Barbra Streisand – The Multi-talented Wonder

Barbara Joan “Barbra” Streisand is a famous American actress, singer, lyricist and filmmaker. Often lauded as one of America’s and the world’s highest selling recording artists, Streisand has sold approximately 71.5 million albums in USA, and about 140 million albums across the world. Streisand has a had a successful career spanning 6 decades during which she has won 2 Academy Awards, 5 Emmy Awards, 10 Grammy Awards, 1 Tony Award and 9 Golden Globe awards, among many other honours conferred upon her.

Streisand is recognized for her versitality. In her long career she has donned many hats and received world-wide success and acclaim whether it is in acting on screen or broadway, television or music. She has also served as a producer, director, composer and writer on many projects, including ‘Yentl’ which won her a golden globe as best director.

Early Life and Education

Streisand was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 24, 1942 to Ida Rosen ‘Diana’ and Emanuel Streisand. Her mother was a school secretary while her father was a high school teacher. She was raised Jewish and her paternal grandparents immigrated to America from Galicia (Poland-Ukraine), while her maternal grandparents were from Russia. Streisand lost her father when she was just one year old to an epileptic seizure from an old head injury, which resulted in her family falling to near-poverty. She has 2 siblings, an older brother named Sheldon, singer Roslyn Kind is her half-sister from her mother’s second marriage to Louis Kind.

Streisand started her education when she was five, at Brooklyn’s Jewish Orthodox Yeshiva. She later attended Public School 89 in Brooklyn where she discovered her love for singing and acting, claiming that she always wanted to be famous and get out of Brooklyn. She graduated from Erasmus Hall High School but did not go to college. She chose to move to New York City to establish her career in the entertainment industry.

Career Rise

In a career spanning 6 decades, Striesand has worked in possibly every aspect of the entertainment business. She made her television debut in 1961 with ‘The Tonight Show’ singing Harold Arlen’s ‘A Sleepin Bee’. In 1962, she starred as ‘Miss Marmelstein’ in  ‘I Can Get It For You Wholesale’, a Broadway musical and debuted her album ‘The Barbra Streisand Album’ in 1963. She became a household name with ‘Funny Girl’, a critically acclaimed musical movie for which she won her first Academy and Golden Globe Award. Her other notable works during the late sixties and early seventies include ‘Hello, Dolly’, ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’, ‘What’s Up Doc’ and ‘The Way We Were’. She also starred in and composed the love theme titled “Evergreen” in ‘A Star Is Born’ for which, she won her second Academy Award, becoming the first ever female composer to be honoured by the Academy. She also pioneered many other roles, becoming the first woman to produce, direct, write and star for a major studio film with ‘Yentl’ in 1983. Streisand remains the first and only woman till date to have ever won a Golden Globe for Best Director for ‘Yentl’.

Streisand holds the record of having the most top 10 albums by any female recording artist. She has held the title for a total of 34 times since 1963. The 1.65 meter tall actress is also the only female artist to have the most number one albums, as many as 11 times. She has had a number one album in each of the 6 decades of her career, releasing 53 gold albums, 14 multi-platinum albums and 31 platinum albums in USA.

Barbra Streisand – Childhood Pictures

Barbra Streisand – Young Pictures

Personal Life

Streisand married actor and comedian Elliot Gould in 1963 and had a son named Jason Gould with him. She briefly dated Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1969 and 1970 and divorced Gould in 1971. In the early 1990’s she dated tennis star Andre Aggasi and was 28 years older to him. On July 1 1998, she married James Brolin. While she has no biological children with him, she is step mother to Brolin’s children from his previous marriages, which includes actor Josh Brolin.

Home

Streisand Lives in Malibu California on an oceanfront estate which is a 10,485 sq. ft. house featuring 8 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms which has an estimated value of anywhere between $60-$100 million.

Barbra Streisand – Net Worth

Streisand has an estimated net worth of approximately $340 Million.