Barbra Streisand was born on April 24, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. She is an actress, director, producer and writer. Among her many films are Hello, Dolly! (1969), A Star Is Born (1976), Yentl (1983) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996). As a child she attended the Beis Yakov Jewish School in Brooklyn. She is good friends with singer/songwriter Neil Diamond, with whom she dueted on the smash hit song, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers". They both attended the same high school and sang together in the school choir. Barbra has one son, Jason Gould, with ex-husband Elliott Gould. She is now married to James Brolin. She has won many awards including two Oscars, five Emmys, eight Golden Globes, three People's Choice Awards, two Women in Film Crystal Awards and two ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards. Barbra has also received an American Film Institute award and a Cecil B. DeMille Award.

She and Shirley MacLaine celebrate their joint birthday together every year.

Announced engagement to James Brolin. [May 1997]

Attended Bais Yakov School in Brooklyn, New York as a child.

Daughter of Diana Rosen and Emmanuel Streisand.

Has an older brother, Sheldon Streisand.

Singer/actress/director.

Mother of actor Jason Gould.

Sister of Roslyn Kind.

Favorite colour is white. Loves Chinese food and coffee icecream. Hates performing live. Good friends with Shirley MacLaine and Donna Karan.

When she and Neil Diamond had a smash hit in 1978 with "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", it was not the first time that the Brooklyn-born superstars had sung together. While students at New York City's Erasmus High School, they both sang in the school choir.

Supported Al Gore's bid for the presidency. [2000]

Is a staunch Democrat.

Spoke out against the nomination of former Missouri Senator John Ashcroft for Attorney General. [2001]

Was the first person ever to receive a Grammy, an Emmy, an Oscar and a Tony. She won her first Grammy in 1963, her first Emmy in 1965, her first Oscar in 1968, and her one Tony in 1970. Her Tony was a non-competitive award for Star of the Decade, which is why most people attribute this first to others (such as Rita Moreno) who won all four awards in competitive categories.

Born at 5:08 AM EST

Dated former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Mary Martin, Anne Bancroft and Carol Burnett all turned down the Broadway role of Fanny Brice before Barbra nabbed it. Singer Eydie Gormé was also considered but balked when they would not cast husband Steve Lawrence as Nicky Arnstein.

Named the best selling female singer of the 20th Century. She has sold more than 68 million records, with 47 Gold, 28 Platinum and 13 Multi-Platinum.

Female artist with most albums sold in U.S.

Only artist to achieve Billboard #1 albums in four decades, the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s.

Solo artist with longest time span between first #1 and latest #1 albums (33 years between "People" and "Higher Ground").

Artist with longest career in the Billboard Top 20 (32 years, 7 months between "People" and "I Finally Found Someone").

Second most Gold album certifications (47) {#1: Elvis Presley}.

Third most top 40 albums (45) {#1: Frank Sinatra}.

Fourth most top 10 albums (26) {#1: Frank Sinatra}.

Fourth most number 1 albums (8) {#1: The Beatles}.

Fifth top Billboard-charting artist {#1: Elvis Presley}.

Highest grossing single concert, with $14,694,750, MGM Grand Garden Arena, December 31, 1999.

Second single largest grossing American concert engagement, with $16.6 million, seven performances, Madison Square Garden, 1994 (#1: $19 million, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, 15 performances, Continental Airlines Arena, 1999).

First woman since the silent era to direct, produce, write and star in a feature film; she also sings (Yentl (1983)).

Artist with Grammy nominations in the most categories -- 9.

Only artist to receive Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Golden Globe, CableACE and Peabody awards.

Only Oscar recipient for both acting and songwriting.

Turned down the role of call girl Bree Daniels in Klute (1971), which won Jane Fonda an Oscar.

Measurements: 36-25-36 (1960s measures), 34 1/2B-27 1/2-33 1/2 (filming The Main Event (1979)), 34B-25-36 (1995 stats). (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).

Shoe size: 8AA Bra size: 34B Panties size: 6 (from donations to charity auctions)

Was once a switchboard operator.

Graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn.

3 December 2003 - Her invasion-of-privacy suit over aerial photos taken of her Malibu home and shown on a web site dedicated to the California coastline was thrown out of court by a California judge. She claimed it would encourage stalkers.

Ranked #31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

She was voted the 54th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

Received a Special Tony Award in 1970. Previously, she was nominated twice for a Tony: in 1962 as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical) for "I Can Get It for You Wholesale," and in 1964 as Best Actress (Musical) for portraying Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl," a signature role she recreated in her Oscar- winning performance in the film version of the same name, Funny Girl (1968).

Godmother of Caleigh Peters

Both of her husbands, Elliott Gould and James Brolin, starred in Capricorn One (1978).

Stepmother of Josh Brolin

Mother-in-law of Diane Lane

Columbia wanted to cast Shirley MacLaine as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (1968). However Ray Stark, who produced the Broadway show and was Brice's son-in-law, insisted on Streisand repeating her Broadway role. Several co-stars later publicly blasted Streisand and director William Wyler for much of their scenes being cut in favor of focusing almost entirely on Streisand. Columbia were considering Frank Sinatra for the role of Nicky Arnstein, which she vetoed as she didn't like him. The final musical number, "My Man", was filmed "live" both to maximize Streisand's dramatic rendition and because she hated the lip-syncing process. At the time of the film's release, she was also a voting member of AMPAS. When she found she was nominated, she, like any member nominated, voted for herself. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have tied with Katharine Hepburn for the year's Best Actress Oscar.

While a struggling artist in the early 1960s, she lived at 1157 Third Avenue in Manhattan over Oscar's Salt of the Sea Restaurant. She shared the tiny $62- per-month apartment with Elliott Gould who would later become her husband

Film output toned down considerably after The Main Event (1979). She's only acted in six films since.

One of the elite actors who have nabbed an Oscar for their first film role.

In a controversial decision, she was allowed to become a voting member of the Academy prior to her first film, Funny Girl (1968), even being released and won the Oscar in a tie with Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter (1968) a few months later. Presumably she voted for herself, so if she hadn't been allowed to join early, she wouldn't have won.

She was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 2000 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.

June 8, 2005 manager Martin Erlichman announced 2006 20 City Fall Charity Tour.

Interviewed in "Directors Close Up: Interviews with Directors Nominated for Best Film by the Directors Guild of America", ed. by Jeremy Kagan, Scarecrow Press, 2006.

Is one of only five actors/actresses to have both a number one single and an Oscar for best actor/actress. The others are 'Frank Sinatra' (Best Supporting Actor) , Jamie Foxx, Cher and Bing Crosby.

Lost the 1964 Tony award for Best Actress in a Musical (nominated for "Funny Girl") to Carol Channing who won for "Hello, Dolly" - a role Streisand played in the movie version in Hello, Dolly! (1969).

Directed 4 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Amy Irving, Nick Nolte, Kate Nelligan and Lauren Bacall.

Turned the role of Eva Peron in Evita (1996). She was the first choice of Ken Russell, who was the first director attached to the film.

Has sold 70 million records worldwide.

Is close friends with Dustin Hoffman and Dick Van Dyke.