Barbara Streisand

One of the world's most gifted musical artists, Barbara Streisand once referred to herself as an "actress who sings." Her career has been paved with bold, creative achievements and highlighted by a series of firsts. 

She won two 1963 Grammy Awards, the first one for "Album of the Year" and the second one for the youngest artist. She also won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actress, the first of two Oscars for her motion picture debut in Funny Girl.

Barbara Streisand is the first female composer ever to win an Academy Award, this for her song, "Evergreen," the love theme from her hit film, A Star Is Born.

The "actress who sings," as Barbara once termed herself, has repeatedly been at the top of the record sales charts. The statistics of her achievements as a recording sales leader are indeed drawn in platinum and gold. With 42 Gold, 26 Platinum, and 13 Multi-Platinum albums, she is second in the all-time charts, just ahead of The Beatles. Only Elvis Presley has exceeded her. Thus, she is the only artist among the top four all-time sellers who was not part of the Rock & Roll revolution, which has dominated the record business for four decades. She is the only female artist to have collected 13 Multi-Platinum albums and continues to be the highest-selling female recording artist ever, and has had number one albums in each of the last four decades.

"Barbara Streisand: The Concert", the critically lauded film version of the concerts, became the highest-rated musical event in HBO history, as well as an equally successful triple-platinum home video and triple-platinum double album. It earned five Emmys, the Peabody Award, and three Cable Ace Awards.

Catalina Stoica
"D. Zamfirescu" School, Focsani, Romania
Teacher: Petru Dumitru <petrudumitru@netscape.net>