Streisand to receive Life honor from SAG
Barbra Streisand owns 10 Grammys, two Oscars, five Emmys, three Peabodys , an honorary “Star of the Decade” Tony and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Come February, she’ll have an award from one of the few groups on the planet yet to celebrate her.
Streisand has been named the 59th recipient of SAG-AFTRA’s highest tribute, the organization announced Thursday: the SAG Life Achievement Award, given for career achievements and humanitarian accomplishments. The 81-yearold multi-hyphenate legend will receive the honor at the 30th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Feb. 24 in a ceremony that will stream live on Netflix for the first time.
“Ever since I was a young girl sitting in the Loew’s Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, I dreamed of being one of those actresses I saw on the screen,” Streisand said in a statement. “The movies were a portal to a world I could only imagine. Even though I was an unlikely candidate, somehow my dream came true. This award is especially meaningful to me because it comes from my fellow actors, whom I so admire.”
The news comes a month after Streisand’s exhaustive, 992-page memoir (the audiobook clocks in at 48 hours), “My Name Is Barbra,” landed in stores. The long-awaited accounting of the way she was has earned acclaim for what the New Yorker called a “maximalist approach to her own life, studying every trial, triumph and snack food of a six-decade career.” It continues to reside near the top of the New York Times’ bestseller list.
Streisand made her Broadway debut at 19 in the musical “I Can Get It for You Wholesale,” winning a New York Drama Critics prize and earning a Tony nomination for supporting actress. Two years later, she returned to Broadway playing comedian Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl,” a role she would reprise in the 1968 William Wyler film adaptation, which would win Streisand her first Oscar. (She also took the original song Oscar in 1977 for “Evergreen” from “A Star Is Born.”) Streisand’s other films include “Hello, Dolly!,” “The Owl and the Pussycat,” “What’s Up, Doc?,” “The Way We Were” and the “Funny Girl” sequel, “Funny Lady.” She directed, co-wrote and starred in “Yentl” and also headlined and directed “The Prince of Tides” and “The Mirror Has Two Faces.” Streisand’s last movie was the 2012 road comedy “The Guilt Trip.”
“Her enduring career is a testament to her genuine performances, connecting with audiences on a profound level,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement. “She is a colossal icon with a relentless work ethic, evolving with each stage of her remarkable journey.”