Barbra Streisand Fun Facts, Quotes and Tweets
13th June 2016
Quote: "Thank God I picked the right outfit. The Tony goes to Hamilton." Barbra Streisand was relieved her ruffled white shirt and black pantsuit, in homage to the blockbuster musical's 18th-century setting, was the perfect choice as she presented the Best Musical Tony Award to the producers of the historical hip-hop show. Her appearance at Sunday's (12Jun16) prizegiving marked her first since winning an honorary Star of the Decade award in 1970.
8th June 2016
Quote: "I feel a tremendous rush of pride because this is a woman who is more than qualified to be president. Isn't it interesting how a barrier seems insurmountable - until it comes down? I hope girls across the country are thinking, 'That could be me'. And like I said after the first woman got a Best Director Academy Award, it's about time!" Barbra Streisand is thrilled her friend Hillary Clinton has been nominated as the Democratic Party's choice to run for U.S. President in November (16), when she'll take on Donald Trump at the polls.
13th October 2015
Fact: Barbra Streisand will be honoured with the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at The Hollywood Reporter's 2015 Women in Entertainment Breakfast in December (15). Past recipients have included Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep and Shonda Rhimes.
24th August 2015
Fact: Barbra Streisand and husband James Brolin threw a get-together at their home on Saturday night (22Aug15) for Lady GaGa, John Travolta, his wife Kelly Preston, and TV producer RYAN MURPHY. Gaga shared a group photograph on Instagram.com and wrote, "Saturday Night Fever with some wonderful new friends."
13th November 2014
Quote: "I was a weirdo in high school. I was a member of the honour society. I looked so strange because my brother was an artist and I would take his blue paint and put it on my eyes and then took my mother's burgundy lipstick and put white zinc in it so it was a sort of magenta (colour). I bleached pieces of my hair. I wore strange clothes. So I looked one way, but I hung out with the smart kids so I just didn't fit in anywhere." Barbra Streisand on not belonging to any particular clique in high school.
13th November 2014
Fact: Actor Edward Norton and singer Jennifer Hudson feature in chilling advertisements to raise awareness of heart disease among women. The public service announcements are part of a campaign called Fight the Lady Killer from the Women's Heart Alliance organisation, which is co-founded by Barbra Streisand.
13th November 2014
Quote: "We were in the supermarket a few weeks ago, holding hands, and a guy behind us said, 'I'm so glad to see you back together!' and I said, 'Really? When did we go apart?' He must have read those tabloids." Barbra Streisand laughs off rumours she's split with her husband of 16 years, actor James Brolin.
13th November 2014
Quote: "We eat a lot in front of the Tv. Sunday night we watch Homeland, it's a great show." Barbra Streisand is a big fan of Claire Danes' political drama Homeland.
19th September 2014
Quote: "I've stopped and started at various points. It's like living my life all over again. I wrote several chapters two years ago and thought, 'Oh, God, I am so bored with my life'. But I'll try to do it." Barbra Streisand promises fans she will do her best to complete her memoirs in the near future.
18th September 2014
Quote: "Liza got up in the middle of the room to sing, and I thought, 'How the hell does she do that?' I was never that type of person - I don't even sing at home! I can't sing when I can see people. I get spooked." Barbra Streisand is envious of pal Liza Minnelli's confidence and outgoing nature.
17th September 2014
Quote: "She couldn't have been more humble or appreciative. She sent me a piece of crystal that was like, 'Thank you, Love Barbra'. I pushed all my awards away (at home) and put that in the middle (of the mantelpiece)." Country singer Blake Shelton will treasure the special present his new collaborator Barbra Streisand gave him after the pair teamed up to perform I'd Want It to Be You for the legendary singer/actress' new duets album, Partners.
17th September 2014
Quote: "I have Twitter, but I don't know how to do it. I think I'm probably from another time." Veteran star Barbra Streisand is not a fan of modern technology.
17th September 2014
Quote: "It's not easy. It's work, but it comes with rewards. You really have to pay attention to the other person and have kindness in your heart." Barbra Streisand shares the secret to her 16-year marriage to James Brolin.
17th September 2014
Quote: "I never play my records again after I make them, because then I start getting critical." Barbra Streisand prefers not to listen to her own music once it's released.
