Compensating for her angular, prominent features (which she has often played up self-mockingly in films as her "imperfect" beauty) with unbounded energy and immense talent, Streisand won an Oscar for her first film, William Wyler's adaptation of FUNNY GIRL (1968). She subsequently turned several mediocre movies into box-office successes, and appeared in such enjoyably old-fashioned films as WHAT'S UP, DOC? (1972) and THE WAY WE WERE (1973), making her the biggest female box-office star of the 1970s.
Increasingly criticized for her sometimes megalomaniacal tendencies, Streisand responded by noting that healthy ambition in men has often been seen as unattractive pushiness in women. She also branched out into producing (beginning with 1976's A STAR IS BORN and then directing (beginning with 1983's YENTL, which she also wrote). She has since produced most of her own occasional film vehicles and continued to enjoy considerable chart success with her albums and show-stopping singles through the early 80s, ranging from the theme songs of "The Way We Were" and "The Main Event," to "A Woman in Love," to a disco-flavored duet with Donna Summer, "Enough Is Enough."
YENTL (1983), the story of a Jewish girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to pursue an education, garnered Streisand generally respectful but mixed reviews from critics, who liked her handling of actors and obvious sincerity and attention to detail, but carped at the many indulgent musical monologues and routine visual style.
After another producing effort and larger-than-life star performance as a woman on trial who is considered NUTS (1987), Streisand directed a second film, THE PRINCE OF TIDES (1991), based on Pat Conroy's best-selling novel. Both critical and popular response to Streisand's sensitive directorial work were notably improved, dismay being largely reserved in some corners for Streisand's glamorized appearance and performance as a sympathetic psychiatrist. The film received seven Oscar nominations among both acting and technical categories, including one for Best Picture. The lack of a nomination for Streisand as director caused a mild stir in the entertainment community, but she blithely continued with other directorial projects, AIDS and Democratic Party activism, and a very well-received compilation of songs associated with her career. 1994 marked a rare return to live concert singing with an incredibly popular multi-city tour which found her charisma and her singing voice both in mint condition.
In 1996, she released THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES about a relationship between two Columbia professors with frustrating personal lives for different reasons. Jeff Bridges is searching for an ideal marriage, and Streisand plays a woman no one finds attractive. Problems soon arise after a marriage without sex and gets worse when she is transformed from an ugly duckling into a swan through diet, exercise and a make-over. Streisand also produced and directed.
Aside from television specials and tributes, her last screen appearance was in 2004's MEET THE FOCKERS. It's rumored that she will star as Norman Desmond in the 2009 production of the musical, SUNSET BOULEVARD.
Formerly married to I Can Get It For You Wholeseale co-star Elliott Gould and mother of actor Jason Gould, who played her son in THE PRINCE OF TIDES.
Actress 1968: (Co-winner with Katharine Hepburn for THE LION IN WINTER)
Nominated for Actress 1973: THE WAY WE WERE
Music Best Song 1976: A STAR IS BORN - Music "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)"
Nominated for Best Picture of the Year 1991: THE PRINCE OF TIDES - Producer at Barwood/Longfellow (w. Andrew Karsch)
Nominated for Music Best Song 1996: THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES - Music & Lyric "I Finally Found Someone" (w. Marvin Hamlisch, Bryan Adams & Robert John "Mutt" Lange)
5 nominations, 2 Awards