Talk about an unlikely superstar: Barbara Streisand (yes, she was born with two a’s) was a poor urchin with a funny face who grew up in a crowded walkup on Brooklyn’s Pulaski Street. But she had two things going for her: a powerhouse voice and an indomitable will.
Fueled by both, the newly renamed Barbra rocketed to Broadway stardom at age 19, won an Oscar for her first film at 25, then began a quest for artistic influence that led to multihyphenate roles as writer-director-star of films like “Yentl,” “The Prince of Tides,” and “The Mirror Has Two Faces.”
In this epic autobiography, the showbiz legend tells all: her lifelong yearning for the father she barely knew, her troubled relationship with a vain and distant mother, her meteoric rise and many romances, which ending in a happy marriage to James Brolin, and decades of global acclaim as a singer, actress, and political activist.
In “My Name is Barbra,” Streisand rejects the diva reputation that’s dogged her throughout her career, and defends her right to stand among the great auteurs she admired, like director William Wyler.
At nearly 900 pages, this book is an investment of time, but one with a rich return. As someone who always admired more than liked Streisand, I must say I enjoyed the person I met in this book, who is funny, warm, and as generous as she is demanding.
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