The Only Main Actor Still Alive From 1968's Funny Girl

"Hello, gorgeous." "Funny Girl" is the first of two films that track the life of vaudeville star, Ziegfeld Girl, and radio icon Fanny Brice (Barbra Streisand) from a girl determined to break out of the chorus to the most popular comic Ziegfeld ever promoted. Along the way, she struggles with her self-esteem, is courted by charming gambler Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif) and copes with his spendthrift ways. Fanny must learn to see her own worth and ultimately discovers that she can't save Nicky, even though she loves him.

"Funny Girl" started life as a Broadway musical, and it's been revived there multiple times. But there's only one film version of the story, and since it was made all the way back in 1968, that means that not all of its main stars are still alive. But one of them most definitely is. 

Multi-hyphenate Barbra Streisand made herself a star just the same way Fanny Brice did. Starting out in talent shows and singing in cabarets and nightclubs, she made a name for herself in the original cast of "I Can Get it For You Wholesale," and opened "Funny Girl" on Broadway as the original Fanny Brice. The film version of "Funny Girl" is also Streisand's big screen debut, launching an iconic movie career.

The acting side of her resume needs no introduction. From "Funny Girl" onwards, she's crafted a film and music career for herself that has stood the test of time. From "What's Up Doc?," which paired her with the late Ryan O'Neal, to "The Way We Were," in which she co-starred with Robert Redford, to the more contemporary "Little Fockers," Streisand has more than proved her range. While she hasn't taken on an acting role since 2012's "The Guilt Trip," she hasn't officially hung it up as an actor, so it's always possible she'll make a comeback. Or, at very least, maybe she'll feud with "South Park" again.

On the musical front she's been more active; her most recent album at press time was 2025's "The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two." Presumably, the next part of her career will continue to be just as legendary as Fanny's, and her busy personal life — which includes being a stepmom to Josh Brolin — will proceed apace.