My Name is Barbra

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

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER and THE TIMES MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023. The exhilarating and startlingly honest autobiography of the living legend.

'Over almost a thousand pages, the diva to end them all documents her rise to the top and the tears and joys that went with it ... What really brings this alive is Barbra Streisand's admission of the insecurity that drives her.' - The Times

'Exhilarating ... leaves blood on the page ... My Name is Barbra is 992 pages of startling honesty and self-reflection, deadpan parenthetical asides, encyclopedic recall of onstage outfits, and rigorous analyses of her films.' - Vanity Fair

'I have been patiently waiting for Barbra Streisand's autobiography for 54 years... My Name is Barbra is a Streisand obsessive's dream come true. It addresses all the rumours and misrepresentations of her long and extraordinary life, from nearly missing out on A Star is Born to dating Pierre Trudeau, Omar Sharif, and Marlon Brando. The wait has been worth every word!' - Richard E. Grant, Sunday Times

'The mother of all memoirs.' - New Yorker

'A brilliant memoir.' - Hillary Clinton

'Glorious, exuberant, chatty and candid, a 970-page victory lap past all who ever doubted, diminished or dissed her ... generous dollops of chutzpah ... Nobody puts Barbra in the corner.' - New York Times

'Mystical, messy, bawdy and funny ... My Name is Barbra confides her insecurities and a ravening hunger for fame ... silent but eloquent and vociferous writing.' - Peter Conrad, The Observer

'At heart, this is a story so bursting with life, fury, unbelievable ambition and food (Streisand loves to eat) that you come away from it exhausted but smiling ... hear hear!' - The Guardian

'This enormous, poignant memoir from the ultimate showbusiness trouper shows that you can never have it all (even if you're Barbra). The writing is great and the likeable formidable personality shines through ... deeper than the average celebrity memoir.' - The Times

'A glorious doorstopper... the sheer ambition of this intricately woven memoir makes it a fascinating read. The delicate pages bring to mind a Russian novel or, perhaps more appropriately for the many who view Streisand as akin to a deity, a bible. And yet, Streisand writes relatively succinctly, with warmth and wit. Behind the sequins, beneath the wigs and through the glass of the recording studio, there's just a woman who dreamed of being famous and make it happen, on her terms. It's an accomplished and entrancing walk through a life well lived.' - Evening Standard

'No less than a living legend ... Streisand's story is truly inspirational and it's one that you'll want to pick up again and again.' - Glamour

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 recognisable voices in 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 (musical and film) to the long string of successes in every medium in the years that followed.

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 book will be eagerly welcomed by her millions of fans.

SUNDAY TIMES Bestseller, November 2024.