It’s No Secret Why Barbra Streisand’s Son Isn’t Around Anymore (The Life Of Barbra Streisand)
Barbra Streisand is a living example of perseverance and persistence. Born on April 24, 1942, the middle-class Jewish girl from Brooklyn had big dreams of becoming a star. With her quirky persona, never-back-down attitude, and magical voice, she went on to achieve her childhood dream and much more as a successful entertainer spanning over 60 years. The bonafide star has had an admirable career, but we can't forget about her diva moments – like that time she cloned her dog.
She Planned To Grow Out Of Her Humble Beginnings At A Young Age
Barbra Streisand was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Brooklyn. She never got to know her father, who died within a year of her birth in 1942. Emanuel Streisand's death pushed his family to near poverty and Barbra's mother Diana worked secretarial jobs that helped the family stay afloat.
Diana worked so much that she hardly had time for her children. Streisand has said of this relationship, "When I wanted love from my mother, she gave me food." Aside from this, Streisand realized her dream of becoming a star at a young age and worked just as hard as her mother to achieve it.
She And A Classmate Were Bound To Become Stars
Streisand's singing ability came to light at a young age, but what she really wanted to do was become an actress. She was inspired by stage actress Susan Strasberg, who starred in The Diary of Anne Frank, the first Broadway play Streisand attended at 14 years old.
Streisand was primed for stardom throughout her early years and when she started high school at Erasmus Hall High School in 1955. She joined the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club with fellow member Neil Diamond who once recalled, "We were two poor kids in Brooklyn. We hung out in the front of Erasmus and smoked cigarettes."
She Left For The City Immediately After High School
While in high school, Streisand began taking steps to achieve her dreams by traveling to New York City for "real" acting experience. Though she tried to gain acceptance into the Actors Studio, Streisand ended up taking acting lessons from Alan Miller at the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village in exchange for babysitting his children.
After graduating from high school in 1959 at the age of sixteen, Streisand didn't go to college. Instead, she immediately left Brooklyn for the city, often shacking up with friends and working odd jobs while trying to make it as a star.
She Was Motivated By Her Mother's Unsupportiveness
On the road to stardom, Barbra Streisand seemingly had little support from her mother. Though Diana believed her daughter should go after something more practical, she still acknowledged Streisand's talent by helping her make a demo tape when she was in her early teens.
Still, when Streisand left home at age 16 for the city, her mother was appalled at the "gypsy-lifestyle" her daughter had taken up. Streisand used her mother's disapproval as motivation, even once having said, "My desires were strengthened by wanting to prove to my mother that I could be a star."
She Began Singing In Night Clubs And Changed Her Name
Streisand soon realized that she should tout her singing talent when looking for acting work. Friend Barry Dennen helped her create a demo tape and was so impressed by her voice, he convinced her to enter a talent contest at a popular gay nightclub called the Lion Club.
Barbra Streisand's one-week engagement at the Lion Club turned into three when she proved to be an overnight success. Soon, the Lion Club was packed with people who came by word-of-mouth to hear Streisand sing. It was during this time that she dropped the second "a" from her name, going from "Barbara" to "Barbra" in order to stand out.
Barbra Streisand Struggles With Stage Fright
Soon Barbra Streisand had a loyal fan base that followed her to new residencies at the Bon Soir and the Blue Angel, which were other popular nightclubs in New York. But as her popularity grew, stage fright settled in. After a 1967 performance in which she forgot the words, Streisand infamously avoided live performances for nearly 30 years.
"I couldn't come out of it... It was shocking to me to forget the words. So, I didn't have any sense of humor about it. I didn't sing and charge people for 27 years because of that night," she told ABC News.
After Her Broadway Debut, She Got A Record Deal
Despite her stage fright when it came to singing, Streisand was still determined to become an actress. She made her Broadway debut in the 1962 production of I Can Get It for You Wholesale, in which she played Miss Marmelstein. Streisand's performance was met with rave reviews and she was even nominated for a Tony Award.
Her first studio recording was for the cast album for the play, but that same year she signed a deal with Columbia Records, releasing The Barbra Streisand Album in 1963. The album won Grammy awards for Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal Performance.
Her Growing Star Power Put A Wedge Between Her And Her First Husband
A boost in popularity wasn't the only thing Barbra Streisand gained from her Broadway debut. She also fell in love with I Can Get It for You Wholesale's lead, Elliot Gould. The couple married in 1963 and had a son named Jason in 1966.
After the play ended, however, their relationship began to fester. They were married at a time when Streisand's star power was growing bigger and bigger. Meanwhile, Gould's career trajectory wasn't nearly on the same path. At one point, the press referred to him as "Mr. Streisand." They ended up divorcing in 1971.
She Was A Funny GirlFor A Very Long Time
Streisand's breakout role was on Broadway in 1964, when she played Fanny Brice in Funny Girl at the Winter Garden Theatre. That year, Streisand earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
She reprised the role in 1966 in London's West End at the Prince of Wales Theatre and again in 1968 for the film version of the play, which was also her first movie. Following the success of the film version, Streisand won the Oscar for Best Actress, which she shared with Katherine Hepburn that year – the only tie in Academy Award history for that category.
She Dominated Television And Won An Oscar For "The Way We Were"
Streisand became a certified superstar in the '60s and remained so throughout the years. In 1965, she had her own television special, My Name is Barbra, which received five Emmy Awards. Streisand was such a hit that CBS signed her to a ten-year contract to produce and star in more TV specials.
One of her most notable films was 1973's The Way We Were with Robert Redford. Not only did Streisand earn another Oscar nomination for Best Actress, but she also won the Oscar for Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Song. "The Way We Were" became Streisand's first No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts.
