Barbra Streisand

Often Works With…

This multi-talented performer shot to fame when she conquered Broadway with her galvanizing stage presence in the musicals, "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" (1962) and "Funny Girl" (1964), in the latter as the gawky but gifted Fanny Brice. Streisand next powered a number of popular albums ("My Name Is Barbra") and award-winning TV specials ("Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park"; "My Name Is Barbra", which was based on her hit album and won five Emmys) before moving into films. Equally magnetic on the big screen, Streisand patented a brash, loquacious, aggressively optimistic screen persona, starring in musicals before moving on to, and proving herself more than capable in, screwball comedies and romances.

Compensating for her angular, prominent features (which she has often played up self-mockingly in films as her "imperfect" beauty) with unbounded energy and immense talent, Streisand won an Oscar for her first film, William Wyler's adaptation of "Funny Girl" (1968), in which she recreated her successful stage role of comedian Fanny Brice. She subsequently turned several mediocre movies into box-office successes, and appeared in such enjoyably old-fashioned films as the farcical "What's Up, Doc?" (1972) and the sudsy "The Way We Were" (1973), making her the biggest female box-office star of the 1970s.

Increasingly criticized for her sometimes megalomaniac tendencies, Streisand responded by noting that healthy ambition in men has often been seen as unattractive pushiness in women. She also branched out into producing (starting with 1976's "A Star is Born") and then directing (beginning with 1983's "Yentl", which she also wrote). She has since produced most of her own occasional film vehicles and continued to enjoy considerable chart success with her albums and show-stopping singles through the early 80s, ranging from the theme songs of "The Way We Were" and "The Main Event", to "Guilty", "A Woman in Love", and a disco-flavored duet with Donna Summer, "Enough Is Enough".

"Yentl", the story of a Jewish girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to pursue an education, garnered Streisand generally respectful but mixed reviews from critics. In general they liked her handling of actors and obvious sincerity and attention to detail, but carped at the many indulgent musical monologues and routine visual style.

After another producing effort and larger-than-life star performance as a woman on trial who is considered "Nuts" (1987), Streisand directed a second film, "The Prince of Tides" (1991), based on Pat Conroy's best-selling novel. Both critical and popular response to Streisand's sensitive directorial work were notably improved, dismay being largely reserved in some corners for Streisand's glamorized appearance and performance as a sympathetic psychiatrist. The film received seven Oscar nominations among both acting and technical categories, including one for Best Picture. The lack of a nomination for Streisand as director caused a mild stir in the entertainment community, but she blithely continued with other directorial projects, AIDS and Democratic Party activism, and a very well-received compilation of songs associated with her career.

1994 marked a rare return to live concert singing for Streisand with an incredibly popular multi-city tour which found her charisma and her singing voice both in mint condition. She also produced, directed and starred in "The Mirror Has Two Faces" (1996), a remake of a 1958 French film of the same name directed by Andre Cayatte and starring Michele Morgan. The usual stories about Streisand's perfectionism surrounded the lengthy production, complete with changes of cast and crew. Advance buzz, though, was also generally favorable in its retelling of the story of a plain woman whose marriage is rocked when she undergoes a personal transformation.

After a long absense from the screen, Streisand set aside her usual autuer role to simply co-star in the comedy sequel "Meet the Fockers" (2004), playing Roz Focker, the warm and doting mother of "Meet the Parents" main character Greg Focker (Ben Stiller). Teamed sublimely with Dustin Hoffman as her husband and sharing scenes with Robert De Niro, Streisand (re-adopting the tightly curled locks of her 'A Star Is Born" era) nearly walks away with the popular but otherwise lightweight film, proving that her comedic skills were as sharp as ever.

Streisand was formerly married to her "I Can Get It For You Wholeseale" co-star Elliot Gould; their son is actor Jason Gould, who played her son in "The Prince of Tides".

