Fania Borach, known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. She is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series The Baby Snooks Show.
Her life story was loosely adapted into the stage musical Funny Girl. Brice was famously portrayed by Barbra Streisand in both the original Broadway production of the musical and its 1968 film adaptation.
She achieved major success on the stage as a long-standing star of Florenz Ziegfeld’s Follies, where her mix of comedy and pathos set her apart from traditional showgirls. Brice later became a national household name on radio as the creator and star of The Baby Snooks Show, one of the most popular comedy programmes of its era, which cemented her influence on American comedy and character performance.
Brice’s life and career were later loosely adapted into the musical Funny Girl, bringing her story to new generations. She was famously portrayed by Barbra Streisand in both the original Broadway production and the 1968 film adaptation, a portrayal that helped preserve Brice’s legacy as a defining figure in entertainment history.
