Barbra Joan Streisand (born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, theatre and film actress, composer, liberal political activist, film producer and director. She has won Oscars for Best Actress and Best Original Song, multiple Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and an honorary Tony Award. Streisand currently ranks as the top-selling female artist in US history with 71 million albums sold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. She is considered one of the most successful female entertainers in modern entertainment history.

When asked about the money she has made through all her accomplishements, she has said, “I have enough money, thank G-d, and the only reason I want it is to give it away.” Streisand has been generous to a variety of causes. Through the Streisand Foundation, she has supported Jewish charities in the US and in Israel, environmental projects, AIDS education and care, and funding for democratic politicians.

Streisand has changed the face of the female movie star. Never afraid to emphatically be her Jewish self, she has opened the door for other ethnic actresses to challenge the Hollywood mainstream. She has also revolutionized Hollywood's gender norms, directing three of her own movies, and insisting on total control of all her projects.

Her Early Years
Streisand was born Barbara Joan Streisand in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York to Jewish-American parents. Her father, Emanuel Streisand, a grammar teacher, died when she was 15 months old, and she had a turbulent relationship with her stepfather, Louis Kind. She has a sister Rosalyn Kind who was also a performer. Her mother, Diana Ida Rosen, a school secretary, discouraged her daughter from pursuing a show business career, opining that Barbara was not attractive enough. Barbara was educated at Erasmus Hall High School, where she graduated fourth in her class in 1959, and she sang in the school choir with Neil Diamond. She was also friendly there with future world chess champion Bobby Fischer. She never attended college. Streisand has said, "I hated it (Brooklyn) when I grew up, but now I realize that I draw strength from my roots."

“A Star Is Born”
Following a music competition, Streisand became a nightclub singer while in her teens. She originally wanted to be an actress and appeared in a number of Off-Off-Broadway productions, including one with then-aspiring actress Joan Rivers. But when her boyfriend Barry Dennen helped her create a club act—first performed in Manhattan's Greenwich Village in 1960—she achieved success as a singer. It was at this time that she shortened her first name to Barbra to make it more distinctive. In 1961 she entered into a contract with Winnipeg, Manitoba's "Town and Country" Restaurant. The performance received critical approval, but the restaurant owner was not savvy enough to understand her performances.

In 1962 Streisand first appeared on Broadway, in a small but star-making role in the musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale. She also signed her first recording contract that year with Columbia Records. Her first album, The Barbra Streisand Album, won two Grammy Awards in 1963. Her recording success continued, and at one time, Streisand's first three albums appeared simultaneously on Billboard's pop albums Top Ten—an unusual feat considering it was at a time when rock and roll and The Beatles dominated the charts.

Jule Styne's and Bob Merrill's Funny Girl (1964), based upon the life of Fanny Brice, was fashioned for Streisand after Styne saw her performance in I Can Get It For You Wholesale. Styne saw Streisand's work in the show at the invitation of producer Ray Stark's wife, who was Fanny Brice's daughter; ironically, she was strongly opposed to the casting of Streisand, preferring Carol Burnett.

After several notable television appearances, including a legendary guest appearance on The Judy Garland Show (CBS, 1963), Streisand appeared on a number of her own television specials for CBS. The first special, My Name Is Barbra (1965), was praised by critics and fans, as were most of her subsequent specials.

Her Musical Dominance
Streisand is classified as one of the “Most Amazing Female Vocalists” in the 2006 edition of Women in Song. She has recorded more than 60 albums, almost all with the Columbia Records label. Her early works in the 1960s (along with her debut: The Second Barbra Streisand Album, The Third Album, My Name Is Barbra, etc.) are considered classic renditions of theatre and nightclub standards, including her version of Happy Days Are Here Again. Beginning with My Name Is Barbra her albums were often medley-filled keepsakes of her television specials.

Starting in 1969, Streisand tackled contemporary songwriters; like many talented singers of the day, she found herself a fish out of water in attempts to tackle rock, but her vocal talents prevailed and she gained newfound success with the pop and ballad-oriented Richard Perry-produced album Stoney End in 1971. The title track, written by Laura Nyro, was a big hit for her.

Streisand's 1980 album, Guilty featured the songwriting, production and vocal talents of Barry Gibb and was one of her biggest successes.

During the 1970s, she was also highly prominent in the pop charts, with number-one records like The Way We Were, Evergreen, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (with Donna Summer) and Woman In Love; some of these came from soundtrack records to her films.

When the 1970s ended, Streisand was named the most successful female singer in the US, with only Elvis Presley and The Beatles having sold more albums.

In 1982, New York Times music critic Stephen Holden wrote that Streisand was “the most influential mainstream American pop singer since Frank Sinatra.”

Streisand returned to her musical theater roots with 1985's The Broadway Album. This was an unexpected success, holding the coveted number-one Billboard position for three straight weeks, and being certified three times platinum. The critically acclaimed album featured songs reworked by Stephen Sondheim especially for this recording. It was nominated for Album of the Year, and landed Streisand her eighth Grammy as Best Female Vocalist.

In 1991, a four-disc box set, entitled Just for the Record was released, spanning Streisand's entire career. It featured over 70 tracks, including live material, greatest hits, and rarities, from her early recordings up to that year.

