Barbra Streisand is a successful American singer and actress. Her name often borders on provocation and the creation of something outstanding. Barbra has won two Oscars, a Grammy and a Golden Globe.
Modern mass culture "rolled like a tank" named after the famous Barbra. Suffice it to recall one of the episodes of the cartoon "South Park", where a woman appeared in the form of a Gorilla.
The attitude of popular culture to the name Barbra Streisand does not cover the achievements of a famous person. By the 1980s, she was critically acclaimed as the most influential female performer in the United States of America.
Barbra managed to outshine even Frank Sinatra. And it's worth it! By the beginning of the XXI century. The number of Streisand collections sold reached a quarter of a billion copies. And in the singer's discography there were 34 "gold", 27 "platinum" and 13 "multi-platinum" records.
Childhood and youth of Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand was born back in 1942 in Brooklyn. The girl was the second child. Barbra's childhood cannot be called happy.
When Barbra was 1 year old, the head of the family died. Emanuel Streisand passed away at the age of 34 due to complications from an epileptic seizure.
The mother of the girl, who possessed an operatic soprano, dreamed of building a brilliant career as a singer. But after the death of the head of the family, the chores fell on her shoulders. From morning to night, the woman was forced to work to feed her family.
In 1949 my mother got married. Barbra's relationship with her stepfather did not work out. Lius Kind (that was the name of the stepfather of the star) often beat her. Mom turned a blind eye to everything, just not to be alone.
It was even worse for the girl at school. Barbra is the owner of a specific appearance. Every second considered it his duty to remind the girl of her long hooked nose. In her teenage years, the girl was very sensitive to criticism.
The feeling of protest aroused in Barbra a desire to take the "path" of perfectionism. She was the best in her class. In addition, Streisand attended a theater group, sports sections, and vocal lessons.
Singer dreams
After class, the girl disappeared in the cinema. Barbra felt as if she was the most beautiful actress loved by millions of fans.
Streisand recalls that when she shared her dreams with her stepfather and mother, they openly mocked her. And sometimes they even openly said that the "ugly duckling" has no place on the big screen.
In adolescence, Streisand first showed her character. One day she told her parents: “You will learn more about me. I will break your notions of beauty."
The girl stained her face and hair with greenery and went to school in this form. The teacher turned her home, where her mother decided to shave her daughter to zero.
In the late 1950s, Barbra graduated from Erasmus Hall High School.
Interestingly, the girl sang along with Neil Diamond, who also became a popular star in the future. As a teenager, Streisand took part in almost all the castings in her city.
Once a girl came to a moving theater to beg for at least a small role for herself. And she got a job as a cleaner. But Barbra was happy about this event. The job of a cleaning lady is a chance to look behind the scenes of the theater.
Fortune soon smiled at Streisand. She got a small role - she played a Japanese peasant. When Barbra was approved for this role, the director advised the girl to indicate in her resume that she had excellent vocal abilities.
Musical career of Barbra Streisand
Barry Dennen contributed to the first recordings of musical compositions performed by Barbra Streisand. It was he who found a guitarist for her and organized the recording of tracks.
Dennen was delighted with the work done. The young man advised Barbra not to waste time. At that time, a talent competition was taking place. Barry brought his girlfriend to the show and begged to be on stage.
Barbra managed to perform two compositions. When she finished singing, the audience froze. The silence was broken by thunderous applause. She won.
It was the most significant event in her life. Later, Barbra delighted nightclub visitors with a live performance for several weeks in a row.
As a result, singing "opened the door" to Barbra on Broadway. At one of the performances, the talented girl was noticed by the director of the comedy "I'll get you this in bulk."
Debut in acting
After the performance, the man invited Streisand to play a small role. So Streisand made her debut on the big stage. She played the role of a "near-minded" secretary.
The role was small and completely insignificant, but Barbra still managed to "make candy out of her." The stars of the musical, unexpectedly for many, were in the shadows. Streisand "dragged the whole blanket over herself", receiving the prestigious Tony Award for her role.
Barbra then appeared on the TV show The Ed Sullivan Show. And later a grand event happened to her - she signed a contract with Columbia Records, under whose auspices Barbra Streisand's debut album was released in 1963.
The singer called her first album The Barbra Streisand Album. In the United States of America, the collection received the status of "platinum". This album was awarded two Grammy awards at once: "Best Female Vocal" and "Album of the Year".
During the 1970s, the performer occupied a leading position in the popular charts of the United States of America. At that time, music lovers really liked the songs: The Way We Were, Evergreen, No More Tears, Woman in Love.
