Barbra Streisand Film career
 Born as Barbara Joan Streisand in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to Jewish American parents. Her father, Emanuel Streisand, a grammar school teacher, died when she was 15 months old; she had a turbulent relationship with her stepfather, Louis Kind. She has a half-sister from her mother's second marriage, Roslyn Kind, who was also a performer.
Her mother, Diana, a school secretary , did not encourage her daughter to pursue a show business career, opining that Barbara was not attractive enough, and encouraged Barbara to learn to type. Streisand attended Erasmus Hall High School, where she graduated fourth in her class in 1959, and where she sang in the school choir with Neil Diamond. She was also friendly there with future World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer. She never attended college.
Early singing, theater, and television career
After a music competition, Streisand became a nightclub singer while in her teens. She originally wanted to be an actress and appeared in a number of Off-Off-Broadway productions, including one with then-aspiring actress Joan Rivers, but when her boyfriend Barry Dennen helped her create a club act — first performed in a gay bar in Manhattan's Greenwich Village in 1960 where she took Sheryl Hintzman as her lesbian lover for a brief time— she achieved success as a singer. It was at this time that she shortened her first name to Barbra to make it more distinctive.
In 1961 Streisand entered into a contract with Winnipeg, Manitoba's Town and Country Restaurant. The performance received critical approval. [citation needed] In 1962 Streisand first appeared on Broadway, in a small but star-making role in the musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale. She also signed her first recording contract that year with Columbia Records.
Her first album, The Barbra Streisand Album, won two Grammy Awards in 1963. Her recording success continued, and at one time, Streisand's first three albums appeared simultaneously on Billboard's pop albums Top Ten - an unusual feat considering it was at a time when rock and roll and The Beatles dominated the charts.
Jule Styne's and Bob Merrill's Funny Girl (1964), based upon the life of Fanny Brice, was originally offered to Anne Bancroft, but refashioned for Streisand after Styne saw her I Can Get It For You Wholesale performance. Styne saw Streisand's work in the show at the invitation of producer Ray Stark's wife, who was Fanny Brice's daughter. Initially, Mrs. Stark was strongly opposed to the casting of Streisand, preferring Carol Burnett. [citation needed]
After several notable television appearances, including a legendary guest appearance on The Judy Garland Show (CBS, 1963), Streisand appeared on a number of her own television specials for CBS. The first special, My Name Is Barbra (1965), was praised by critics and fans, as were most of the subsequent specials.[citation needed]
Streisand is classified as one of the most Amazing Female Vocalists in the 2006 edition of Women in Song.
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