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

The Greatest Star

Having read the hardcover, I am now thoroughly enjoying this audiobook. Hearing Barbra, herself, describe her life is a priceless treat. What a talent. The stuff that dreams are made of. Thank you, Ms. Streisand, for allowing us to hear your truth. It was truly worth the wait.

Dresses

I haven't finished it yet. It's unnecessarily long. I could do without her description of every dress she ever wore.

Amazing!

This book is beautiful on audio and of her life is amazing... I love this so much.. thank you fave

Exceeded my expectations!

I completed this straight thru minus three hours sleep! I love the genuine B! hug

Barbra Streisand

I loved the beginning of the book So interesting when she spoke about all that goes in to making a movie.Love how she spoke about the great people she worked with and what made them successful.Her descriptions of her childhood certainly foreshadowed the adult she would become.
What an exciting life she lived.
I did think the last quarter of the book got bogged down a bit in minutia but over all I would highly recommend this book.

Feels as if Barbra is speaking to you directly.

A very interesting life by a performer whose work is unparalleled. I especially love the improvised parts of her story.

Best 48 hours EVER!

I just turned 60 and I’ve been a Barbra Streisand fan since age 5 when I saw “Funny Girl”, my first non-animated movie . So imagine what an impression Barbra’s Oscar winning performance had on an impressionable child. She represented the best of Hollywood to me for life.
And like everything she does so does her memoir.in her iconic voice she dispels myths.we learn how truly vulnerable, shy and formidable she can be—a mass of contradictions -why her legion of fans adore her. She won despite all the misogyny, antisemitism,jealousy thrown at her.Truth and talent wins!

She's the greatest star

Wow. This book was EPIC. I listened to the whole thing and laughed and cried more times than I can count. Most often I would catch my breath and my heart would stop for a moment. I can honestly say it never got old. I actually still have about a minute left and I just don't want it to end. Barbra is so many people in one package - the Brooklyn kid, the quirky young singer that New Yorkers were fascinated by, the overflowing-with-talent 19 year old girl that took Broadway by storm and confused powerful men, not to mention the movie star, the director, the producer, the wife, the mother, the WOMAN (oh, now I'm crying again), the outspoken citizen, the role model. Her narration is so delightful and in-the-moment, is she even reading? So funny and charming and eye opening. What a life.
Thank you, Barbra for writing this amazing book! I love the snippets of her singing that show up reminding me of the magic. Never even a whole song, so cool. I am once again that little girl that used to dance around the living room while her records played on the stereo. Time travel.

Loved this Book

I Loved that Barbra read and music played, you wouldn't get the music in a book! I laughed and cried and enjoyed it so much!

Barbar's Amazing Life!

I love the fact that she read it herself!
This is a great book even though it was long.
I enjoyed it immensel