Initially, she aspired to an acting career but was first noticed for her exceptional voice.
American singer, actress, and director Barbra Streisand will receive the honorary 'Golden Palm' at the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from May 12 to 23. It was previously announced that the honorary 'Golden Palm' of the 79th festival for contributions to cinema will also be awarded to New Zealand director Peter Jackson.
"With pride and deep humility, I am pleased to join the circle of laureates of the honorary 'Golden Palm,' whose work has long inspired me," said the 83-year-old diva, whose words are quoted in the festival's official statement.
The honorary 'Golden Palm' will add to Streisand's already impressive collection — one of the few artists to have received awards from all four major awards: the 'Oscar' (film, two statuettes), 'Grammy' (music, ten), 'Tony' (theater, one), and 'Emmy' (television, four).
"She is a legendary connection between Broadway and Hollywood, the stage of the musical hall and the big screen," noted Cannes Festival director Thierry Frémaux. In its announcement, the festival describes Streisand as "an astonishing actress, an outstanding singer, the embodiment of energy, humor, and sensuality."
Barbra Streisand is the only female artist whose albums have topped the charts in each of the last six decades.
Initially, she aspired to an acting career but was first noticed for her exceptional voice in cabaret, after which she achieved success on Broadway.
For her first film role — in the movie 'Funny Girl' (1968) — she won an 'Oscar' for Best Actress at just 26 years old.
Later, she starred under the direction of Gene Kelly ('Hello, Dolly!', 1969) and Vincente Minnelli ('Melinda', 1970). In 1973, she performed a passionate duet with Robert Redford in the film 'The Way We Were' (also known as 'Meeting of Two Hearts') directed by Sydney Pollack.
In 1977, Streisand received her second 'Oscar' for the song Evergreen from the film 'A Star is Born', in which she also played the lead role.
Her first film as a director — 'Yentl' (in which she also served as producer and screenwriter) — was, according to the festival, the first case where Hollywood allocated such a large production budget to a female director.
The film, based on a story by Isaac Bashevis Singer and telling the story of a woman disguising herself as a man to study the Talmud, took 14 years to create but later achieved great success with audiences and critics and was nominated for seven 'Oscars'.
Later, Streisand directed two more films: 'The Prince of Tides' (1991) and 'The Mirror Has Two Faces' (1996).
"We wanted to pay tribute to an artist who has established herself through the power of her art and her pursuit of creative freedom," said Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch.
Cinema 'Before and After' 'The Lord of the Rings'
Another honorary 'Golden Palm' will be awarded during the festival to New Zealand director Peter Jackson.
"Receiving the honorary 'Golden Palm' in Cannes will be one of the greatest moments of my career. Cannes has become an important part of my cinematic journey. In 1988, I came to the Cannes Film Market with my first film 'Bad Taste', then in 2001 we presented the rough cut of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' there, both projects became significant milestones in my career. This festival has always celebrated bold, visionary cinema, and I am incredibly grateful to Cannes for the recognition among creators and artists whose works continue to inspire me," the director thanked the festival organizers.
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