While Pedro Pascal had a show-stealing acceptance speech at the SAG Awards over the weekend, it was Barbra Streisand’s speech that was the emotional center of the show. After Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper introduced her (more on that later), Barbra took to the stage to accept the Life Achievement Award. Many in the audience were in tears during Barbra’s speech (the camera cut to Anne Hathaway quite a bit), and by the end the room was on their feet to toast the acting, singing, directing, producing legend:
Barbra Streisand brought her fellow stars to tears Saturday evening when she accepted the Screen Actors Guild’s highest honor, the SAG Life Achievement Award, at the 30th SAG Awards.
After glowing introductions from Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper that drew a standing ovation, Streisand, 81, delivered a heartfelt speech that reached back to her days as a teenage girl watching black-and-white films at the theater and a young actress pursuing her dreams in Hollywood. “This is such a wonderful award to get because you know in advance that you’re going to get it and you don’t have to sit there and squirm,” she joked, adding that she was proud to be a SAG-AFTRA member for more than 60 years.
“I didn’t like reality,” Streishand said. “I wanted to be in the movies even though I knew I didn’t look like 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.”
Anne Hathaway, Hannah Waddingham, and Quinta Brunson were among the stars in attendance who had visibly emotional reactions to Streisand’s speech.
The 59th recipient of the honor, Streisand received the award for her expansive career accomplishments and humanitarian efforts. She’s starred in such classics as The Way We Were, Funny Girl, A Star Is Born, What’s Up Doc?, Yentl, and The Prince of Tides.
“Barbra did not just pave the way for us women, she bulldozed the road for us,” Aniston said during her introduction. She also noted, “I haven’t had the pleasure of working with her yet, but I’ve been fortunate enough to spend cherished time with her over the years, and I even got to kiss her at midnight one New Year’s Eve.”
Meanwhile, Cooper said of the EGOT winner, “In her autobiography, Barbra writes that she is always thinking about a piece as part of a whole, and that is evident in everything that she does. It defines her not only as a great singer, actor, director but as a true auteur.”
No really, why were Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper the presenters? Neither one has ever worked with Barbra (yet). Do Jen and Babs really hang out, beyond the occasional New Year’s Eve? And as for Bradley, I wouldn’t put it past producers to think “well, they were both in A Star Is Born remakes, and he played a boyfriend of hers in Licorice Pizza…” The hilarious thing is that Barbra has subtly shaded Bradley’s ASIB (and not incorrectly), and he still signed on to present! I don’t blame Jen or Bradley for saying yes, I just find it odd that SAG didn’t line up someone Barbra has a real history or connection with.
But this is all minor quibbling since Barbra commanded all the attention once she took to the stage. She spoke candidly yet not self-pityingly about how movies were her escape from reality when she was growing up. Despite many, many odds being against her, Barbra somehow found an unshakable confidence as a young artist, and kept to the belief that she belonged in that world. I particularly enjoyed her shout out to Funny Girl director William Wyler and cinematographer Harry Stradling, who she said always listened to her ideas while filming. I was also touched by her saying the original yiddish names of the big studio heads, before they were Americanized. A lot of filmmakers get into the industry because, like Barbra, they’re looking to escape their own realities. Whether people ever leave their roots behind is debatable (don’t forget Barbra has a dollstore in her basement mall, since she never had a doll as a kid). But of course at this end of the journey, it’s the laughter that we remember.
Anne Hathaway sobbing while Barbra Streisand walks onto the stage at the SAG Awards. talent recognizing talent! pic.twitter.com/qHBSwHF8Qg
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) February 25, 2024
Photos credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SAG Awards / Netflix
