Hello, Barbra—Snakkle Looks Back at Streisand’s Decades of Success

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Barbra Streisand, Senior Year at Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, New York (1959)

Barbra Streisand smirks at the camera in true movie star form in her senior yearbook photo. While at Erasmus Hall High School, Streisand sang in the chorus with classmate Neil Diamond, with whom she would later record the duet "You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore." Check out the duo at the Grammys.

Barbra Streisand on The Jack Parr Show (1961)

After high school, Streisand headed straight for Manhattan on her own to pursue her dreams. She began making a name for herself in nightclubs around the city, which led to her first television appearance on The Jack Parr Show.

The Barbra Streisand Album (1963)

Simply titled The Barbra Streisand Album, Streisand’s first album in 1963 earned the young songstress two Grammys, one for Best Female Vocal Performer and another for Album of the Year. At 21, she was the youngest artist to have received that award, a title she retained until Taylor Swift won in 2010 at age 20.

Barbara Streisand on the Cover of Time Magazine (1964)

In 1964, Time magazine catapulted Streisand to national fame by putting her on the cover and raving about her performance in Funny Girl in the aptly titled article “The Girl” that summed up Streisand’s rising star.

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Barbra Streisand with Her Emmy at the Hilton in New York (1965)

As part of her 10-year contract with CBS Television, Barbra Streisand produced and starred in a television special, My Name Is Barbra, for which she won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment. She followed it with Color Me Barbra, as well as countless more concert specials in the years to come.

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Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (1968)

As Barbra portrayed Fanny Brice breaking into stardom on the stage, the Broadway role elevated Streisand’s career to new levels and earned the star a second Tony nomination. She reprised her role in the film adaptation to great acclaim, followed a few years later with the sequel Funny Lady.

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Barbra Streisand with Elliott Gould at Bullitt Party (1968)

Barbra and then-hubby, American actor Elliott Gould, at a party for the film Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen. The couple met in I Can Get It for You Wholesale, Barbra’s Broadway debut.

Barbra Streisand on the Red Carpet at the Academy Awards (1969)

Funny Girl finally nabs her man—Oscar. Barbra Streisand poses with her Best Actress statue at the 41st Annual Academy Awards. Okay, so it was a tie—the only tie for Best Actress in Oscar history—but at least she’s in good company, sharing the honor with Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter.

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Barbra Streisand with Her Son Jason Gould (1971)

Aw! Matching outfits for a little family time. Barbra and son Jason Gould, who grew up to be an actor himself, smile for the cameras in the theater.

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Barbra Streisand as Judy Maxwell in What’s Up, Doc? (1972)

After her musical comedy ventures Hello, Dolly! and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Streisand continued her comedy streak with the non-musical The Owl and the Pussycat and kept audiences laughing with costar Ryan O’Neal in What’s Up, Doc? as the trouble-ridden Judy Maxwell.

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Barbra Streisand as Katie with Robert Redford as Hubbell in The Way We Were (1973)

In the tearjerker romantic comedy The Way We Were, directed by Sydney Pollack, Streisand and Redford play star-crossed lovers torn apart by their politics. Streisand was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, and the political aspect of the film foreshadowed her future activism.

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Barbra Streisand as Esther Hoffman in A Star Is Born (1976)

Barbra Streisand rocks the role played by Judy Garland in the remake of the 1954 film in which a young singer’s budding career eclipses that of her rock star mentor/lover (played by Kris Kristofferson), tearing the relationship apart.

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Barbra Streisand at the Grammy Awards (1987)

Fittingly dressed in gold, the Grammys’ golden girl poses with yet another statue at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards, where she won Best Pop Vocal Performance for The Broadway Album.

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Barbra Streisand Directs The Prince of Tides (1991)

Taking a break from her directing duties on the film adaptation of Pat Conroy’s novel The Prince of Tides, Streisand also took the leading role as psychiatrist Susan Lowenstein. Streisand would later reunite with castmate Blythe Danner in Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers.

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Barbra Streisand with Former President Bill Clinton at his Presidential Inauguration (1993)

Streisand has been known to use her celebrity and influence to promote political change and regularly throws her support into the political arena. Here she congratulates Bill Clinton at his inauguration. She later dedicated her album Higher Ground to President Clinton’s mother, Virginia Clinton Kelley, whose funeral Streisand attended.

Barbra Streisand on Tour (1994)

After taking nearly three decades off from touring (with only fundraising benefits in between), Streisand burst back onto the concert stage with a bang on New Year’s 1994. Elegant and commanding onstage, Streisand also raked in over $10 million for the charities she supports.

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Barbra Streisand with Pierce Brosnan and Jeff Bridges in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)

Two fantastic (and good-looking) actors fight for Streisand as Rose Morgan in The Mirror Has Two Faces, a twist on the traditional rom-com. Streisand directed, produced, and starred in the film, for which she also cowrote the Grammy-, Oscar-, and Golden Globe-nominated song “I Finally Found Someone.”

Barbra Streisand with Dustin Hoffman in Little Fockers (2010)

Barbra Streisand shows she’s still got her comedy chops as sex therapist and outspoken mother of Greg (Ben Stiller), Rozalin Focker (with Dustin Hoffman as Bernie Focker, Greg’s free-spirited father), on the set of Little Fockers, the third in the series of films.