Barbra Streisand Recalls Winning the Best Actress Oscar for Funny Girl

Barbra Streisand’s 1969 Oscar win for “Funny Girl” wasn’t just memorable because it was her first, but also because it was a rare year where the award ended in a tie. Katharine Hepburn also won the best actress honor that year for her role in “The Lion in Winter.”

“First I was in shock because I think it was her name first, so I thought ‘Okay that’s good, she was wonderful in that movie, Katharine Hepburn’ and then they said my name and I was tongue-tied,” the singer and actress revealed in a recent sit-down with Variety.

Streisand added, “So I had to take out my gum and put it on the bottom of the chair and think about what the hell I was going to say and rushing to the stage, tripping on my long pants, pants that were too long and a top you could see through when the lights are on it, so I was kind of a mess, but it was lovely to receive an Academy Award, I must say.”

Dressed in her iconic black jumpsuit, she started her speech off by looking at the Oscar statuette and saying, “Hello, gorgeous,” to a laughing audience. Seven years later, she would take home a second Academy Award for best original song from “A Star Is Born.”

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