Streisand's concert fundraising events helped propel former President Bill Clinton into the spotlight and into office. Streisand later introduced Clinton at his inauguration in 1992. However, Streisand's music career was on hold. A tour was suggested, and she debated it for two years because of her stage fright. A year later, Streisand landed another number-one album with Back to Broadway. This album included the duet medley I Have A Love / One Hand, One Heart with the legendary Johnny Mathis, whom Streisand has publicly acknowledged as one of her favorite singers.

In September 1993, Streisand made global news, announcing her first public concert tour in 27 years. Tickets to the limited tour were sold out in under one hour. Streisand also hit the covers of major magazines, in anticipation of what Time magazine named, “The Music Event of the Century.” The tour was one of the biggest all-media merchandise parlays in history. Ticket prices ranged from $50 to $1,500—making Streisand the highest paid concert performer in history. Barbra Streisand: The Concert went on to be the top grossing concert of the year, earned five Emmy Awards, and the Peabody Award. The taped broadcast on HBO is to date the highest rated concert special in HBO's 30-year history.

On New Year's Eve 1999, she returned to the concert stage, giving the single highest grossing concert in Las Vegas history. At the end of the last millennium, she was the number-one female singer in the US, with at least two number-one albums in each decade since she had started out.

Fresh off that success, she recorded Christmas Memories (2001), a collection of somber holiday songs, and The Movie Album (2003), featuring famous movie themes and backed by a 75-piece symphony orchestra. Guilty Pleasures (called Guilty Too in the UK), a collaboration with Barry Gibb and a sequel album to their previous Guilty, was released worldwide in 2005.

In February 2006, Streisand recorded the song Guilty alongside Tony Bennett, at Streisand's Malibu home. The song is included on Tony Bennett's 80th Birthday Album, Duets. In September 2006, the pair filmed a live performance of the song for a special directed by Rob Marshall entitled Tony Bennett: An American Classic. The special aired on NBC Television November 21, 2006, and was released on DVD the same day. Streisand's duet with Bennett opens the special.

In advance of four concerts (two each in Los Angeles and New York) in September of 2000, Streisand announced she was retiring from future paying public concerts. Her performance of the song People was broadcast on the Internet via America Online.

In 2006, Streisand reversed the concert retirement and announced her intent to tour again, in an effort to raise money and awareness for multiple issues. After four days of rehearsal at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ, the tour began on October 4 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and concluded at Staples Center in Los Angeles on November 20, 2006. Special guests Il Divo were interwoven throughout the show. On stage closing night, Streisand hinted that six more concerts may follow on foreign soil. The show was known as Streisand: The Tour.

On October 9, 2006, Streisand performed a concert at Madison Square Garden, featuring a skit that made fun of President George W. Bush. When one heckler continued to yell repeated taunts during and long after the skit had ended, Streisand responded by shouting “Shut...up!” She later apologized, but added that “The artist's role is to disturb.” Ultimately, Streisand endured negative reaction to the sketch at only two out of her twenty concert dates. It was thought that an audience member in Fort Lauderdale threw liquid from a cup at her because of the skit, but the incident was found to be non-political. Streisand brushed the incident off.

Streisand's 20 concert tour set record-setting box office numbers. At the age of 64, well past the prime of most performers, she grossed $92,457,062 and set house gross records in 14 of the 16 arenas played on the tour. She set the third place record for her October 9, 2006 show at Madison Square Garden, the first and second place records of which are held by her two shows in September 2000. She set the second place record at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with her December 31, 1999 show being the house record and the highest grossing concert of all time.

Silver Screen Success
Her film career intertwined with her musical succes. Her first big role was a reprise of her Broadway hit, Funny Girl (1968), an artistic and commercial success, for which she won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actress, sharing it with Katharine Hepburn—the first time there was a tie in this Oscar category. Her next two movies were also based on musicals, Jerry Herman's Hello, Dolly! (1969) and Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970), while her fourth film was based on the Broadway play The Owl and the Pussycat (1970).

She also starred in the original screwball comedies, What's Up, Doc? (1972), with Ryan O'Neal, and For Pete's Sake (1974), and the drama The Way We Were (1973) with Robert Redford. Her second Academy Award was for Best Original Song as composer of the song Evergreen, from A Star Is Born (1976); this was the first time a woman had received this award.

Along with Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier, Streisand formed First Artists Production Company in 1969 so the actors could secure properties and develop movie projects for themselves. Streisand's initial outing with First Artists was the personal Up the Sandbox (1972).

Streisand produced a number of her own films, setting up Barwood Films in 1972. For Yentl (1983), she was producer, director, writer, and star, an experience she repeated for The Prince of Tides (1991). Steven Spielberg called Yentl a masterpiece, and both won critical acclaim.

There was controversy when Yentl received five Academy Award nominations but none for the major categories of Best Picture, Actress, or Director. The Prince of Tides received even more nominations, including Best Picture, but the director was not nominated.

In 2004, Streisand made a return to film acting, after an eight-year break, playing opposite Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Ben Stiller in Meet The Fockers, in which she and Hoffman stole the movie with their delightful onscreen charm.

In 1995, she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. As of 2007, her US album sales rank her as one of the top-selling female recording artists in the US. Streisand remains one of only a few individuals to have won an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy. She will be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame later this year.