Author Guide · Memoir
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In 1984 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, then an editor at Doubleday, asked Barbra Streisand to write her memoir. Streisand, 42 at the time, said no: she felt too young and had more to do. Nearly four decades later My Name Is Barbra appeared, 970 pages long, and the audiobook she recorded herself runs to more than 48 hours. Before that she had published one other book, about design and her own home. This guide covers her 2 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 2 key books · 2010–2023 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Barbra Streisand has written two books: My Passion for Design (2010), about design and her home, and My Name Is Barbra (2023), her 970-page memoir, which she also recorded as an audiobook. Start with My Name Is Barbra; read on for what it covers and how the two books connect.
Where to Start with Barbra Streisand
If you want her life story
→ My Name Is Barbra (2023) — the 2023 memoir.
If you want to hear it in her own voice
→ My Name Is Barbra (2023) — the audiobook, read by Streisand, runs over 48 hours.
If you are interested in design and houses
→ My Passion for Design (2010) — a private tour of her home.
2 Barbra Streisand Books, in Order
My Passion for Design
An illustrated book on design, published in 2010, in which Streisand gives readers a private tour of her own home and the choices that went into it.
My Name Is Barbra
Her memoir, published by Viking on 7 November 2023: 970 pages, from her childhood in Brooklyn through Broadway, recording, film and directing. She began a longhand journal for it in 1999. It sold more than 55,000 copies in its first week in the US and debuted at number two on The New York Times list. Her own reading of the audiobook won Audiobook of the Year at the 2025 Audie Awards and was nominated for a Grammy.
In What Order to Read Barbra Streisand
Start with My Name Is Barbra. It is the complete story, and it explains where the perfectionism on show in My Passion for Design comes from.
The memoir is long and has no index, so many readers take it in sections or listen to the audiobook, in which Streisand departs from the printed text with asides and comments of her own.
A reading path
1. My Name Is Barbra (2023)
2. My Passion for Design (2010)
The years · 1942–2023
Quick facts about Barbra Streisand
- Known for
- A singing, stage and film career of more than sixty years, from Funny Girl to directing Yentl
- 1942
- Born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1964
- Funny Girl on Broadway
- 1969
- Oscar for Funny Girl
- 1983
- Directs and stars in Yentl
- Born
- 24 April 1942, Brooklyn, New York
- Breakthrough
- Funny Girl, on Broadway (1964) and on film (1968)
- Academy Awards
- Best Actress for Funny Girl; Best Original Song for “Evergreen”
- Director
- Yentl (1983), The Prince of Tides (1991), The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
- Married
- Elliott Gould, then James Brolin (1998)
- Honours
- Presidential Medal of Freedom
The red mark is 2023: My Name Is Barbra, the memoir she declined to write in 1984.
How Barbra Streisand Writes: Everything, in Detail
My Name Is Barbra is long because Streisand leaves very little out. She goes through her albums, films and stage shows one by one, with the arguments over lighting, wardrobe, scripts and sound that went into each, and reviewers noted how much of her career she describes as decisions she made herself.
The tone is conversational and frank about slights she has not forgotten, from early comments on her looks to studio battles as a female director. She wrote much of it by hand, starting with a journal in 1999, and the audiobook adds spoken asides that are not in the printed book.
My Passion for Design shows the same attention to detail in a different form: a tour of her own home, guided by its owner.
Watch
Barbra Streisand on My Name Is Barbra
Barbra Streisand talks to CBS Sunday Morning in 2023 about her long-awaited memoir My Name Is Barbra.
Frequently asked questions about Barbra Streisand’s books
How many books has Barbra Streisand written?
Two: My Passion for Design (2010) and her memoir My Name Is Barbra (2023).
What are Barbra Streisand’s books in order?
My Passion for Design (2010), then My Name Is Barbra (2023).
Where should I start with Barbra Streisand?
With My Name Is Barbra (2023), her memoir, in print or as the audiobook she reads herself.
What is Barbra Streisand’s most famous book?
My Name Is Barbra (2023). It sold more than 55,000 copies in its first week in the US and debuted at number two on The New York Times bestseller list.
How long is My Name Is Barbra?
The hardback has 970 pages, and the audiobook runs to more than 48 hours.
Does Barbra Streisand narrate her own audiobook?
Yes. Her reading of My Name Is Barbra won Audiobook of the Year and Autobiography or Memoir at the 2025 Audie Awards, and was nominated for Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording at the 67th Grammy Awards.
How long did it take Barbra Streisand to write her memoir?
She began a longhand journal in 1999, and Viking announced the book in 2015 for a 2017 release. It was published in November 2023.
Did Jackie Kennedy ask Barbra Streisand to write a memoir?
Yes. In 1984 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, then an editor at Doubleday, asked to publish her memoir. Streisand declined, feeling that at 42 she was too young.
Is Barbra Streisand still alive?
Yes. She was born on 24 April 1942 in Brooklyn, New York.
Footnotes
- My Name Is Barbra (book) — Wikipedia
- Barbra Streisand — Wikipedia
- Review: Barbra Streisand’s 900-page memoir strikes a perfect chord — The Gazette / AP, 2024
- My Passion for Design — Library Journal
- My Name Is Barbra — Penguin UK
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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