From ‘Funny Girl’ to Advocate, Barbra Streisand Is a Cultural Icon! Her Transformation Photos

1960

The first time Barbra ever sang in pursuit of a job was in 1960 when she worked as an usher at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater. The play running at the time was The Sound of Music and when Barbra heard that the casting director needed more singers, she auditioned. Unfortunately, she didn’t land the role, but that was when she decided to pursue singing along with her acting.

1968

By 1968, Barbra had become a star on Broadway with her role in Funny Girl. She eventually adapted the musical into a film and starred as Fanny once more. Her take as Fanny won her the Academy Award for Best Actress that year.

1977

In 1977, Barbra had just finished filming A Star Is Born, a remake of the 1937 original film, opposite Kris Kristofferson. The Meet the Fockers star made history that year by becoming the first woman to win an Oscar for both acting and singing. Barbra took home the Best Actress award, along with Best Original Song.

1982

By 1982, Barbra was a bona fide star and she had the best selling album in the U.K. with Memories. Plus, this was the year she began recording music for the film Yentl, a movie that also allowed Barbra to make history once more when she became the first woman to win a Golden Globe for directing in 1984.

1995

In 1995, Barbra had several projects on her plate including a special titled Barbra: The Concert and a made-for-TV movie called Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story. Both endeavors won Emmy Awards with Barbra winning two for Barbra: The Concert.

2000

While Barbra performed for a ​packed crowd on New Years Eve 1999, less than a year later in September 2000 she announced she was retiring from playing public concerts. Barbra was also awarded the highest honor for a career in film with the AFI Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute that year.

2015

Barbra is also well known for her politics and has been a vocal supporter of Democratic policies for years. In 2015, she spoke as a guest at the Women in the World Summit.

2023

In 2023, despite all of her Oscars, Emmys and more, Barbra was honored to receive one of her most prestigious awards yet. She became the fourth recipient of the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award named after one of the iconic and pathbreaking Justices ever to serve on the Supreme Court,” Barbra wrote via X on February 22, 2023.