Barbra Streisand, the ever-talented singer of 36 albums and a 40-year film career, has left a permanent impression on American cinema and music with her voice and down-to-earth wit. Streisand kickstarted her career in September 1960 when she opened with a singing number for comedian Phyllis Diller. Streisand originally maintained an interest in acting, but tried her hand at music when the 1960 Sound of Music director recommended she pursue singing.
In a Harvard Business Reviewinterview, Streisand says that she was “an actress first and only started singing to pay [her] bills.” Her first album, The Barbra Streisand Album, emerged in 1963 and led her to earn three Grammy Awards over the next decade. Despite her wildly popular singing voice, Streisand didn’t give up on her dream of acting and found her first movie role, Funny Girl, in 1968.
Since then, Streisand has starred in over 20 motion pictures. Despite both her successful movie and music career, Streisand admits in the aforementioned interview that there are still roles out there she regrets not playing, such as “Juliet, Hedda Gabler, Medea, and more.” Clearly, acting was always Streisand’s first love. She maintains that by grounding herself within the moment during shows, she will never give the same performance twice. Here are the best Barbra Streisand movies, ranked.
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8 Funny Girl
Columbia Pictures
In a CBS article, Streisand’s performance in Funny Girl is described as being unbeatable, and her charisma is deemed responsible for attracting an audience. The film is a biographical musical based on the experiences of Broadway star Fanny Brice and her chaotic relationship with gambler Nicky Arnstein. Streisand, as she said she does, had her own take on the role and fans have been stuck on her ever since. While it is not Streisand’s best film, it illustrates how she can really steal the show, winning her an Academy Award for Best Actress (tying with Katherine Hepburn, in a rare instance).
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Meet the Fockers
Universal Pictures
Barbra Streisand’s goal for this performance in Meet the Fockers was to make people laugh, and she definitely accomplished her intentions. In a ReelRave interview, she says that “the times we live in are very stressful and people want to laugh. They want to forget their worries.” In this 2004 film directed by Jay Roach, Streisand plays Mrs. Focker, a sex therapist for older couples. She is the mother of Gaylord “Greg” Focker, who in the film navigates his relationship with his fiancé’s parents. While many of Streisand’s roles are dramatic, this shows her ability to work in the comedy genre.
6 What’s Up, Doc
Warner Bros.
In the funny neo-slapstick film What’s Up Doc, the song “Starlight Roof” was sung live by Barbra Streisand because director Peter Bogdanovich insisted it be, highlighting Streisand’s music, acting, and comedy all at once. The 1972 motion picture is categorized as a “screwball” comedy and follows the humorous experience of musicologist Dr. Howard Bannister. Streisand plays beautiful and unpredictable Judy Maxwell, who pursues Howard despite his already established engagement. While this isn’t Streisand’s deepest role, it reinforces her talent.
5 A Star Is Born
The 1976 remake of A Star Is Born stars Streisand as Esther, a young singer who falls for a rock star just as his career begins to fade. In this version, Kris Kristofferson plays the tortured musician John Norman Howard. Again, in this movie, Streisand inserts her own unique essence. Not only did she help out with directing, but she also used her own wardrobe for the part of Esther. This is another work that showcases Streisand’s voice, unique despite the many adaptations of A Star is Born, and many people believe that this cast did it best.
4 The Guilt Trip
Paramount Pictures
The Guilt Trip is Streisand’s most recent acting role to date, released back in 2012. Both Streisand and Seth Rogen produced the film under the director Anne Fletcher. In a Collider interview, Streisand calls the movie “a different kind of love story” where mother and son discover each other again. Seth Rogen plays Andy Brewster, an inventor with a failing cleaning product who invites his unknowing mother, Joyce Brewster, on a trip across the country to reunite with her own long-lost love. In a humorous turn of events, Joyce makes the drive awkward by inserting herself into her son’s personal affairs. It is refreshing to see Streisand in a motherly role after many movies where she was the romantic beauty, and her interactions with Rogen are priceless.
3 Hello, Dolly
20th Century Fox
Hello, Dolly was released as a motion picture in 1969, adapted from the musical on stage. Streisand plays widowed matchmaker Dolly Levi, who works to find a suitable match for a rich man named Horace Vandergelder. In the process, Dolly learns that she would rather marry Vandergelder herself. Horace Vandergelder is played by Walter Matthau, who famously despised Barbra Streisand for having been cast in the film. Matthau refused to correspond with Streisand unless absolutely necessary. Their kiss at the end of the movie was achieved by clever angles because he would not touch her.
2 The Prince of Tides
Barbra Streisand directed, starred in, and produced this 1991 romantic drama based on the 1986 novel The Prince of Tides. Tom Wingo, played by Nick Nolte, travels to New York to help support his sister after she attempts suicide. In the process, he becomes involved with his sister’s psychiatrist, Susan Lowenstein, played by Streisand. Before production, Streisand originally wanted Jeff Bridges as Tom Wingo and Lloyd Bridges to play Tom’s father, but Lloyd Bridges turned down the role. This is one of Streisand’s very best works due to immense efforts to produce this film, and her control over the production helps her shine.
1 The Way We Were
The Way We Were is a 1973 film about two college lovers with differing interests and personalities who lose touch with one another after schooling. Played by Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand, Hubbell Gardiner and Katie Morosky find their way back to one another multiple times over the course of their lives, even going as far as to have a child together, but their political and moral differences are too dissimilar to make things work. Like their characters, Streisand and Redford had two different acting styles in this unrequited love story, and had to negotiate the two. Streisand’s strategies were structured and well-rehearsed, whereas Redford liked to approach dialogue with spontaneity.
In all of these roles, Streisand shows her incredible flexibility in acting by immersing herself in each role and delivering her own authentic perspective. Despite challenging co-stars and pursuing a busy musical career, Barbra Streisand never fails to impress.
