50 Fun Facts About Barbra Streisand

The term 'Streisand effect', coined after Barbra Streisand's 2003 photo lawsuit, describes what?

A cover-up that draws attention: her bid to remove an aerial image of her home sent hundreds of thousands of visitors to a picture almost nobody had seen.

What unusual step did Barbra Streisand take after the death of her beloved dog Samantha?

Had the dog cloned: she named the two puppies Miss Scarlett and Miss Violet after the red and lavender outfits she used to tell them apart.

Which tech CEO did Barbra Streisand phone to complain that a voice assistant mispronounced her surname?

Tim Cook took the call, and Apple soon fixed Siri, which had been saying her surname with a 'z' sound instead of a soft 's'.

With which screen legend did Barbra Streisand share the Best Actress Oscar for 1968 in an exact tie?

Katharine Hepburn won for The Lion in Winter and Streisand for her film debut, prompting presenter Ingrid Bergman to gasp as she opened the envelope.

Barbra Streisand refused to take a stage name but made which small change at 18 to stand out?

Dropped an 'a' from Barbara: that was her compromise after advisers floated stage names such as Joanie Sands, which she found too false.

Told early on that she was too ugly to be a star, Barbra Streisand refused which cosmetic procedure?

A nose job was the advice she kept hearing in her nightclub days, yet she declined and was on the cover of Time magazine by 1964.

Which tennis champion, 28 years her junior, dated Barbra Streisand in the early 1990s?

Andre Agassi later wrote in his autobiography that the public outcry over their age gap only added spice to the relationship.

Which problem made Barbra Streisand hesitate over her 1994 return to touring after 27 years away?

Stage fright made her slow to commit, yet tickets for the tour sold out in under an hour and Time magazine billed it the music event of the century.

Barbra Streisand was among the celebrities named on which US president's political 'enemies list'?

Richard Nixon's 1971 list named her, and a year later she headlined a benefit concert for his election opponent George McGovern.

Which of Barbra Streisand's four EGOT awards came as a special 1970 'Star of the Decade' prize?

Tony voters gave her the non-competitive honour after she had twice been nominated for Broadway roles without winning.

Which future hitmaker sang beside Barbra Streisand in the Erasmus Hall High School choir in the 1950s?

Neil Diamond remembered the two of them as poor kids smoking cigarettes outside the school, about two decades before their duet topped the US chart.

Which disco star joined Barbra Streisand on the 1979 chart-topping duet 'No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)'?

Donna Summer and Streisand made it the first duet by two women to top the Billboard Hot 100, and it led the disco chart for four weeks.

Which hitmaker produced Barbra Streisand's 1980 album Guilty and sang with her on its title track?

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees had planned to write only half the songs but ended up doing the whole album, which sold over 15 million copies worldwide.

Which real-life Ziegfeld Follies comedienne did Barbra Streisand play on Broadway and in the film Funny Girl?

Fanny Brice's stormy marriage to gambler Nicky Arnstein drives the story, and the film was produced by her own son-in-law, Ray Stark.

Which Hollywood star played Hubbell Gardiner opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1973 romance The Way We Were?

Robert Redford played the athletic, good-looking writer in a story Arthur Laurents based on his own college days at Cornell.

Which country singer-songwriter played the fading rock star opposite Barbra Streisand in 1976's A Star Is Born?

Kris Kristofferson got the role after talks with Elvis Presley collapsed when Elvis's manager insisted on top billing and a large fee.

Which love theme from A Star Is Born made Barbra Streisand the first woman to win an Oscar as composer?

Evergreen set her melody to words by Paul Williams, and the single spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Which 1983 film made Barbra Streisand the first woman to write, produce, direct and star in a major studio picture?

Yentl took her about fifteen years to get made: Orion cancelled it over its budget before United Artists backed her tale of a woman who poses as a man to study.

Which actor, Barbra Streisand's first husband, met her when both were cast in a 1962 Broadway musical?

Elliott Gould played the lead in I Can Get It for You Wholesale while she played his secretary, and they married in Nevada the following year.

Which star of TV's Marcus Welby, M.D. became Barbra Streisand's second husband in 1998?

James Brolin married her on July 1, 1998, the same year he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In which 1969 musical, directed by Gene Kelly, did Barbra Streisand play a matchmaker opposite Walter Matthau?

Hello, Dolly! was shot amid open feuding, with Streisand clashing on set with both her co-star and her director.

Which 1972 screwball comedy teamed Barbra Streisand with Ryan O'Neal in a chase over four identical plaid bags?

What's Up, Doc? was director Peter Bogdanovich's homage to Bringing Up Baby and Bugs Bunny cartoons, and it became the third highest-grossing film of its year.

Which 2004 comedy sequel cast Barbra Streisand as Roz, a sex therapist and mother of Ben Stiller's character?

Meet the Fockers ended her eight-year break from film acting, pairing her with Dustin Hoffman as the free-spirited parents of the groom.

Which comedy actor played Barbra Streisand's inventor son on a cross-country drive in 2012's The Guilt Trip?

Seth Rogen's role grew out of a real drive that screenwriter Dan Fogelman once took with his own mother from New Jersey to Las Vegas.

Which actor played a troubled South Carolina football coach opposite Barbra Streisand in 1991's The Prince of Tides?

