Did Fanny Brice Really Create Pregnant Bride Scene?

Fanny Brice, an American singer, model, comedienne, and actress, was a popular and influential figure in the early 1900s. She was known for her works such as ‘The Baby Snooks Show’ and performed a supposedly romantic number in the Follies. However, she turned it into a classic comic routine, ending the number as a pregnant bride. Fanny Brice was famously portrayed by Barbra Streisand in both the original Broadway production of the musical and its 1968 film adaptation.

Funny Girl, a 1968 biographical musical comedy-drama film, loosely based on Fanny Brice’s life and career as a Broadway and film actor and comedian, as well as her stormy relationship with businessman Nicky Arnstein. The show takes liberties with the life and career of its star, but is ultimately rooted in a true story about the young woman’s love life and her mark on a stage.

The pregnant bride number depicted in Funny Girl never happened, and if it had, Florenz Ziegfeld would have fired her on the spot. In 1964, Ray Stark wanted to produce a musical biography of Fanny Brice, but was married to Brices daughter Frances Stark.

Fanny Brice was born on October 29, 1891, in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and was raised by a single mother and a gaggle of poker-playing Jewish women. She turned to show business to fulfill her version of the American dream and delighted audiences throughout the country.