Ten fun facts about Barbra Streisand

Fact 1
Born Barbara Joan Streisand on 24 April 1942, Barbra changed her name from Barbara to Barbra when she was 18, because she “hated” her given name but refused to change her name completely because it would “too false”.

Fact 2
Barbra’s career began while she was in her teenage years, when she started singing in a nightclub.

Fact 3
She is now counted among the most successful singers in the history of entertainment, having sold a total of 145 million records around the world.

Fact 4
Having always wanted to become an actress, Barbra appeared in several Off-Off-Broadway productions, including an appearance in a 1959 production of Driftwood, where she appeared alongside Joan Rivers.

Fact 5
In 1961, Barbra made her first appearance on television, on The Tonight Show. While the show was then hosted by Jack Paar, Orson Bean was standing in for Paar on the night that he invited Barbra to appear on the show to provide a rendition of Harold Arlen’s “A Sleepin’ Bee”.

Fact 6
In 1968, Barbra made her first film appearance in a reprisal of her hit Broadway show “Funny Girl”. Her role in the show led her to win an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Fact 7
Barbra also starred in a number of screwball comedy films in the 1970s, such as “What’s Up, Doc”? in 1972 and “For Pete’s Sake” in 1974.

Fact 8
In 1976, she composed the original song Evergreen for the film “A Star Is Born”, and was awarded her second Academy Award, this time for Best Original Song.

Fact 9
Barbra has also worked as producer on a number of films, such as “Yentl” in 1983, “The Prince of Tides” in 1991 and “The Mirror Has Two Faces” in 1996.

Fact 10
On 10 September 2010, a song titled “Barbra Streisand” was released by Duck Sauce, an American-Canadian DJ duo.

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