‘My Name Is Barbra’: PRH Announces Memoir By Barbra Streisand
More than 145 million albums sold, countless awards, and fans around the world: In her memoir “My Name Is Barbra,” Barbra Streisand looks back on her life and her extraordinary career. The book will be published November 7 by Viking Books, a Penguin Random House U.S. publisher.
Singer, actor, and director Barbra Streisand has announced the publication of her memoirs: “My Name Is Barbra” will be released this Nov. 7 by Viking Books, a Penguin Random House U.S. publisher. The Penguin Random House U.K. publisher Century will publish the book in the United Kingdom at the same time. In her memoir, Streisand tells a “story of her life and extraordinary career” from growing up in Brooklyn to her early performances in New York nightclubs, and other successes. The book is, like Streisand herself, “frank, funny, opinionated and charming.” Its title “My Name Is Barbra” comes from the name of her first TV special and the 1965 album of the same name.
Former First Lady gave her the idea
In the memoir, reports Viking, Streisand writes about her early days as an actress as well as her path to music. The recording of some of her albums and the years of effort involved in making films such as “Yentl” and “Lord of the Tides,” which also established her as a director, will also be highlighted in the work. There will also be a chapter on her marriage to actor James Brolin, whom she has been married to since 1998, and readers can also look forward to stories about “friendships with figures ranging from Marlon Brando to Madeleine Albright.”As she told TV host Jimmy Fallon in an interview on “The Tonight Show” in 2021, Streisand has been working on her memoirs for decades. According to the interview, former First Lady Jackie Kennedy had given her the idea of writing a book about her life back in the mid-1980s.
Social advocacy a high priority
Since her breakthrough with the leading role in the film “Funny Girl” (1968), Barbra Streisand has been one of Hollywood’s most famous stars. She has won several Grammy Awards for her musical performances, as well as the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (“Funny Girl”) and for Best Movie Song (“Evergreen” from “A Star Is Born”), as well as several Emmys, Golden Globe Awards and a Special Tony Award. She is the only artist to have had at least one #1 album in the U.S. charts in each of six consecutive decades.Throughout her life, Barbra has been a passionate advocate for the causes she believes in. She created the Streisand Foundation in 1986 to advance her philanthropic interests, ranging from women’s rights, voting rights, and human rights to protecting our environment and preserving our democracy. She also created the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai to support research and raise awareness about women’s heart disease. Most recently, the 80-year-old actress endowed the Barbra Streisand Institute at UCLA to examine the critical issues of our time.
