• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
The Cut
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
Style
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Shopping
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • Motherhood
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • The Cut Shop
  • nymag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
babs
October 12, 2014

Rare Photos From Barbra Streisand’s Glory Days

By Erica Schwiegershausen

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
Photo: Courtesy of the Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s

When Barbra Streisand made her Broadway debut in 1962 in I Can Get It for You Wholesale, she was still a somewhat-unlikely star. After graduating from high school and moving to Manhattan in 1959, she experienced a slew of rejection from casting agents who told her repeatedly that she was “talented but too ugly.” Yet, as the dowdy secretary Yetta Tessye Marmelstein, Streisand stole the show — and earned a Best Supporting Actress Tony nomination. A year later, she won Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Female Vocalist for her first record, The Barbra Streisand Album, and quickly became one of the most enduring icons of her time.

“She is Cinderella at the ball, every hopeless kid’s dream come true,” Shana Alexander wrote in Streisand’s 1964 Life cover story. “Her show is a sellout and her albums are a smash. Even more remarkable is the sudden nationwide frenzy to achieve the Streisand ‘look.’ Hairdressers are being besieged with requests for Streisand wigs (Beatle, but kempt). Women’s magazines are hastily assembling features on the Streisand fashion (threadbare) and the Streisand eye makeup (proto-Cleopatra).”

This month, a new book Streisand: In the Camera Eye pays tribute to Streisand’s long, varied career on stage, film, and television. Starting with her early days on Broadway, James Spada presents a visual timeline of Streisand’s career highlights — and evolving style — including shots from her performances in Funny Girl and Funny Lady, Hello, Dolly! and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

Click through the slideshow for a look back at Streisand’s glory days, including the sheer suit she wore in The Owl and the Pussycat, an outtake from her first album cover, and more than one glorious wig.

Related

Rare Photos of Debbie Harry From the Early Days of Blondie
View
1 / 13 Photos
One of a series of photographs taken to illustrate her first No. 1 album; People, 1964.  
1960  Photo: Craig D. Simpson
In Another Evening with Harry Stoones, 1961 
In Funny Girl, 1968 
In Funny Lady, 1975 
On the set of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, 1970 The cover of Streisand: In the Camera Eye (Abrams); photographed by Cecil Beaton.  ... On the set of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, 1970 The cover of Streisand: In the Camera Eye (Abrams); photographed by Cecil Beaton.  Photo: Courtesy of the Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s
1963  Photo: Library of Congress
In Hello, Dolly! 1969  Photo: The Kobal Collection
In Hello, Dolly! 1969 
In The Owl and the Pussycat, 1970  Photo: Silver Screen Collection/2012 Silver Screen Collection
With Kris Kristofferson in A Star Is Born, 1976 
With Nick Nolte in The Prince of Tides, 1992 
Arriving at her one-night-only performance at the Village Vanguard, 2009  Photo: Greg Allen / Rex USA/Copyright (c) 2009 Rex USA. No use without ... Arriving at her one-night-only performance at the Village Vanguard, 2009  Photo: Greg Allen / Rex USA/Copyright (c) 2009 Rex USA. No use without permission.
1 / 13

Tags:

  • slideshow
  • gallery
  • nostalgia
  • barbra streisand
  • in the camera eye
  • hello
  • dolly!
  • funny girl
  • funny lady
  • photographs
  • babs
  • More

More Galleries

parties! May 13, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Bury me in Dove Cameron’s Saint Sintra skirt. 
parties! May 6, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Cue the Met Gala after-party FOMO. 
met gala 2022 May 2, 2022
Met Gala 2022: All the Looks [Photos]  Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Yeoh, Hailey Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Blake Lively, and more. 

Most Popular

  1. Which Women Do We Choose to Believe?
  2. Ellen Barkin Recalls Johnny Depp As ‘Jealous’ and ‘Controlling’
  3. A Model With a C-section Scar Is in the 2022 Sports Illustrated ‘Swimsuit’ Issue
  4. The Second Coming of the Hipster Grifter
  5. AOC and Riley Roberts Are Engaged
  1. Ellen Barkin Recalls Johnny Depp As ‘Jealous’ and ‘Controlling’
  2. Which Women Do We Choose to Believe?
  3. The Second Coming of the Hipster Grifter
  4. What My Toddler’s Nom-Noms Taught Me
  5. A Model With a C-section Scar Is in the 2022 Sports Illustrated ‘Swimsuit’ Issue
parties! Apr. 29, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  This one goes to Olivia Rodrigo and her sweater vest. 
parties! Apr. 22, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  “Fuck those Zoom tops.” 
celebrity style Apr. 18, 2022
The Best Looks From Coachella 2022  From Harry Styles’s sparkling Gucci set to Megan Thee Stallion’s metallic bodysuit. 
style Apr. 13, 2022
A Look Inside the New Museum’s Spring Gala  Featuring all the best looks. 
grammys 2022 Apr. 3, 2022
Grammy Awards 2022 Red Carpet: All the Looks  Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Lenny Kravitz, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and more. 
oscars 2022 Mar. 28, 2022
How Were The Oscars After Party Looks Better Than The Actual Award Looks?  Finally, some fun. 
oscars 2022 Mar. 27, 2022
All the Looks From the 2022 Oscars Red Carpet  Zendaya, Regina Hall, Timothée Chalamet, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Ariana DeBose, and more. 
style Mar. 22, 2022
Bridgerton Season 2 Premiere: All the Red-Carpet Looks 
style Mar. 13, 2022
BAFTAs 2022: All the Red-Carpet Looks  Florence Pugh, Daniel Kaluuya, Emma Watson, and more! 
celebrity fashion Mar. 6, 2022
Spirit Awards 2022: All the Red-Carpet Looks  Julia Fox, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, and more! 
Mar. 1, 2022
All of Rihanna’s Maternity Looks  From belly-baring looks to sexy leather dresses. 
Feb. 27, 2022
SAG Awards 2022: All the Red-Carpet Looks  Selena Gomez, Ariana Debose, Daveed Diggs, and more! 
paris couture week 2022 Jan. 27, 2022
Glenn Martens Wows As Guest Couturier for Gaultier Haute Couture It is a sight to behold.
By Vivian Chuang
Dec. 9, 2021
All the Looks From the And Just Like That … Red Carpet  Sarah Jessica Parker, Billy Eichner, Sara Ramirez, and more. 
style Nov. 29, 2021
Gotham Awards 2021: All the Red-Carpet Looks  Tessa Thompson! Kristen Stewart! And more. 
red carpet Nov. 29, 2021
All the Best Looks From The British Fashion Awards Dua Lipa, Demi Moore, Kehlani and more looks.
style Nov. 21, 2021
American Music Awards 2021: All the Red Carpet Looks  Cardi B! BTS! Olivia Rodrigo! And more. 
By Olivia Truffaut-Wong
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • We’re Hiring
  • Press
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2022 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.