With the long-awaited release of her autobiography, 2023 has been a monumental year for both Barbra Streisand and her fans. To mark the end of a year filled with so many exciting moments, I’ve compiled my top ten for the annual Streisand year in review.
1: The Long-awaited Release of My Name Is Barbra
Over a decade in the making, Streisand finally released her autobiography My Name Is Barbra on November 7, 2023. Alongside this, we also got an incredible audiobook featuring 49 hours of Barbra reading every word. It was incredible to hear her story told by her, in her way. In addition, the audiobook includes numerous asides and perspectives that are not included in the text of the book. The cover art of My Name Is Barbra featured Streisand in her My Man costume and pearl drop earrings, which she explains in her book were lost in the pocket of a fur coat that had been taken to the dry cleaners. When on an island vacation many years later, a local told Streisand his mother had found them while working at the cleaners and that he would send them back to her but never did.
2: The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award
On July 1, 2023, Streisand received the esteemed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award. She was nominated by Adrienne Arsht, Lionel Richie, and Mo Rocca who are all members of the award committee. Streisand noted, “It was presented to me by the esteemed Justice Sonia Sotomayor, which made the honor even more remarkable.” For her award acceptance photo, she wore a crisp white blouse beneath a black blazer with close chain crystal strands wrapped across the front. For her acceptance speech on YouTube, she chose another elegant black-and-white look, perhaps as a nod to Ginsburg’s famous uniform. This one featured a white blouse with a ruffled high collar and skinny bow neck tie at the front as well as a black blazer and undervest that is reminiscent of her famous “peekaboo power suit.”
3: 10th Anniversary Genesis Prize Laureate
On May 1, 2023, The Genesis Prize Foundation announced Barbra Streisand as the winner of their 2023 Genesis Prize. This $1 million award honors individuals who have made incomparable contributions to humanity and Jewish values and outstanding professional achievements. Philanthropy News Digest noted that “Streisand chose to forgo the $1 million prize; instead, she directed the funding to nonprofit organizations working to protect the environment, promote women’s health, combat disinformation in the media, and aid the people of Ukraine.”
4: The UCLA Barbra Streisand Center Lecture
On September 12, 2023, Streisand spoke at the inaugural UCLA Barbra Streisand Center lecture. The UCLA Streisand Center was created in 2021 to support research and programming in four focus areas: Truth in the Public Sphere, Impact of Climate Change, Dynamics of Intimacy & Power Between Women and Men, and Impact of Art on the Culture. This year’s lecture was on the theme of Truth in the Public Sphere and speakers discussed the impact that disinformation is having on social structures as well as its ongoing threat to democracy. Streisand looked chic in all black for her speech and wore a stunning Maltese cross pendant for the event. Read more about it here.
5: The Howard Stern Interview
Streisand sat down with Howard Stern on November 7, 2023, for a lengthy interview to promote her new book in what might have even been the longest and most raw interview Streisand has ever given. During the interview, Barbra wore all black with her hair in loose waves. She accessorized with layered gold necklaces and sat in her historic 1735 Queen Anne chair. In her book My Passion for Design she explained that the chair was upholstered to match the uniform of George Washington in the Charles Peale Polk portrait of him that resides nearby.
6: BBC Appearance For The Coronation of King Charles III
Barbra Streisand made a special appearance on BBC during their coverage of King Charles III’s historic Coronation day on May 6, 2023. In her video, she reminisced about her times meeting the king back when he was still Prince Charles and closed by saying “It’s been an honor to know him as my friend. We met when the prince was 24 years old, and now I’m proud to call him His Majesty.” In this video, Streisand matched her chantilly lace blouse to the room’s surrounding dusty rose decor and accented her look with a shimmering pink Art Deco necklace.
7: The Way We Were 50th Anniversary Edition Release
On October 17th, 2023, Sony released a 50th anniversary 4k DVD edition of The Way We Were. This set features numerous scenes that had been cut from the original film which Streisand felt were essential to the storyline. In My Name Is Barbra she talked about how many years it took to make this dream happen and how excited she was when the joint iTunes release was approved. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that people are now going to be able to see the film the way it was originally conceived. It’s only taken fifty years, but my dream has finally come true! As Hubbell says to Katie, ‘You never give up, do you?’ No…Katie never did, and neither do I.”
8: CBS Sunday Morning Interview
Barbra Streisand appeared on CBS Sunday morning on November 6, 2023, for an interview with Gayle King to promote her new book My Name Is Barbra. During this segment viewers got a glimpse into Barbra’s “basement mall” where she stores and displays many of her collectibles. Most exciting for me of course was the portion featuring her “antique clothes shop” where she talked about some of her favorite outfits and antique pieces. For this interview, Streisand paired a loose-fitting white button-up blouse with wide-leg palazzo pants and accessorized with some edgy serpent jewelry and silver and black boots.
9: The Dual Release of Evergreens and the Yentl 40th Anniversary Edition
On October 27th, 2023, two new Streisand albums were released. The Yentl 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition features the original soundtrack plus a second disc with 15 new tracks including demos with narration. Barnes and Noble carry a gold LP version that is fabulous. Evergreens celebrates Streisand’s sixtieth anniversary with Columbia Records and also has a new Evergreen remix. Target is selling a beautiful pink version.
10: The Colbert Interview
Barbra Streisand’s interview with Stephen Colbert aired on CBS’s The Late Show on November 13th, 2023. The interview took place at her Malibu home and covered many of the topics she wrote about in her memoir My Name Is Barbra. For this interview Barbra wore a cobalt skirt and blouse paired with a matching sequin blazer. She accessorized the look with delicate layered beaded necklaces and brown ankle length slouch boots.
Wishing everyone a wonderful 2024 and thank you for reading and supporting Streisand Style Files for another year.