly with Columbia Records. Her early albums in the 1960s featured classic theater and cabaret songs. She even sang a thoughtful version of "Happy Days Are Here Again" in a duet with Judy Garland on The Judy Garland Show.

In the 1970s, she had many hit songs on the pop charts. These included "The Way We Were" (number 1 in the US), "Evergreen" (number 1), "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (with Donna Summer), and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (with Neil Diamond). By the end of the 1970s, she was the most successful female singer in the U.S. In 1980, she released Guilty, which became her best-selling album. It included hits like "Woman in Love".

In 1985, Barbra returned to her musical theater roots with The Broadway Album. Columbia Records didn't think these songs would be popular, but Barbra used her creative control to release it. The album was a huge success, reaching number 1 on the Billboard chart and winning her another Grammy.

In the 1990s, Barbra focused more on directing films. In 1991, a four-disc box set called Just for the Record was released, featuring many of her performances and rare songs. In 1993, she released Back to Broadway, which also debuted at number 1.

In September 1993, Barbra announced her first public concerts in 27 years. Tickets for her 1994 tour sold out very quickly. Barbra Streisand: The Concert was the highest-grossing concert of the year and won five Emmy Awards. In 1996, she released "I Finally Found Someone" with Bryan Adams, which was nominated for an Oscar.

In 1997, she released Higher Ground, which included a duet with Céline Dion. This album also debuted at number 1. In 1999, she released A Love Like Ours. On New Year's Eve 1999, Barbra returned to the concert stage. She was the number one female singer in the U.S., with at least two number-one albums in each decade since she started.

Her later albums included Christmas Memories (2001) and The Movie Album (2003). In 2005, she released Guilty Pleasures, a sequel to her Guilty album, with Barry Gibb.

In 2006, Barbra went on tour again to raise money for important causes. Her 20-concert tour broke box office records. In 2007, she performed in Europe for the first time. In 2009, she released Love is the Answer, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. This made her the only artist to have number-one albums in five different decades.

In 2010, she joined many other artists to record "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" to help earthquake victims in Haiti. In 2012, she performed her first public concert in her hometown of Brooklyn. In September 2014, she released Partners, an album of duets with artists like Elvis Presley and Stevie Wonder. This album also topped the Billboard 200, making her the only artist to have a number-one album in six different decades.

In 2016, she released Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway and went on a concert tour. In 2018, she released Walls, which included songs about the political climate in the United States. Most recently, in April 2024, she released the single "Love Will Survive" from a TV series.

Acting Career

Streisand in Hello, Dolly! (1969)

Barbra's first film was Funny Girl (1968), which was a big success. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this role, sharing it with Katharine Hepburn. Her next films were also musicals: Hello, Dolly! (1969) and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970).

In the 1970s, Barbra starred in several comedies like What's Up, Doc? (1972) and The Main Event (1979), both with Ryan O'Neal. One of her most famous roles was in the drama The Way We Were (1973) with Robert Redford, which earned her another Oscar nomination. She won her second Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Evergreen" from A Star Is Born, where she also starred.

Barbra also started her own film company, First Artists Production Company, in 1969. This allowed actors to create their own movie projects. She later started Barwood Films in 1972. For Yentl (1983), she was the producer, director, and star. She did this again for The Prince of Tides (1991) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996). She also helped write the script for Yentl.

After an eight-year break from acting in films, Barbra returned for the comedy Meet the Fockers (2004), starring alongside Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. She played the role of Roz Focker again in Little Fockers (2010) and The Guilt Trip (2012).

Artistic Style

Barbra Streisand has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, which means her voice is strong and clear. Critics have called her voice "peerless" and "semi-operatic." She is known for her ability to hold high notes with great intensity and to add small, beautiful touches to a melody. Even though she can't read or write music, she hears melodies as complete songs in her head.

Over the years, her voice has become a bit lower and sometimes has a slightly husky sound. However, critics note that her unique tone and musical talent remain strong. She is still able to convey deep human feelings through her beautiful singing.

Personal Life

Marriages and Relationships

Streisand with husband Elliott Gould and son Jason (1967)

With James Brolin (2013)

Barbra Streisand has been married twice. Her first husband was actor Elliott Gould, whom she married in 1963. They had one son, Jason Gould, who later acted as her son in the film The Prince of Tides. They divorced in 1971.

She was in a relationship with hairdresser and producer Jon Peters from 1973 to 1982. They remained friends after they broke up. She also dated Richard Baskin and actor Don Johnson.

Her second husband is actor James Brolin, whom she married on July 1, 1998. They do not have children together, but James Brolin has children from previous marriages, including actor Josh Brolin.

Barbra Streisand loves her dogs. She even had her dog Samantha cloned because she loved her so much.

Name Origin

Barbra changed the spelling of her first name from "Barbara" to "Barbra." She said she "hated the name, but I refused to change it." She wanted to be unique but didn't want to completely change her name. So, she decided to remove the "a" from "Barbara."

