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00:30In the entertainment world, they don't come much greater than Barbara Jones Streisand.
00:35Born in Brooklyn in 1942, Barbara is one of only a handful of performers to have won the ultimate accolades in every relevant medium.
00:45She has two Academy Awards, including Best Actress for her debut role in 1968's Funny Girl.
00:51She also has a Tony, eight Grammys, four Emmys, and nine Golden Globes.
00:58Barbara always knew what she wanted to do, although her mother discouraged her, telling her she wasn't attractive enough to be a performer, and encouraging her to learn to type.
01:07To this day, Barbara keeps her nails famously long, so that typing will never be an option.
01:13In her Broadway debut as Miss Marmelstein in I Can Get It For You Wholesale, the 19-year-old excelled in her small but star-making part, earning a Tony nomination.
01:24Soon after, she landed herself a recording contract with Columbia Records, and there would be no looking back.
01:31Over four decades, Barbara has continued to set records across the board, and experienced extraordinary success in film and music.
01:39Her movies range from Hullo Dolly to The Way We Were, What's Up Doc, and Nuts.
01:44Having sold more than 68 million records, she was named as the best-selling female singer of the 20th century, and is the only artist to have had number one Billboard albums in four separate decades.
01:56Barbara followed her legendary guest appearance on the Judy Garland TV show in 1963 with a number of award-winning TV specials of her own.
02:04She took home an Emmy for 1965's My Name Is Barbara, and two more for 1994's Barbara Streisand The Concert.
02:11In 1983, she faced accusations of hubris when she directed, produced, and starred in Yentl.
02:19But the lush film with music won Barbara a Golden Globe for directing, and also picked up an Oscar for its score.
02:27Overcoming her notorious stage fright, she has returned to the concert halls, while also spending much time on her favorite charities and political causes.
02:39She has been a dedicated Democrat for decades.
02:42Money for great charities that I believe in.
02:49You know, there's so much to be done in the world today, and certainly the medical research for women, and fighting against nuclear proliferation, global warming.
03:03So many good things to do in the world that I have to raise money, you know, just call me a charity slut.
03:12Following a divorce from her first husband, Elliot Gould, in 1971, Barbara married James Brolin in 1998,
03:19becoming stepmother to his three children, including actor Josh Brolin, who was two years younger than her only child, Jason Gould.
03:28Barbara has always been a performer with a devoted fandom, and not just among gay men,
03:33although, like Bette Midler, she had her first taste of success performing in a gay bar in Greenwich Village, and has always remained loyal to all of her fans.
03:41Why Streisand? Of course Streisand. Why not?
03:45Barbara Streisand is the only great entertainer of our time who has won awards in every medium she has performed in.
03:56And that we have to recognize, and we have to honor her for this. We're thrilled to do it.
04:01And the rest of us are thrilled to honor the Streisand magic, too.
04:56Three, two, one.
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