Happy birthday, Barbra Streisand! A look back at the life of the Hollywood icon at 80…
Happy birthday, Barbra!
Singer, actress and filmmaker. Oscar winner, Tony recipient, great at the Grammys and excellent at the Emmys, there is no doubt that Barbra Streisand is the epitome of a Hollywood icon. The legendary entertainer turns 80 on April 24 and to celebrate lets take a look at her seven-decade career. Barbra Streisand, this is your life…
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Barbra’s start
Barbra Streisand was born on April 24, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York City and grew up in a Jewish household. Barbra didn’t have it easy growing up, her father passed shortly after her first birthday which plunged her family into poverty. Barbra’s mother worked as a low-paid bookkeeper with Barbra recalling it was difficult for her to receive the love and attention she deserved as a child.
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A showbiz dream
When Barbra hit her teenage years she began singing at school including making her debut at a PTA assembly. Despite her early singing experience, it was acting which initially caught Barbra’s attention. She watched the production of ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ at age 14 and wanted to emulate Susan Strasberg. At the age of 16, Barbra had to take on work where she could get it, living day-by-day and lacking a permanent address. Eventually, Barbra’s luck appeared to change; after being encouraged by a casting director to further her singing career, she entered a talent contest at New York gay club, Lion, where she received a “thunderous applause” and won the contest. She then began performing at the club for several weeks thereafter before expanding to other nightclub appearances where she began to be paid.
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Album success
After perfecting her craft and appearing in a number of early theatre roles and TV guest spots, Barbra landed a recording contract with Colombia Records. In 1963, her first album, ‘The Barbra Streisand Album’, was released, with Barbra insisting on that title so it was easy for people to find in the record shops. The release gave her a top 10 chart position and secured her three coveted Grammy Awards including for Album of the Year. The album made her the top-selling female vocalist and she quickly followed up her success with the launch of her second album in 1963.
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Oscar winner
After originally appearing in ‘Funny Girl’ on the Broadway stage it made sense for this to be Barbra’s first film role. And it certainly paid off! She is one of very few individuals to receive an Oscar accolade for their debut performance. She won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actress before continuing to appear in a slew of musical based movies.
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A star is born
During the 80s, Barbra was showing she was a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry. She became the first woman since the silent movie era to take on FIVE roles in the creation of 1983 movie, ‘Yentl’. She directed, wrote, produced, acted and sang in the film. Talk about a triple threat, Barbra is clearly a five-times threat!
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Looking for love
Barbra has had a rather interesting personal life including a number of relationships, alleged dalliances and marriages. Her first husband was actor Elliott Gould with whom she had a son, Jason Gould. The pair split in 1969 after which Barbra began dating Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau. She next enjoyed a nine-year romance with hairdresser and producer Jon Peters who ended up managing her career.
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Seven decades in showbiz
After 27 years of not performing publicly at concerts, Barbra announced in 1994 her return to the stage with two shows in Las Vegas. Following an overwhelming demand, she continued into the summer of 94 with a multi-city tour with tickets selling out in less than an hour for the shows. The taped broadcast on HBO was the highest-rated concert special in 30 years and the performances helped Barbra to earn five Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award. The superstar is the only performing artist to have achieved a number 1 album in SIX consecutive decades. Barbra has topped the charts in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and the 2010s. Maybe the year she turns 80 will be the year she makes it a seventh consecutive decade?
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True love
In 1998, Barbra married actor James Brolin after quietly dating for a few years prior. The pair are still married now and will be celebrating Barbra’s milestone birthday together with their loved ones.
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Pet lover
At home, Barbra and James own multiple dogs and Barbra loved her pet pooch Samantha so much, she even had her cloned! Before the Coton de Tulear died in 2017, cells were taken from her mouth and stomach. Despite the puppies being clones, their owner insists “they have different personalities”.
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Still going strong!
In June 2021, a compilation album of Barbra’s rarest and previously unreleased tracks was released continuing her chart success, with it becoming a top 20 hit in the US as well as reaching number 5 in the UK charts. The album featured recordings ranging from 1964 to 2014.
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