Nick Nolte earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination, one of seven nods for the film, yet Streisand was left out of the directing category.

Which actor played gambler Nicky Arnstein opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1968 film Funny Girl?

Omar Sharif was nearly replaced when the Six-Day War broke out during production, but Streisand and her director threatened to quit if he went.

At which awards did Barbra Streisand become the first woman to win Best Director, a feat unmatched for 37 years?

The Golden Globes honoured her 1983 directing debut, while the Oscars gave the same film no nominations for picture, actress or director.

Which record label signed Barbra Streisand in the early 1960s, granting full artistic control in exchange for lower pay?

Columbia wanted to call her debut album Sweet and Saucy Streisand, and she used that contractual control to veto the title.

Which upbeat Democratic Party anthem did Barbra Streisand slow into a sad ballad on television in 1962?

Happy Days Are Here Again, a jaunty 1930s campaign tune, became the signature song of her early career in this mournful arrangement.

Which Hollywood legend hosted the TV variety show where a young Barbra Streisand joined her for a famous duet?

Judy Garland called her one of the last great belters on air, and Ethel Merman then joined the pair for a three-way number.

Which future world champion, a fellow Erasmus Hall High School student, was Barbra Streisand's teenage crush?

Bobby Fischer was already the US chess champion at 15, and she remembered the prodigy as very sexy.

Which Canadian prime minister did Barbra Streisand date in 1969 and 1970, while he was in office?

Pierre Trudeau was a bachelor when he took office in 1968; the romance was serious, but he quietly married Margaret Sinclair in 1971.

Which US president did Barbra Streisand introduce at his inauguration after her fundraising concerts aided his run?

Bill Clinton later presented her with the National Medal of Arts, the highest US honour given specifically for achievement in the arts.

Which DJ duo had a 2010 dance hit named after Barbra Streisand, built on a replayed Boney M. sample?

Duck Sauce, the pairing of A-Trak and Armand van Helden, topped charts across Europe and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording.

On which sketch show did Barbra Streisand make a surprise 1992 cameo with Linda Richman, a character who idolised her?

Saturday Night Live's Mike Myers based Linda Richman on his real mother-in-law, and Madonna and Roseanne Barr were playing her guests when Streisand walked on.

Which animated series turned Barbra Streisand into a giant robot monster in the 1998 episode 'Mecha-Streisand'?

South Park drew a then-record 5.4 million viewers for the kaiju parody, though Streisand criticised it without having watched it.

On which TV series does Lea Michele play Rachel Berry, whose middle name honours Barbra Streisand?

Glee later sent Rachel to Broadway to lead a revival of the very musical that made Streisand a star.

What did Barbra Streisand have built beneath a barn on her Malibu estate to house her collections?

A street of shops, inspired by a Delaware museum, holds her dolls and antiques, and it in turn inspired the 2013 one-man play Buyer & Cellar.

In which New York City borough was Barbra Streisand born, though she gave no public concert there until 2012?

Brooklyn finally heard her live when she sang for a crowd of 18,000 at the new Barclays Center, joined on stage by her son.

At which hit Broadway musical was a teenage Barbra Streisand working as an usher in 1960?

The Sound of Music was casting more singers, so she auditioned; the director passed but urged her to put singing on her résumé.

Which Las Vegas headliner hired Barbra Streisand as his opening act after they shared an Ed Sullivan Show bill?

Liberace became an instant fan of the young singer and is credited with introducing her to audiences on the West Coast.

For which comedian did Barbra Streisand open at the Bon Soir nightclub in her first professional engagement?

Phyllis Diller headlined while the teenager earned $125 a week, and later hailed her on television as one of the world's great singing talents.

Where in New York City did Barbra Streisand sing for a six-figure open-air crowd in June 1967, later a CBS special?

Central Park hosted the Saturday show, and the recording became her first live album.

Which Canadian singer recorded the 1997 duet 'Tell Him' with Barbra Streisand for both of their albums?

Celine Dion had stepped in at that year's Oscars to sing a Streisand film song, and a thank-you note with flowers led to the duet.

Which rock singer duetted with Barbra Streisand on 'I Finally Found Someone' from The Mirror Has Two Faces?

Bryan Adams helped give her a first top-ten Hot 100 hit in fifteen years, and the power ballad earned an Oscar nomination.

Which Broadway composer reworked some of his own songs especially for Barbra Streisand's 1985 The Broadway Album?

Stephen Sondheim was persuaded to revise his material for a project her label doubted, and it went on to spend three weeks at number one.

Which composer wrote the music for 'The Way We Were', Barbra Streisand's first US number-one single?

Marvin Hamlisch won Oscars for both the song and the film's score, and the single topped the charts in both the US and Canada.

Which former hairdresser, Barbra Streisand's partner from 1973, produced her 1976 film A Star Is Born?

Jon Peters went on to produce the 1989 blockbuster Batman, and Streisand is godmother to two of his daughters.

To which medical cause did Barbra Streisand give millions, endowing a Cedars-Sinai centre that bears her name?

Women's heart health became her cause in 2009 with a $5 million gift, and by 2012 she had raised $22 million more for the centre.

Barbra Streisand's voice, admired for long sustained notes, is usually classed as which vocal range?

Mezzo-soprano is the usual label for her voice, yet she cannot read or write music and hears melodies as finished compositions in her head.