My Name Is Barbra

By: Barbra Streisand

Narrated by: Barbra Streisand

Length: 48 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The exhilarating and startlingly honest autobiography of the living legend.

The long-awaited memoir by the icon of stage, screen and music. This audiobook is read by Barbra Streisand. It features Barbra Streisand’s iconic music, interlaced with exclusive anecdotes for the My Name is Barbra audio edition.

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 popular music.

Streisand’s memoir reveals a voice on the page that is every bit as heartfelt, entertaining and spectacular as her best performances. There’s the chilling story, which she’s never told before, of the origins of her legendary stage fright. There’s a hilarious opening line to James Brolin, who she’s been with for 27 years. There’s a page and a half correcting the record on the Streisand Effect, a term that refers to the way efforts to minimize a story can backfire, generating exponentially more press. As Vanity Fair said: ‘if Barbra could plug away for 10 years writing this exhaustive, exhilarating account of her life— then we can do her the courtesy of reading it from start to finish.’

©2023 Barbra Streisand (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

‘Exhilarating … leaves blood on the page … My Name Is Barbra is 992 pages of startling honesty and self-reflection, deadpan parenthetical asides (including a running bit about how much she loves going to the dentist), encyclopaedic recall of onstage outfits, and rigorous analyses of her films’ Vanity Fair

‘Glorious, exuberant, chatty and candid, a victory lap past all who ever doubted, diminished or dissed her, with lingering high fives for the many supporters . . . generous dollops of chutzpah … Nobody puts Barbra in the corner.’ New York Times

‘The book is crammed with delicious details of backstage arguments, bewildered suitors and at least one incident of falling off a London bus’ BBC ‘Streisand is no less than a living legend, one of a handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and now, she’s taking us all back to where it began. Streisand’s story is truly inspirational and it’s one that you’ll want to pick up again and again’ Glamour

Babs put the ego in EGOT.

Huge talent, huge ego, riveting. Listen to Babs tell her story in real time, 82 years.

How dedicated Barbra and hardworking is

I loved everything about this book. She is so open and honest about her career and life.

I’m hunting for her movies because we don’t have them on streaming services in South Africa.

Did Barbara ever visit Nelson Mandela in South Africa?

Beautifully read

Being narrated by Barbra herself in her familiar Brooklyn accent this is such an interesting, intimate, honest and engaging 'story telling' rather than a read. if you listen on the train or bus you are likely to miss your stop.

Spectacular and a complete delight

As only Babs can do! This audiobook comes alive and it feels like you’re sitting right there in the room listening to her. I love the chatty style and the interwoven audio clips. I’m starting again, from the top!

U Thant

Did you tell U Thant that you were born in Rangoon ? That must have been a alternative conversation 🙂

Simply brilliant

Barbra is a wonderful story teller and a beautiful voice. Loved it! I could listen to her talk forever.

A sheer joy, Surpassed my every expectation thank you

I can honestly say that my Christmas gift to myself of this audiobook was worth every moment I waited for it to be completed. And Barbra gives of herself so completely that you feel that she’s in the room talking to you and telling her story to you and you alone.

A weekend with Ms. Barbra

Let us start with the obvious question: did Ms. Barbra Stresiand really need to put down her life's story into nearly a thousand pages and 48 hours of recording? the answer is a resounding YES!
This biography has the same meticulous touch as any other project to come out of the hands and mouth of Barbra Stresiand - and with the same vivaciousness which cannot be discounted as the actress/director/producer/singer has been with us for a good while; not only is this a well-written biography, it is in many ways a recorded diary, full of thoughts and feelings - and a great addition to her amazing life's work.

A backslapping and name dropping bore

I liked very little about this - such a disappointment from someone with a beautiful singing voice.

If you’re a die hard fan of her work as a singer, director, actor and writer, you may be disappointed.

I liked the stories of her early days and the people she met along the way, the anecdotes and the memories and I was super impressed with how she’d journaled so much over the years. However all the politics and causes became tedious after a while. I felt this could have been left out. Barbra also only shared so much but the book left me feeling that I didn’t know her better because it seemed superficial at times. She is a powerhouse there’s no doubt about it and I will always be a fan but this book lacked authenticity and heart for me. Even when talking about her mother (until the final chapter when she expressed more emotion). I’m glad I didn’t buy the hard copy.