17th September 2014
Quote: "I'm allergic to horses, I get an asthma attack, so I don't go near horses. I went into a circus one time, I didn't even see any horses and I started to lose my airway." Barbra Streisand has to steer clear of the mammals.
17th September 2014
Quote: "He is extraordinary. Not only does he have an incredible voice and sense of soul and sensitivity, but he plays a mean guitar." Barbra Streisand is a big fan of her new collaborator John Mayer after recruiting him to sing Come Rain or Come Shine with her on her new duets album, Partners.
16th September 2014
Quote: "My husband and I were in the supermarket the other day, holding hands, and someone said, 'Oh, you're back together...?' And I said, 'When were we apart...?' I said, 'Jim, what are they talking about?' and he said, 'Well, you know, the rags print this stuff'. It's like, why do they have to make up stories? I don't get it." Barbra Streisand cannot understand why magazine editors choose to spread false rumours about trouble in her marriage to James Brolin.
16th September 2014
Fact: Comedian Jimmy Fallon stood in for the late Elvis Presley for a duet with veteran entertainer Barbra Streisand on Monday (15Sep14) during her first appearance on America's The Tonight Show in more than 50 years. The funnyman and Tv host donned an Elvis-style wig to perform Love Me Tender with Streisand, before switching to a black Stetson to portray country star Blake Shelton for a rendition of I'd Want It to Be You, and then channelling Michael Buble to sing It Had To Be You. Fallon's vocal skills during the duet medley prompted his superstar guest to quip after the segment, "I can hardly tell the difference...! That was actually good." Streisand's real all-star collaborations appear on her new album, Partners.
7th August 2014
Fact: Barbra Streisand has joined Instagram.com - the singer/actress posted her first snap of herself posing with her dog Samantha on the photo-sharing site on Wednesday (06Aug14), alongside the caption, "Hello Instagram... isn’t my Samantha just precious?"
14th March 2014
Quote: "I haven't smoked (pot) with Barbra, no. But we talked about it a lot. She's smoked weed with Peter Sellers though. That's the craziest s**t ever." Comedian Seth Rogen on his The Guilt Trip co-star Barbra Streisand's celebrity smoking sessions.
31st December 2013
Quote: "I think I'm an old soul. What excites younger people doesn't excite me... I'm kind of a boring, normal girl who likes Harry Potter and to sit in her pyjamas and sing... A lot of my friends are partiers, but I've never really clicked with that. I like Barbra Streisand, and when was the last time you saw Babs getting, like, turnt up? That's kind of the road that I, as a lady, would like to go down." Pop star Ariana Grande wants to emulate musical icon Barbra Streisand.
28th April 2013
Quote: "I think Adele has the voice and talent of her time. She came to my home for a dietetic dinner one night before the Oscars, and as I expected, we just clicked... I'd love her to write a piece of music that we could singer together - or, as she would say, togever!" Barbra Streisand hopes to collaborate with British soul singer Adele.
24th April 2013
Quote: "It’s very hard to understand the minds of people who want to hurt other people. Little Martin Richard was right... can we just stop hurting people?" Barbra Streisand echoes the sentiments of the youngest victim of the Boston Marathon bombings.
6th March 2013
Quote: "I'm a control freak. I've never been drunk. I don't like the taste of liquor." Barbra Streisand couldn't relate to a scene in new movie The Guilt Trip in which her character ends up tipsy after consuming too much booze.
19th December 2012
Quote: "I played in Vegas with Barbra while we were filming, and she won every time. She hadn't played in a while, so she would make a mistake and get them (the dealers) to take back the card. I told her, 'I think you are the only person this has ever been done for in a casino.'" The Guilt Trip screenwriter Dan Fogelman on playing blackjack with Barbra Streisand in Las Vegas during their free time.
19th December 2012
Quote: "Barbra wore our mum's actual clothes, and did her hair the same way. It was surreal. I think my mum would have freaked out, in a good way, if she could see it." Barbra Streisand went the extra mile by wearing clothes owned by screenwriter Dan Fogelman's late mother for new movie The Guilt Trip, which is based on a road trip he took with his mum.