She Directed, Wrote, Produced, And Starred In Yentl
In 1972, Streisand began her own production company, Barwood Films. The first project she took up was Yentl, about an Ashkenazi Jewish girl in Poland who passes as her brother to study Talmudic Law.
Not only did Streisand want to produce and direct the film, but she also wanted to star in it as well. Yentl was rejected by many major Hollywood studios before Orion picked it up with a budget of $14 million. Yentl debuted in 1983 and Streisand became one of the first women to direct, co-write, co-produce and star in a successful film.
Streisand Had A String Of Lovers, But John Peters Was There The Longest
After her divorce from Elliot Gould, Streisand had a few notable lovers throughout the rest of her career. For a brief moment, Streisand dated Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and later, tennis champ Andre Agassi – which was scandalous due to their stark age difference.
But her most memorable relationship was that with John Peters, which began in 1974. He started out as her hairdresser before they began a relationship before he became a big-time Hollywood producer. "She was probably the love of my life... I owe her. I will always owe her for giving me the life that I've had," Peters told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017.
Barbra Streisand And James Brolin Have Been Happily Married For 20 Years
These days, Barbra Streisand is married to actor James Brolin. The couple met at a party in the mid-'90s and were married on July 1, 1998, at Streisand's Malibu estate. Having stayed together ever since, Streisand told Extra, "Twenty years in Hollywood is like 50 years in Chicago, I always say."
They've told the press that the secret to their rare long-lasting marriage is honesty with compassion and not combining their assets. Brolin told HuffPost Live, "I have my own money and she has her own money... We've been in heaven for 20 years, so it works."
She Distributes Her Wealth To Worthy Causes
Barbra Streisand founded The Streisand Foundation in 1986. In addition to raising millions of dollars through grants for multiple causes, Streisand has personally raised a reported $25 million through her live performances alone.
Streisand's foundation supports environmentalism, AIDS and cardiovascular research, youth-related issues, race relations, civil rights and liberties, as well as women's rights and issues. In 2006, Streisand herself donated $1 million to Bill Clinton's climate change initiative through the William J. Clinton Foundation. In 2009, she also personally gave $5 million to endow the Barbra Streisand Women's Cardiovascular Research and Education Program at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.
She Prompted "The Streisand Effect" In 2003
Barbra Streisand, being the icon that she is, is not without drama once and a while. In 2003, she prompted a phenomenon that was dubbed the "Streisand Effect." Streisand attempted to sue photographer Kenneth Adelman for violation of privacy after his public collection of photographs depicting the California coastline consequently included an aerial shot of her home.
The drama Streisand caused over wanting the picture taken down only caused it to pass under more eyes since news of the suit gained a lot of press. The lawsuit was eventually thrown out and Streisand ended up having to pay for Adelman's legal fees.
Barbra Streisand Was Outcast For Looks Early On
Early in her career, Barbra Streisand was known for her "unique looks," particularly her nose. By some accounts, Streisand would get called "big break" by school bullies, while casting directors rejected her early on for being "talented but too ugly."
But Streisand never wavered and in the end, learned to use her looks to her advantage. It's ostensibly why she would later have a reputation for her shifting styles because she learned to own her looks, as opposed to her looks owning her. In learning to work with what she has, she established a very important rule when it came to her being on camera, which you will read about next.
Streisand Will Only Let You Capture Her "Good Side"
Barbra Streisand learned to work the looks that she was born with and as a result, she discovered her "good side." Being the diva that she is, she ensures that she is only ever captured from her left side on camera – both on and off the red carpet.
Many productions make accommodations for Streisand's rule. Jimmy Fallon, for example, let Streisand sit at his host desk when she appeared on The Tonight Show. And at a 2017 relief benefit, Page Six reported, "There were a ton of celebrities on the red carpet, but she wanted to walk the carpet in reverse order so that cameras would only shoot her good side."
Remember That Time She Cloned Her Dog?
In 2018, Barbra Streisand made headlines upon the admission that she had her two dogs, Miss Scarlett and Miss Violet, cloned from her dog, Samantha. Before the 14-year-old Coton du Tulear passed away, Streisand had cells extracted from her mouth and stomach. She told Variety, "They have different personalities. I'm waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her [Samantha's] brown eyes and seriousness."
While Streisand is free to do whatever she wants and has the resources to do so, she was hotly criticized for what she did. Many believed pets weren't meant to live on in such a manner, not to mention how expensive the procedure must have cost.
She (Almost) Has Achieved The EGOT
Streisand is one of few people who (almost) has the EGOT distinction. EGOT is an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. We say "almost" because the only Tony Award Streisand has received – despite having started on Broadway – was in 1970 when she was named "Star of the Decade," which is honorary and non-competitive.
For what it's worth, Streisand legitimately has won eight Grammy awards, two Academy Awards, and five Emmy Awards. She technically has ten Grammy Awards under her belt, but two of them are honorary, including the Grammy Legend Award and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
She Has Become A Voice For Female Empowerment In Hollywood
Ever since she began taking a seat behind the camera, Barbra Streisand has faced a lot of adversity as a female director. She did so at a time when feminism was less of a conversation than it is today. She told Variety, “I didn’t know it was a glass ceiling. I just thought, they don’t believe in a woman’s capacity to handle finances or to be the businessman.”
For her own movies, Streisand doesn’t even list herself as director until the end credits. “I didn’t want people to think about me, the girl who is directing. I only wanted them to follow the story of the characters in the movie. At the end, you see it was directed by me,” she said.
