Born on April 24th, 1942 as Barbara Joan Streisand (later she changed her first name to the less conventional ‘Barbra’ to make herself more distinctive), Streisand grew up poor in Brooklyn, New York. She lost her father, a grammar school teacher, when she was fifteen months old. Streisand has recalled that she had no toys, and had to find other creative ways to amuse herself, including making a doll out of a hot water bottle. In high school Streisand was an honors student, and graduated fourth in her class, two years ahead of her other classmates.

Streisand wanted to be an actress, but as a teenager saw her voice could bring her success when she won a singing contest at The Lion, a club in Manhattan. She began performing in nightclubs, developed a following, and won a Greenwich Village talent show. She hit it big at 21 on Broadway in I Can Get It For You Wholesale, where she stole the show, won the New York Drama Critics award and earned a Tony nomination.

After the recognition she got from I Can Get It For You Wholesale, Streisand signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. Part of the contract deal was that Streisand would have control over song choices, and her first album, The Barbra Streisand Album (1963) stuck with standards and stayed away from the culture’s current obsession with rock and roll. Following the beat of her own drummer turned out to be a good move: The Barbra Streisand Album was a gold-selling record that won a Grammy for album of the year.

In 1964, Streisand played the part of comedian Fanny Brice in the Broadway musical Funny Girl, and four years later made her cinematic debut in the film adaptation of the play. The role won Streisand an Oscar for Best Actress (she shared the win with Katherine Hepburn). Streisand had earlier signed a contract with CBS to produce and star in a series of television specials. As in her deal with Columbia Records, Streisand was given significant artistic control over these specials. The first of the specials, My Name is Barbra (1965), Streisand won an Emmy Award and the Peabody Award.

Streisand went on to roles in a number of films, including Hello, Dolly!, The Owl and the Pussycat, and The Way We Were, where she starred opposite Robert Redford. Her rendition of the film’s title song, “The Way We Were” became the number one single in the United States in 1974, and sold over a million copies. Marrying her acting and singing talents brought Streisand plenty of fame and success.

But being an acting and music sensation was not enough: Streisand took on new challenges as director, writer, producer, and star of Yentl (1983). The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office hit. Streisand went on to direct, co-produce, and star in the films The Price of Tides (1991) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).

In addition to her multiple roles in the entertainment industry, Streisand has emphasized her role as citizen. She has asserted the fact that an artist, like anyone else, is a citizen. She has not hesitated in openly expressing her liberal political views, despite being lampooned for this by some in the media. On her official website, she frequently makes political statements, bringing attention to the cost of the Iraq war or urging her fans to vote Democrat. She is one of the largest single celebrity donors to political campaigns.

Streisand has one son, actor Jason Gould, by her first marriage to Eliot Gould which lasted from 1963 to 1971. She remarried in 1998 to actor James Broslin. In 2001, she won a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Streisand’s recent film appearances have been infrequent, although in 2004 she appeared in Meet the Fockers. She had announced in 2000 that she would no longer appear in public paying concerts, but backed out of this announcement in 2006: Streisand continues to tour, using her high-grossing concerts to raise money and awareness for causes she supports.