18th December 2012
Fact: Barbra Streisand gifted her The Guilt Trip co-star Seth Rogen with socks and underwear from high street store Gap to mark the start of filming on their new family comedy.
8th December 2012
Quote: "Oh no, I'm not a diva... I'm very down to earth." Superstar Barbra Streisand despises being called a diva.
8th December 2012
Quote: "I wanna direct movies, that's what I wanna do; be behind the camera, not in front of the camera. Just get the best out of actors, the best out of the story." Veteran entertainer Barbra Streisand plans to build on her resume as a filmmaker. The superstar directed her first project, romantic comedy The Mirror Has Two Faces, in 1996 and is due to take charge of upcoming movie Skinny And Cat, which is scheduled for release in 2014.
7th December 2012
Quote: "It made me really appreciate coming from Brooklyn, you just know where you stand in Brooklyn. Those are my people; it's where I was born, where I was raised." Barbra Streisand enjoyed heading back to her native New York borough in October (12), when she performed her first ever concert there for fans at the Barclays Center.
6th December 2012
Fact: Veteran entertainer Barbra Streisand refuses to sleep in her newly-renovated Malibu mansion in California because "the bed isn't comfortable". Luckily, the superstar has two other homes right next to it that she chooses to reside in.
13th October 2012
Fact: Barbra Streisand's homecoming show in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday (11Oct12) attracted a star-studded crowd, including Gerard Butler, Calvin Klein and Sting. It was the legendary performer's first ever show in the borough where she was born.
26th September 2012
Quote: "When I sing Happy Birthday to people in real life, it sounds lousy." Barbra Streisand insists she doesn't always sound great when she's singing.
26th September 2012
Quote: "I never listen to music... because when I do an album I get so sick of listening to music until the album is released." Barbra Streisand is not a huge fan of music.
25th September 2012
Quote: "It is so interesting to see someone that well delineated... How do some people just get everything perfect, like, jawline, teeth, eyes, the depth, the forehead? He fascinates me." Barbra Streisand on her handsome husband of 16 years, James Brolin.
23rd September 2012
Quote: "I didn’t announce it. It was just that I said it’s very tough to go on stage for two hours, and dress up, and wear high heels, and sing 22 songs a night, and it’s very exhausting. So every time I did it, I said I won’t do this again, but never say never... When I talk to other performers, they do 300 dates a year, 250 dates a year. I’ve done 42 since 1963." Barbra Streisand insists she never said she was retiring from performing - but she rarely hits a stage.
19th September 2012
Fact: Barbra Streisand has lined up a rare show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The diva will be joined onstage by trumpeter Chris Botti and operatic group Il Volo at the gig on 9 November (12).
21st August 2012
Tweet: "I adored her. She was a wondrous spirit who was great to me." Superstar Barbra Streisand is saddened by the passing of comedy icon Phyllis Diller, who died on Monday (20Aug12), aged 95.
31st May 2012
Fact: Barbra Streisand's 14 June (12) house party, co-hosted by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, will feature a performance by Josh Groban and David Foster. The event will be hosted by funnyman Martin Short. Only 200 people will be invited to attend the fundraiser at the singer's Malibu, California home. The event will benefit the Women's Heart Center at Cedar's-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
22nd May 2012
Fact: Barbra Streisand has added a second show to her return to her native Brooklyn, New York after tickets for her 11 October (12) concert at the Barclays Center sold out in minutes. The diva will also perform on 13 October (12).
10th May 2012
Fact: Hollywood power couple Barbra Streisand and James Brolin have recruited former U.S. President Bill Clinton to help host their upcoming charity benefit. The Follow Your Heart event, to be held at the Evergreen hitmaker's Los Angeles home on 14 June (12), will feature musical performances by Josh Groban and David Foster. Proceeds will be donated to the Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where Streisand founded a research and education programme.
27th February 2012
Fact: Brad Pitt, Dame Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Tom Cruise and Barbra Streisand were among the stars who taped their recollections of their first movie experiences for a segment of the Oscars telecast on Sunday (26Feb12).
12th January 2012
Fact: Barbra Streisand's enterprising actor husband James Brolin ran a successful Hollywood pool maintenance company in his late teens and currently owns a jet charter and lumber company.
