With her highly resonant and sophisticated vocal prowess, charismatic personality, and strongly independent spirit, Barbra Streisand rose to fame as one of the most creatively and commercially successful performers of her lifetime. As a singer, Streisand's rise was remarkable not only because her popularity was achieved in the face of a dominant musical trend -- rock & roll -- which she did not follow, but also because she used her vocal skills as a stepping stone to other careers, as a stage and film actress and as a film director.