Barbra Streisand is one of the most successful musicians of all time, having sold over 150 million records worldwide.
Streisand has had 34 albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart, and 11 of her albums have reached #1.
She has made history in a variety of ways, primarily in the fields of music and entertainment.
Here are 4 ways Streisand has made history in her six-decade-long career.
1. Barbra was the first woman to direct, produce and star in the same movie
Outside of the silent movie era, there is no one who came before Streisand for this honour.
In the movie, ‘Yentl’, she proved that she was more than a triple threat. She, in fact, was a five-time threat: singing, dancing, acting, directing and producing.
In the film, she played a Jewish girl living in a Polish village in 1904, who had to lie about being a boy in order to honour her father’s wishes for her to study the Talmud.
At that time Barbara took on Yentl, sexism in the film industry was rife.
“I remember looking at the Directors Guild list. I think there were only 11 women, and I thought to myself, ‘There is no way they’re going to vote for me.’ I didn’t even think the women would nominate me.”
CIRCA 1983: Barbra Streisand says goodbye to Mandy Patinkin in a scene in the movie “Yentl” circa 1983. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
2. Barbra was the youngest woman to achieve an EGOT
At the age of 28, Streisand received her honorary ‘Star of the Decade’ Tony, and before the age of 30, she became the youngest woman to ever receive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and a Tony. Yes Queen!
Image credit: Getty Images
3. Streisand is the only artist to have number-one albums six decades in a row
From the 1960s all the way through to the 2010s, Streisand’s LPs reached chart-topper status for six decades straight.
Image credit: Getty Images
4. She was the first woman to win an Academy Award for composing music
In 1976, Streisand played Esther Hoffman in the remake of ‘A Star is Born’. She became the first woman to receive an Academy Award for the Best Original Song, ‘Evergreen’.
Image credit: Getty Images
What a life!
Streisand is a living legend and today we celebrate all of who she is. Happy Birthday, Barb!
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Feature image: Getty Images
