• 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
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
  • The Cut Shop
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • The State of the Uterus
  • Parenting
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • 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

oscars 2023 Mar. 12, 2023
Oscars Red Carpet 2023: Every Look  Rihanna! Florence Pugh! Michelle Yeoh! They’re all here. 
celebrity Feb. 19, 2023
All the Best Looks From the 2023 BAFTAs Red Carpet  Florence Pugh, Barry Keoghan, and Angela Bassett brought color to the red carpet. 
grammys 2023 Feb. 5, 2023
Every Look From the 2023 Grammys Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Adele, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Mary J. Blige, Sam Smith, and more.
By Brooke LaMantia
Jan. 10, 2023
All the Looks From the 2023 Golden Globes  Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jenna Ortega, Jessica Chastain, Julia Garner, Jeremy Allen White, Angela Bassett, and more. 
parties! Sept. 23, 2022
Katie Holmes, Chloë Sevigny, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Chanel, Mejuri, and more celebrate. 
parties! Sept. 16, 2022
Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Fendi, Frame, and Coach all celebrated NYFW. 
emmys 2022 Sept. 12, 2022
Emmys 2022: All the Red Carpet Looks  Updating: What Hollywood is wearing to the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards. 
By Olivia Luppino
nyfw spring 2023 Sept. 9, 2022
Gigi Hadid, Chlöe Bailey, and More of the Bestest Party Pics of the Week  Saks Fifth Avenue, Longchamp, and more celebrate the beginning of NYFW. 
rip Sept. 9, 2022
The Queen Sure Did Love to Color-Coordinate  Monochrome for decades. 
red carpet Sept. 6, 2022
The Venice Film Festival Is a Major Fashion Event  Valentino and Gucci and Armani, oh my. 
red carpet June 5, 2022
All the Best Looks at the 2022 MTV Movie and TV Awards  Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, Jay Ellis, and more! 
parties! May 20, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Harry Styles > everyone! 
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. 
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. 
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • About The Cut
  • About New York Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.