LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 2023 is the year of memoirs and songstress Barbra Streisand is the latest to share the story of her life to her fans. In her memoir ‘My Name Is Barbra’, the ‘Funny Girl’ star engrossed the readers with her life's tale.
In the memoir ‘My Name Is Barbra’, releasing on Tuesday, November 7, the ‘Hello Dolly’ star opened up about many facets of her life including her take on her physical alterations and romantic escapades.
Changing her name to ‘Barbra’
Streisand pens down the interesting theory regarding her name. In an excerpt published by Mirror, it is revealed that the EGOT winning star was encouraged to change her name. She wrote that after much deliberation, she decided to remove an ‘a’ from her name making it ‘Barbra’.
Streisand wrote, "Then it occurred to me that I could just take out the middle a in Barbara. Now I'd be Barbra...that was different and unique. I liked the way it looked too...and deep down I would still be the same Barbara Joan Streisand, if you see what I mean."
Barbra Streisand on her nose
“Sometimes it felt like my nose got more press than I did,” wrote Streisand ruefully, per PEOPLE. She also revealed that she was told several times to change her physical appearance.
She wrote, “I had already been told by several people that I should get a nose job and cap my teeth. I thought, 'Isn’t my talent enough?'” before concliuding, “It was too much of a risk.”
Barbra Streisand opened up about feud with Judy Garland
For long, it has been speculated that Streisand and Judy Garland had a feud between them. However, the 81-year-old star cleared the air for once and all.
She wrote that Garland even responded to her “like a mother.” She recalled, “People were looking for some sort of rivalry between us. And when they couldn’t find anything, they made it up.” ‘The Way We Were’ star continued, “I found Judy to be completely generous.
We sang a medley of songs, taking turns, and she wasn’t just focused on herself. She watched me and responded to me. She would reach out and brush back a strand of my hair, like a mother.”
Barbra Streisand remembers exact moment she conceived son Jason Gould
Streisand came to know about the positive result through her friend and colleague Cis Corman in the presence of Gracie, Marty Erlichman and her partner Elliott Gould.
She recalls in her memoir, “The news was a shock. Elliott and I had lived together since I was nineteen, and now I was about to turn twenty‑four."
She recounted, “For years I had honestly thought there was something wrong with me, because I had never gotten pregnant.”She recalled the night of conception in their “suite at the Savoy Hotel, having an argument about something.”
The actress and singers remembers how she "stopped fighting and just went into my body…to feel, to forgive, to share, to be kind, to be vulnerable. And that’s when it happened…”
She reminisced, “I could feel the moment when I conceived. How amazing. I was so happy! I finally felt normal for once!”
Barbra Streisand recalls Marlon Brando propositioned her
‘The Guilt Trip’ star recalled her meeting with Marlon Brando. She wrote that “About three hours into the conversation, he looked into my eyes and said, ‘I’d like to f**k you.’"
She admitted being “taken aback” and told him, "That sounds awful," per PEOPLE.
He, however, later changed his stance and asked for a museum date instead. The songstress shared, "After a moment of thought, he said, ‘Okay. Then I’d like to go to a museum with you.’”
She admitted saying to him at that time, "Now that's very romantic. I'd like that.”
Barbra Streisand recalls getting attention from King Charles III
'The Prince of Tides' star was once the receipient of attention of the former Prince of Wales, and current King of England. Streisand shared in her memoir that King Charles III of England used to have a "crush" on her.
She also revealed that the 74-year-old monarch used to send her flowers from his personal garden.
Streisand opened up about inequal pay in 'Meet the Fockers'
Streisand wrote about the disparity in pay in Hollywood in her memoir. Talking about the pay disparity in 'Meet the Fockers', she said, “On a side note, this was the first time I felt the effect of Hollywood’s unequal pay scale for men and women."
She continued, "I didn’t ask what the other actors were making, but I was definitely hurt when I found out that Dustin [Hoffman] was getting three times as much as me, plus a tiny percentage, which is significant on a movie that made $520 million," before adding she was given some unsubtantial "excuse" for the disparity.
Barbra Streisand spent $100,000 on cloning her dog
The Oscar-winning actress admitted cloning her dog Samantha following the canine's demise in 2007. She got two pooches from the cloning named Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett.
The decision, nevertheless, was not welcomed by PETA. The organization allegedly told her, "We all want our beloved dogs to live forever, but cloning doesn't achieve that-instead, it creates a new and different dog who has only the physical characteristics of the original."
