Barbra Streisand – or Babs, as she is known by admirers – is one of the most iconic singers and figures in general of her time. The prolific performer, now 73, has spent a significant portion of her life in the spotlight. However, there are still some things that many people do not know about her. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Barbra Streisand. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: Her Career Spans More Than Six Decades. Streisand’s first show was in 1960, and she still performs today. The Queen of the Divas is, for all intents and purposes, ageless.
Number Fourteen: She Has a Lot of Awards. This might not be that surprising, but do you know just how many awards Streisand has? The starlet has 10 Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, five Emmy Awards, a special Tony Award, a Kennedy Center Honors Prize, four Peabody Awards, 11 Golden Globes, and an American Film Institute Award. Wow.
Number Thirteen: She Was the First Woman to Be Honored as a Composer. Streisand received an award for the best original song for “Evergreen,” which was the love theme from the film A Star Is Born. She was the first woman to be honored in this way, and she won the award in 1977.
Number Twelve: She Was Also the First Woman to Write, Produce, Direct, and Star in a Major Studio Film. The film was Yentl, and the year was 1983. The film went on to win two Oscars, and Streisand received a Golden Globe for Best Director. She is, to this date, the only woman to receive the Golden Globe for Best Director.
Number Eleven: She Holds the Record for Having the Most Top 10 Albums of any Female Recording Artist. Streisand has had 33 top 10 albums since 1963. She is also the only recording artist to have a number-one album in each of the last six decades!
Number Ten: She Went to High School With Neil Diamond. Streisand was born in Brooklyn, and she and Diamond both attended Erasmus Hall High School. However, they were not very close friends while there.
Number Nine: She Grew Up Without a Father. Streisand’s father died in 1943, which was just a few short months after Streisand had turned one. He was just 34 years old at the time, and he died from an epileptic seizure.