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Barbra Streisand was born on April 24 in Brooklyn, New York to Diana and Emmanuel Streisand. At only 15 months old, her father passed away. Emmanuel Streisand was a respected scholar and teacher. Streisand attended Erasmus High School in Brooklyn, where she was an honor student. In the early 1960s, Streisand began to try her luck at acting and singing. He sang at nightclubs, and won a singing contest at a Manhattan nightclub.

In 1962, Barbra Streisand performed on her first Broadway show, I Can get It For You Wholesale. She was rewarded a “New York Drama Critics Award” for her performance and a Tony nomination. Later that year, Streisand signed a contract with Columbia records.

In 1963, Streisand released, The Barbra Streisand Album. Her debut album became a top ten and went gold. This made Streisand one of the bestselling female artists of the early 1960s. In 1963, she received two Grammy awards for the album, including Album of the Year. At that time, she wa...