In the 1980s, the singer's discography was replenished with a number of "juicy" albums:
- Guilty (1980);
- Memories (1981);
- Yentl (1983);
- Emotion (1984);
- The Broadway Album (1985);
- Till I Loved You (1988)
For two years, Barbra Streisand presented several more collections to her fans. Each of the records reached the "platinum" status.
The singer's albums have long held the leading position on the national Billboard 200 hit parade. Soon, Barbra became the only singer whose albums have been on the top of the Billboard 200 for 50 years.
Barbra Streisand in movies
Initially, Barbra began to sing with only one goal - she wanted to act in films and perform in the theater. Having “blinded” herself into a singer, Streisand opened up excellent prospects. She managed to achieve significant success in the film industry.
Several film musicals starring Streisand came out one after another. We are talking about the musicals "Funny Girl" and "Hello, Dolly!".
With both roles, Barbra coped with a solid "five". By that time, the star already had its own audience, which supported her in her acting endeavors.
Streisand's audition for a role in the musical "Funny Girl" was not without its "adventure". Barbra was supposed to show the kiss scene between Fanny (her character) and her on-screen lover, whose role was already approved by Omar Sharif.
When Streisand entered the stage, she accidentally dropped the curtain, which caused a real wave of laughter from the film crew. Director William Wyler was determined to immediately expel the actress, because before that he had looked at about a hundred contenders for the role of Fanny.
But suddenly Omar Sharif shouted: "This idiot bit me!". William changed his mind. He realized that this inexperienced and sloppy girl should be “taken”.
In 1970, Barbra starred in the film Owl and the Kitty. She played the role of a seductress and a girl of easy virtue named Doris, who meets the highly moral Felix. It was from Streisand's lips that the word "fuck" was first heard on the big screen.
Soon the actress starred in the movie A Star Is Born. Interestingly, this role enriched Barbra with a fee of $ 15 million. Then for most of the held stars it was a significant amount.
In 1983, Streisand starred in the musical Yentl. Barbra played the role of a Jewish girl who was forced to wear a male persona in order to graduate.
The film received a Golden Globe Award (2 wins: Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical and Best Director) and 5 Academy Award nominations (1 win: Best Original Song).
Barbra Streisand's personal life
Despite the fact that for many Barbra was far from the standard of female beauty, the woman was not without male attention. Streisand has always been surrounded by successful men, but only two of them managed to take a woman down the aisle.
The first experience of family life happened at the age of 21. Then Barbra said yes to actor Elliott Gould. The actress met a man on the set of one of the musicals.
The couple lived together for about 8 years. In this marriage, Barbra gave birth to a son - Jason Gould, who, by the way, also followed in the footsteps of famous parents. He became an actor, producer, director and writer.
After the divorce, Barbra was too busy, so she decided to send her son to a specialized boarding school, where he was until adulthood. He will repeatedly recall this oversight of his mother in personal interviews.
In 1996, Barbra met director and actor James Brolin. A few years later they got married. It was with this man that Barbra felt weak.
“Today, a man is considered a gentleman if he takes a cigarette out of his mouth before kissing,” Streisand said. With him, the woman is truly happy.
"The Streisand Effect"
In 2003, Barbara Streisand filed a lawsuit against photographer Kenneth Adelman. The fact is that the man posted on one of the photo hosting sites a photo of the star's house, which is located on the coast of California. Kenneth didn't do it on purpose.
Before journalists learned about Streisand's lawsuit, six people became interested in photography, two of them are Barbara's legal representatives.
The court was forced to refuse the star to consider the case. After this event, the photo was viewed by more than half a million users. This situation is known as the Streisand effect.
Barbra Streisand today
Today, a celebrity is less and less seen on TV screens. In 2010, Barbra starred in the movie Meet the Fockers 2. In the film, she played the mother of the family, Rose Faker.
On the set, she had to play with Robert de Niro, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Two years later, Streisand played in the film "The Curse of My Mother."
And if we talk about music, then in 2016 the singer's discography was replenished with a new album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway - a collection of her songs that have ever been included in movie soundtracks.
The album features duets with many celebrities including: Hugh Jackman (Any Moment Now from Smile), Alec Baldwin (The Best Thing That Has Ever Happened from The Road Show), Chris Pine (I'll Be Seeing You from the musical "My Fair Lady").
In 2018, Barbra presented her 36th album. The studio album was called Walls. The theme of the disc reflects the performer's attitude to the political regime of Donald Trump that has been established in the United States.
In 2019, the singer's discography was replenished with the disc Up Graded Masters. In total, the collection includes 12 musical compositions. The album, as always, was warmly received by fans and music critics.
