Barbra Streisand leaves movie world in tears after SAG lifetime achievement award speech

27 February 2024, 11:38

You can't achieve EGOT status without possessing incredible talent.

Over the course of her career in entertainment, Barbra Streisand has conquered music, film, the stage, and even television.

To achieve EGOT status, an individual needs to win an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Oscar, and a Tony Award - even winning one of the above is a spectacular accolade in itself.

Well, Barbra has a cabinet full of all of the above awards, and has rightfully earned her place as one of the greatest entertainers of all time.

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That's precisely how the entertainment world feels about Streisand too, after she was awarded the evening's most prestigious award at the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards over the weekend.

Barbra picked up the Lifetime Achievement award, receiving a standing ovation from the entire audience as she was handed over the award by admirers Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper.

But it was her acceptance speech during the rare public appearance that moved her fellow entertainers and audience to tears.

After reaching the podium to rousing applause, Barbra kicked off her speech with a comedic tone, saying: "This is such a wonderful award to get, because you know in advance you're going to get it."

"And you don't have to sit there and squirm like I remember, wondering if you're gonna get it, you're not gonna get it. And if you don't get it, you're gonna have to put on such a happy face, 'I'm so happy to lose!'" she joked.

It was her emotional words that came next which brought the likes of Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and recent BAFTA winner Emma Stone to tears.

Paying tribute to her Jewish predecessors who paved the way for her career to blossom and call an end to prejudice, Barbra detailed the magic of the movies as well as her "first crush" in Marlon Brando.

"That make-believe world was much more pleasant than anything I was experiencing. I didn't like reality," Streisand said.

"I wanted to be in the movies, even though I knew I didn't look like any of the other women on the screen. My mother said, 'You better learn to type,' but I didn't listen. And somehow, someway — thank you, God — it all came true."

Barbra Streisand: Life Achievement Award Acceptance Speech | 30th Annual SAG Awards

Thanking "extraordinary" Funny Girl director William Wyler and cinematographer Harry Stradling for having "no problem with a young woman who had opinions", Barbra added she "never went to college," and "always thought acting was my education."

"It's really a privilege to be part of this profession," she added. "For a couple of hours, people consider the theatre to escape their own troubles. What an idea!"

"Moving pictures on a screen. And I can't help but think back to the people who built this industry. Ironically, they were also escaping their own troubles."

Barbra then went on to list the birth names of Jewish people who fled persecution in Eastern Europe and changed their names, which later laid the foundations of cinema as we know it today.

"They were all fleeing the prejudice they faced in Eastern Europe, simply because of their religion. And they were dreamers to like all of us here tonight. And now I dream of a world where such prejudice is a thing of the past," Streisand said.

Streisand then relayed a recent experience she had with a film, telling the audience that it left her in tears but also showed her "how you can make a profound connection with someone simply by telling the truth."

"It reminded me all over again how much I love film, and why we all strive to make the best movies we can."

"So many people who have done that are sitting right here tonight in this room. So once again, I would like to thank SAG-AFTRA for this fabulous honour, and to say to my fellow actors and directors, I've loved working with you, playing with you and inhabiting that magical world of the movies with you."

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"And most of all, I want to thank you for giving me so much joy just watching all of you on the screen," Barbra concluded. "Thank you for that."

Barbra has seldom been seen in the spotlight in recent years, with the exception of the promotional tour for her long-awaited 900-page memoir, My Name Is Barbra.

Then she revealed the interviews would be her last as she wanted to "live life", this emotional acceptance speech will be one to savour.