My Name Is Barbra

By: Barbra Streisand

Narrated by: Barbra Streisand

Length: 48 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

The long-awaited memoir by the superstar of stage, screen, recordings, and television

PLEASE NOTE The audiobook edition is read by Barbra Streisand. Features additional anecdotes and music that are exclusive to the My Name Is Barbra audiobook.

Barbra Streisand is by any account a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment. She is among the handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in the history of popular music. She has been nominated for a Grammy 46 times, and with Yentl she became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major motion picture.

In My Name Is Barbra, she tells her own story about her life and extraordinary career, from growing up in Brooklyn to her first star-making appearances in New York nightclubs to her breakout performance in Funny Girl on stage and winning the Oscar for that performance on film. Then came a long string of successes in every medium in the years that followed. The book 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.

No entertainer’s memoir has been more anticipated than Barbra Streisand’s, and this engrossing and delightful book will be eagerly welcomed by her millions of fans.

©2023 Barbra Streisand (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The celebrity memoir I've coveted most is that of the singular Ms. Barbra Streisand. . . . We don't see a diva, we see a genius. . . . In a society that tends to value women's passivity while lauding their accomplishments in hindsight, it's a distinct pleasure to look back with My Name Is Barbra and marvel at how the real she came to be."—Brittany Luse, NPR

"The book is undeniably moving—it does not, even for a moment, read as false. . . . Streisand’s chatty, discursive presence hums on every page. . . . Riveting . . . . All the usual memoir forms rear their heads. There’s the sob story, the gallant bildungsroman, the louche chronicle of various addictive behaviors, the righteous making of an activist, the victory lap. Streisand’s book, in its sheer breadth and largesse, attempts to be all of these things, and thus becomes something incredibly rare. . . . If something interests her, then it is interesting, full stop. In a way, she draws on an old-fashioned idea of celebrity: to be a star is to be golden, and to make everything you touch look the same. . . . Streisand has never thought it necessary to contain herself, and there’s no reason to start now."—Rachel Syme, The New Yorker

“[My Name Is Barbra is] enlightening. It’s shake-your-head funny and hand-to-mouth surprising. The lady who wrote it is in touch with herself, loves being herself. . . . Streisand’s boundlessness, her capaciousness—the lack of precedent for her whole-enchilada ambitions, the daffiness, the sexiness, the talent, orchestration, passion, originality; her persistence and indefatigability; the outfits; the hair—were a watershed.”—Wesley Morris, The New York Times

A witty and insightful epic

The conversational reading of this wonderful memoir is both comforting and inspiring. Barbra Streisand is even funnier than I expected, and her insights into the many ingredients that go into making a good song are enlightening. As an extra treat, sometimes the listener even gets to hear parts of songs from her records. I'm only about a quarter of the way through, and already feel that this audiobook will be nominated for an Audie Award.

My 2nd favorite autobiography!!

After 48 hrs, I was sad to get to the end! I so enjoyed living in her head and it's vivid memories for a few days! My favorite autobiography is "Autobiography of a Yogi". God must be a fan of both these people!

I love you Miss Streisand!

I am a human tootsie pop. Heavy metal and horror movies make up my hard outer shell, you make up my soft chewy center. I could've listened for 100 hours! Thank you for this tour down your memory lane!

She is a national treasure!

I love listening to autobiographies narrated by the author. I felt like I was sitting down with Barbra for a chat over coffee. She’s brilliant, warm, funny and oh so talented!

Path Finder

Once in a generation. Barbara was criticized by Hollywood, now Hollywood is at least silent about Taylor Swift’s talent and success. Will it take yet one more generation for the business folk to embrace smart talented women?
Loved this autobiography! The pace, cadence, time and content were truly spectacular.

The articulate reading and seem less ad libs. Epic audio book!

Great audio clarity and added music! Barbra’s story is epically real and inspiring. We’ll done. Worth EVERY minute !

Barbra’s narration of her memoir was so personal. As a listener, I felt she was speaking directly to me. Each word, each nuance, each breath drew me in and filled me with so many emotions. Her descriptions were so vivid I was able to close my eyes and imagine I was there. Adding her vocals thought the story was brilliant and a tribute to not only her talent as a singer (she has a voice like no other) but as a director who knows exactly how to draw the listener in. Barbra is beautiful, intelligent, talented and above all honest as she shares the story of her (ups and downs) successful like.

her voice

liked it all. I showed BS an apartment in 1986. just wish I knew then what I've learned here. I would have had a lot more to say and to thank her for these memories.

Thank you, Barbra for this Masterpiece.

I have been a fan of Barbra Streisand since I was a girl and my mother bought her first album. Of course I knew, like any living breathing human, how astoundingly talented she is but am so grateful for the years of work she put into this biography. Like she does everything (I have learned from her book) it was done meticulously and thoroughly. I believe her genius (and being a fellow OCD) and compulsion for perfection made anything less than perfect unacceptable. It was hard to hear, although not at all surprising, how many obstacles she had to face, endure and overcome because she was a woman. And triumph she certainly did! Fifty eight hours flew by. Thank you, Barbra. You didn’t owe us this but I am very grateful you gave us this gem sharing your life and your life’s work.

The truth

Absolutely read beautifully, I could vision all the things she wrote and spoke about. Perfection.