She also wants her last name to be pronounced with an "s" sound, like "sand on the beach," not a "z" sound. She even contacted Apple to correct how their voice assistant, Siri, pronounced her name.

Helping Others

Streisand during the opening ceremony of the Streisand building in the Hebrew University, 1984

Barbra Streisand is very active in charity work. In 1984, she donated the Emanuel Streisand Building for Jewish Studies to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in memory of her father.

She has personally raised $25 million for different organizations through her concerts. The Streisand Foundation, which she started in 1986, has given over $16 million to nearly 1,000 groups. These groups work on protecting the environment, educating voters, protecting civil liberties and civil rights, supporting women's issues, and working for nuclear disarmament.

In 2006, she donated $1 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation to support former President Bill Clinton's work on climate change. In 2009, she gave $5 million to start the Barbra Streisand Women's Cardiovascular Research and Education Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Women's Heart Center. By 2012, she had raised $22 million for this center, with her own contribution reaching $10 million.

In October 2009, Barbra sold 526 items from her art and furniture collection at an auction. All the money went to her foundation. In June 2020, she gave George Floyd's daughter, Gianna Floyd, shares in Disney. In September 2022, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asked Barbra to become an ambassador for the UNITED24 platform, focusing on medical aid. She helped raise $240,000 for medical care.

Legacy and Honors

Barbra Streisand is often called the "Queen of the Divas" by the media. The New York Times named her one of America's Most Beloved Divas. Vulture noted that her work has influenced many other famous singers like Céline Dion, Mariah Carey, and Adele. Forbes called her the "Queen of the Charts" for her long success on the Billboard charts. The Los Angeles Times called her the "most influential female vocalist" and a "revolutionary performer" for changing the rules for women in entertainment.

Barbra has received many awards and honors throughout her career. In 1968, she received the Israel Freedom Medal. She has also received the Women in Film Crystal Award for helping expand the role of women in entertainment. In 1991, she received Breakthrough Awards for making films that show women in complex ways. She was given the Peabody Award in 1995 and an Honorary Doctorate from Brandeis University.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton gave her the National Medal of Arts, which is the highest honor for achievement in the arts. She also received the AFI Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. In 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave her the Legion of Honour, the highest award in France. President George W. Bush also gave her the Kennedy Center Honors, a top recognition for cultural achievement.

In 2015, President Barack Obama announced that Barbra Streisand would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. She has also been inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1976), the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2007), and the California Hall of Fame (2010).

She was named "Star of the Decade" by the National Association of Theatre Owners in 1980. In 1998, a poll found her to be the "Most Popular Singer Among Adult Americans of All Ages." She was also named the "Top Female Artist of the Century" by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Four of Barbra's songs were included on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs, which lists "America's Greatest Music in the Movies." These were "The Way We Were," "Evergreen," "People," and "Don't Rain on My Parade." Many of her films are also on AFI's lists of great movies. In 2016, the Library of Congress chose Funny Girl for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 2017, her song "People" was chosen for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

Professional Memberships

Barbra Streisand is a member of many important professional groups. She is the only artist who is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and Actors' Equity Association.

"Streisand Effect"

The "Streisand effect" is a term that was named after Barbra Streisand. In 2003, she tried to have a photo of her Malibu, California, home removed from a website. She said it invaded her privacy. However, her lawsuit actually caused many more people to look at the photo, which had only been seen a few times before. The "Streisand effect" now refers to when someone tries to hide information, but it ends up making that information even more public.

Namesakes

The Barbra Streisand Cup is a rugby union match held each year in Sydney, Australia. It's played between the Sydney Convicts, a gay and inclusive rugby club, and the Maccabi Rugby FC, a Jewish rugby team. The match is named in Barbra Streisand's honor because she has many fans in both the gay and Jewish communities.

Awards and Nominations

Barbra Streisand has won many awards. She has two Academy Awards: one for Best Actress in Funny Girl (1968) and another for Best Original Song for "Evergreen" (1976). She was the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Original Song.

She has won ten Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for The Barbra Streisand Album. She also received the special Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She has won five Emmy Awards and four Peabody Awards. She also received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award and nine Golden Globes. In 1970, she received a Special Tony Award for her contributions to Broadway. In 2011, she was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year for her achievements in music.

Discography

Filmography

Concert Tours

Autobiography

Barbra Streisand released her autobiography, My Name Is Barbra, on November 7, 2023. She said she wanted "to have more fun" in life after writing it.

Images for kids

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  Streisand, around 1962

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  Streisand in 1966

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  On The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969

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  Streisand performing in July 2007 at The O2 Arena in London

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  Streisand in Hello, Dolly! (1969)

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  Streisand in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)

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  Streisand with husband Elliott Gould and son Jason (1967)

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  With James Brolin (2013)

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  Streisand during the opening ceremony of the Streisand building in the Hebrew University, 1984

See also

In Spanish: Barbra Streisand para niños