Her early works in the 1960s (her debut The Barbra Streisand Album, The Second Barbra Streisand Album, The Third Album, My Name Is Barbra, etc.) are considered classic renditions of theatre and cabaret standards, including her pensive version of the normally uptempo "Happy Days Are Here Again".

Barbara Joan Streisand was born on April 24, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York, to Emanuel and Diana (Rosen) Streisand. Her father was a high school English teacher who died when Streisand was only fifteen months old.

In 1966, for example, LIFE published a cover story on the then-23 year old Brooklyn native that portrayed the young star as a “fear-ridden girl” terrified that her early success “could suddenly …

Dec 5, 2014 · In a new limited-edition photography book, Barbra: Streisand’s Early Years in Hollywood, 1968–1976, photojournalists Steve Schapiro and Lawrence Schiller provide a behind-the-scenes look at...

By 1966, at just 23 years old, she was already a star. With hit records, a Broadway triumph in “Funny Girl,” and a string of TV specials, she seemed unstoppable. But behind the dazzling performances and confident stage presence, a different story unfolded. LIFE magazine captured this side of Streisand in a 1966 article.

Nov 6, 2023 · She began acting in plays as a teenager and started her singing career in nightclubs in the early ’60s. Her gorgeous renditions of standards and show tunes quickly earned her acclaim, and in 1963, at just 21, she released her first album. As Streisand rose to stardom, it wasn’t all fun and games.

Feb 8, 2019 · Barbra Streisand attended public school in Brooklyn and developed an interest in acting at an early age. She was also known in her neighborhood for her singing voice—in fact, she made her public singing debut at a PTA meeting.

With a Tony nomination for Wholesale, TV appearances that garnered the attention of the masses (including the President of the United States himself), as well as Grammy awards for her first album, Barbra Streisand had accomplished in about two years what others spend a …

Jan 22, 2025 · Streisand established herself as a major Broadway star in the career-making role of Fanny Brice in the musical Funny Girl (1964). In 1965 she won two Emmy Awards for My Name Is Barbra, the first of a series of tremendously successful television specials.

Between 1963 and 1965, at a time when rock and roll music was overwhelming just about everything in sight, a rising young singer named Barbra Streisand managed to put not just one, but seven albums of American standards on the Billboard top-selling music charts.