In a first-time first-person account of her life and career, legendary singer, actress, director and producer Barbra Streisand will publish her memoir, My Name is Barbra, on November 7, 2023 via Penguin Random House imprint Viking. The Penguin Group made it official on Tuesday, calling the tome “engrossing and delightful.” There have been dozens of books written about the now 80-year-old artist, but this will be the first to tell her story in her own words.
And by account, it’s a lot of words. Pre-order listings have it clocking in at 1,040 pages. Fitting for a woman whose groundbreaking career has spanned six decades and included two Oscars, five Emmys, 10 Grammys, 11 Golden Globes and a Tony as well as countless other awards.
Streisand is among the handful of EGOT winners and has one of the most recognizable voices in the history of popular music. She has been nominated for a Grammy 46 times. Her first Oscar was for Best Actress, in a breakout performance as Fanny Brice in 1968’s Funny Girl. She followed that up with a Best Original Song win for “Evergreen,” the theme from A Star is Born, which made her the first female composer to earn an Academy Award in the category.
With 1983’s Yentl, she became the first woman to write, produce, direct and star in a major motion picture. Her 1991 adaptation of The Prince of Tides was nominated for seven Oscars including Best Picture but famously not Best Director which that year’s Oscar host Billy Crystal called out in his opening song and dance. Other film credits include What’s Up, Doc?; Hello, Dolly; The Way We Were and The Mirror Has Two Faces.
Among her memorable No. 1 singles are “The Way We Were”; “Evergreen”; “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” a duet with Neil Diamond; “No More Tears (Enough is Enough),” with Donna Summer; and “Woman in Love.”
Per Penguin Random House (whose Century imprint will publish in the UK), My Name Is Barbra will see Streisand trace her life from growing up in Brooklyn to her first appearances in New York nightclubs and the long string of successes in every medium in the years that followed.
The book, says the publisher, “is like Barbra herself, frank, funny, opinionated, and charming. She recounts her early struggles to become an actress, eventually turning to singing to earn a living; the recording of some of her acclaimed albums; the years of effort involved in making Yentl; her direction of The Prince of Tides; her friendships with figures ranging from Marlon Brando to Madeleine Albright; her political advocacy; and the fulfillment she’s found in her marriage to James Brolin.”
“My Name is Barbra” was also the title of a 1965 Streisand album and TV special, which scored a Grammy and two Emmys, respectively.