Barbra Streisand is cherished as one of the greatest female singers of her generation and a powerful woman in show business. With a career spanning several decades, her achievements cover Broadway, recording, directing, and acting. She holds numerous awards including Oscars, Grammys, Golden Globes, Emmys -- you name it.
Born in 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, she wanted to be a dramatic actress at a very young age and began studying acting while still in high school.
After graduation, she moved to Manhattan and, whilst searching for stage roles, worked as a cabaret singer although having never before taken a single singing lesson. Success soon followed as she earned engagements in renowned cabarets.
In 1962, she finally made her major debut with a comic role in the Broadway musical “I Can Get It For You Wholesale,” becoming an immediate sensation. The cast album for that show was her first official studio recording. She signed with Columbia Records and released her first solo album “The Barbra Streisand Album” the following year, which led her to become the youngest artist to receive the Grammy Award for album of the year.
Thus, one can say that at that time she concurrently pursued a successful career as a pop singer and actress. And in terms of future accolades, the parade definitely did not pass her by.
Indeed, in 1983, the film “Yentl” turned her into one of the first women ever to produce, direct, and star in a mainstream film, and the first woman to win best director at the Golden Globes.
“It is sort of boring to stay in the same spot. You know, I didn't set out to become the first to do this, the first to do that. It was just that my interests were so diversified,” she once explained.
Throughout her multifaceted career, she has redefined female stardom. In her beginnings, she was repeatedly told she was too unattractive to be a star. However, she never gave up and always took full artistic control of her career, sometimes accepting lower pay to be who she wanted to be.
“I arrived in Hollywood without having my nose fixed, my teeth capped, or my name changed. That is very gratifying to me,” she once explained.
And by doing so, she broke the ceiling for women, becoming a leader in her industry and marking her long career with bold achievements.