Barbra Streisand Pictures, Biography, Profile, Facts, Discography, Filmography, more.

Boyfriends: Ryan O'Neal (actor, What's Up Doc?), Jon Peters (Hollywood producer), Don Johnson (actor, Nash Bridges), James Newton Howard (composer), Richard Gere, Andre Agassi, Liam Neeson, Pierre Trudeau, Kris Kristofferson (1970s), Peter Jennings (1990s).

Biography:

Barbara Joan Streisand was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York then moved to another area in Brooklyn where she was educated at Beis Yakov School and Erasmus Hall High School. Her father passed away when she was only fifteen months old, and she had a lifelong turbulent relationship with her stepfather. Following a music competition, she became a club singer in her teens. She originally had wanted to be an actress, and appeared in a number of off-off-Broadway productions.

Streisand signed with Columbia Records in 1962 and her first album, The Barbra Streisand Album, won two Grammy Awards in 1963. At one time, Barbara's first three albums appeared simultaneously on Billboard's Top Ten - an amazing feat considering it was at a time when Rock and Roll and The Beatles dominated the charts. Barbra also appeared on Broadway, first in the musical I Can Get It For You Wholesale.

Film Career:

Her first film was a reprise of her 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 ever there was a tie in an 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.

Steisand has won two Oscars, five Emmys, and eight Golden Globes, as well as a number of other awards. Her second Academy Award was as composer of the song "Evergreen", from A Star Is Born (1976). In 1995 she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

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 largely repeated for The Prince of Tides (1991).

In 2004, Streisand reappeared on the big screen in the comedy Meet the Fockers, playing opposite Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, and Robert DeNiro among others.

Music Career:

She has recorded more than sixty albums, almost all with the Columbia Records label, after her early work in the 1960s (The Second Barbra Streisand Album, The Third Album, My Name Is Barbra. During the seventies, 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". When the seventies ended, Streisand was named the most successful female singer in the US, with only Elvis Presley and The Beatles having sold more albums.

Streisand returned to her musical theater roots with 1985's The Broadway Album. In 1991 she released a four-disc box set, entitled Just for the Record. A separate disc, entitled "Highlights from Just for the Record" featured two dozen tracks, including live material, greatest hits, and rarities, from her early recordings up to 1991. Around 1992, however, success was not in Barbra's favor. She was losing money, and sought advice from former boyfriend Dennen. He suggested she perform in a series of live concerts, not only for financial reasons, but to overcome her chronic stage fright, as well. The tour was one of the biggest all-media merchandise parlays in history. Dennen later wrote a book called My Life with Barbra.

On New Years Eve 1999 she returned to the concert stage, scoring another personal triumph for giving the highest grossing single concert in Las Vegas history to date. 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.

In April 2005, Streisand announced that her next album would be written and produced by Bee Gees star Barry Gibb.

Awards for Barbra Streisand:

Grammy Legend Award (1992)

Grammy Best Pop Vocal Performance (female), The Broadway Album (1987)

Grammy Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal, "Guilty" (1980)

Grammy Song of the Year, "Evergreen" (1977)

Grammy Best Pop Vocal Performance (female), love theme from A Star Is Born: "Evergreen" (1977)

Grammy Best Vocal Performance (female), My Name Is Barbra (1965)

Grammy Best Vocal Performance (female), "People" (1964)

Grammy Best Vocal Performance (female), The Barbra Streisand Album (1963)

Grammy Album of the Year, The Barbra Streisand Album (1963)

Golden Globe World Film Favorite (female) (1977)

Golden Globe Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy, A Star Is Born (1976)

Golden Globe Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical, A Star Is Born (1976)

Golden Globe Best Original Song, "Evergreen" from A Star Is Born (1976)

Golden Globe World Film Favorite (female) (1974)

Golden Globe World Film Favorite (female) (1970)

Golden Globe World Film Favorite (female) (1969)

Golden Globe Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Motion Picture, Funny Girl (1968)

Emmy Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, Barbra Streisand: The Concert (1995)

Emmy Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, Barbra Streisand: The Concert (1995)

Emmy Outstanding Individual Achievement in Entertainment/Actors and Performers, My Name Is Barbra (1965)

Oscar for Best Actress 1969 for Funny Girl

Oscar for Best Music Original Song 1977 for A Star Is Born (with Paul Williams)

Tony Best Actress of the Decade (1970)

American Film Institute Life Achievement Award 2001

Hollywood Walk of Fame 6925 Hollywood Blvd

National Medal of Arts 2000