Also Credited As:
Barbara Joan Streisand
Born:
Barbara Joan Streisand on April 24, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, USA
Job Titles:
Actor, Director, Producer, Singer, Composer, Songwriter, Switchboard operator, Usherette

Family

Brother: Sheldon Jay Streisand. born in 1935
Father: Emanuel Streisand. died on August 4, 1943 when Streisand was 15 months old
Half-sister: Rosalind Kind. born on January 9, 1952; married to Randy Stone for two years
Mother: Diana Streisand.
Son: Jason Emmanuel Gould. born on December 29, 1966; played Streisand s son in The Prince of Tides (1991)
Step-father: Louis Kind. married Diana Streisand on December 23, 1951; left family in 1956

Significant Others

Companion: Jon Peters. former hairdresser; formerly married to Lesley Ann Warner
Companion: Don Johnson. no longer together
Companion: James Newton Howard. scored Prince of the Tides ; separated 1991
Companion: Jon Peters. former hairdresser; formerly married to Lesley Ann Warner
Companion: Liam Neeson. dated briefly
Companion: Richard Baskin. no longer together
Companion: Ryan O Neal. co-starred together in What s Up, Doc? and The Main Event

Education

Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, New York, 1959

Milestones

1960 Stage acting debut in The Insect Comedy
1960 Won a singing contest at The Lion, a small Greenwich Village club; led to engagements at Bon Soir and the Blue Angel
1961 Made TV debut as guest on The Tonight Show , guest hosted by Orson Bean
1961 Off-Broadway debut in the revue Another Evening with Harry Stoones ; also featured was Dom DeLuise
1962 Broadway debut as the secretary Miss Marmelstein in I Can Get It For You Wholesale ; received Tony nomination
1962 Put under contract by Columbia Records in October
1963 Released first solo album
1964 Breakthrough stage role, Fanny Brice in Funny Girl ; received second Tony nomination
1966 Made London stage debut reprising her Broadway success in Funny Girl
1968 Film debut in director William Wyler s adaptation of Funny Girl ; tied with Katharine Hepburn for the Best Actress Academy Award
1969 Starred in the overblown film version of Hello, Dolly! , directed by Gene Kelly; ironically Carol Channing who originated the role won the 1964 Tony Award beating out Streisand in Funny Girl
1972 Delivered a fine comic turn in the modern screwball What s Up, Doc? ; first screen teaming with Ryan O Neal
1972 Formed Barwood Films; first Barwood-produced film, Up the Sandbox
1973 Had big success teamed with Robert Redford in The Way We Were ; also sang the theme song; earned second Best Actress Oscar nomination
1974 Reprised role of Fanny Brice in the sequel Funny Lady
1976 First film as executive producer, A Star Is Born ; also starred and composed some of the songs; received second Oscar for the song Evergreen , making her the first female composer ever to receive an Academy Award; song co-written with Paul Williams
1979 Produced first film, The Main Event (with Jon Peters); reteamed on screen with Ryan O Neal
1983 Feature directorial and screenwriting (co-writer) debut, Yentl ; also produced and starred in title role of a woman who poses as a boy to study the Talmud
1985 The Broadway Album returned her to her theatrical roots
1987 Starred as an upper-class woman forced into prostitution who is accused of murdering one of her clients in Nuts , adapted from the Broadway play; also served as producer and composer
1991 Helmed second film, the Oscar-nominated Best Picture The Prince of Tides ; also starred and served as a producer; film received a total of eight Academy Award nominations, but was not nominated for its direction
1993 Donated her 24-acre, $15 million estate to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy; to be named the Streisand Center for Conservancy Studies
1993 Received a reported $12 million for two concerts in Las Vegas
1993 Released Back to Broadway , a second recording of theater music
1994 Went on a landmark multi-city concert tour; included her first live New York performances since A Happening in Central Park in 1967; concerts were taped and aired first on HBO and in a slightly revised form on CBS
1995 Served as an executive producer on the Emmy-winning TV-movie Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story , starring Glenn Close
1996 Helmed third film The Mirror Has Two Faces , also starred, produced and contributed to the music score
1998 Served as an executive producer of the NBC TV-movie The Long Island Incident
1999 Went on a farewell concert tour, culminating in concerts in Las Vegas on New Year s Eve 1999 and New Year s Day 2000; videotaped and aired as a 2001 Fox special Barbra Streisand -- Timeless
2000 Executive produced the Showtime original movie Frankie and Hazel , directed by JoBeth Williams
2000 Hosted the award-winning AMC special Reel Models: The First Women of Film ; also served as executive producer
2000 Was executive producer of a series of PBS specials aired under the umbrella title The Living Century
2001 Served as executive producer of the Lifetime lesbian-themed movie What Makes a Family
2001 Was executive producer of the Showtime original Varian s War
2003 Received grammy nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
2004 Co-starred with Dustin Hoffman as Ben Stiller s parents in Meet the Fockers
Planning a new extravagent 20-show tour, despite bidding farewell to fans with her final live concert in 2000; tour set for fall 2006