The Top Ten Streisand Moments of 2023
With the long-awaited release of her autobiography, 2023 has been a huge year for both Barbra Streisand and her fans. In a year filled with so many exciting moments, I’ve compiled my top ten for the annual Barbra 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 the book featured Streisand in her “My Man” costume and pearl drop earrings, which she explains in the book were lost in the pocket of a fur coat. When on an island vacation many years later, a local told Barbra his mother had them and 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 was nominated by Adrienne Arsht, Lionel Riche and Mo Rocca, three of the 12-member award committee, and was elected unanimously by the voting council. 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 rhinestone strands wrapped across the front. In 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 with a black blazer and under vest that reminded me 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 the 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 growth of this center is a huge accomplishment and means a lot to Barbra and the future of this country. 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. This is an extremely important cause considering our democracy is in more peril than ever before. Streisand looked very 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. This interview was a highlight for me because it was so well done, honest and rare. I think it may have even been the longest 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 which was once upholstered to match the uniform of George Washington in her Charles 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 Charle’s 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 with her surrounding dusty rose decor and accented the look with a shimmering pink Art Deco style 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 featuring numerous scenes that had been cut from the original film that 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, explaining “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 collectables. Most exciting for me of course was the portion featuring her “Antique Clothes Shop” when 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 carries a gold LP version that is absolutely fabulous. Evergreens celebrates Streisand’s 60 year anniversary with Columbia Records and also has a fun new Evergreen remix. I loved the light pink LP from Target.
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.