22nd August 2011
Quote: "Up until the the last minute I was working on just the colour of peach that I wanted some of the pages to be." Controlling Barbra Streisand on how she struggled with the liner notes for her new album, What Matters Most.
17th April 2011
Fact: Barbra Streisand is auctioning off a one-of-a-kind onset experience in a bid to raise funds for her favourite charity. The singer/actress will invite a top bidder and a guest to join her on the Los Angeles set of new movie My Mother's Curse this summer (11). All proceeds from the CharityBuzz auction will benefit the Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
15th February 2011
Quote: "I wish I drank. I don’t drink, I hate liquor... (I drink) cranberry juice and soda water... I like a good beer now and then, especially with Chinese food or Japanese food." Barbra Streisand insists she can't drink to calm her nerves before live performances.
20th January 2011
Quote: "I worked in a Chinese restaurant." Barbra Streisand jokes about why she was invited to attend U.S. President Barack Obama's state dinner for China's President Hu Jintao on Wednesday night (19Jan11).
16th December 2010
Quote: "I just saw him in True Grit and he was wonderful in that. He's wonderful in everything he does. And I have a very talented son... now he's into music and pottery." Barbra Streisand is very proud of her multi-talented step-son Josh Brolin.
16th December 2010
Quote: "I wanted to be the only Barbra. How could I be the only Barbara? There's millions of Barbaras.... So I decided, 'Oh, if I took out one A, I would be Barbra'. Still Barbra, but it would be more original." Barbra Streisand changed the spelling of her name in an attempt to sound more original.
1st December 2010
Quote: "I never liked stardom. It's weird to me. I only like the creative process. I only like the work." Barbra Streisand could do without fame.
29th November 2010
Quote: "It's a way of gambling without having to get dressed." Barbra Streisand reveals she trades stocks online from her bed, in new book My Passion for Design.
17th November 2010
Quote: "I have a very poor sense of direction... When I was directing Yentl, I needed them to put a yellow tape on the floor from the set to my dressing room, because I would get lost, literally." Barbra Streisand needs help getting around on film sets.
15th September 2010
Quote: "The fact that he got together with her and found this solace is such a coup and so wonderful. The guy was so frigging unhappy and lonely. She's always like, 'Come over. We'll have cake or cocktails or soup or ice cream.' I love her and I love what they've created together. I say thank God for her." Josh Brolin is a big fan of his father James Brolin's wife Barbra Streisand.
15th July 2010
Fact: Chelsea Clinton has a star-studded guestlist for her wedding - it includes U.S. President Barack Obama, film producer Steven Spielberg, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and singer Barbra Streisand. The daughter of former U.S. president Bill Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to marry her longtime boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky this summer (10).
9th February 2010
Quote: "That is so scary. I'm terrified." Beyonce is stunned to learn she has won more Grammy Awards than veteran entertainers Barbra Streisand, Cher and Bette Midler combined. The Irreplaceable hitmaker added a further six trophies to her name at last month's (Jan10) ceremony, taking her total to 16.
23rd October 2009
Fact: ADAM STREISAND, the new lawyer hired by Michael Jackson's mother Katherine, is Barbra Streisand's cousin.
4th October 2009
Quote: "I went to acting school with DUSTIN (HOFFMAN). I was the babysitter paying for my acting lessons and he was the janitor cleaning up - that's how we paid for our classes." Barbra Streisand on her humble beginnings as an actress.
25th September 2009
Quote: "It's over 60, but I've lost count." Barbra Streisand can't pinpoint how many albums she has released. Her new release, Love Is The Answer, is her 63rd album.
27th August 2009
Quote: "Streisand, they say she's desperately shy. I think when you've got $600 million, take lessons on how not to be shy. If you've got $600 million, say hello to everybody. They gave it to you." Joan Rivers insists Barbra Streisand should be more grateful for her success.
20th August 2009
Quote: "It must be harder to age if you were known as a beauty queen. So I'm kind of fortunate... I have a husband who loves me, and I have this beautiful piece of the Earth." Barbra Streisand is ageing gracefully in her dream Malibu, California home.
19th August 2009
Quote: "He's perfect. He has the most beautiful bone structure." Barbra Streisand on husband James Brolin.
7th August 2009
Fact: Barbra Streisand is to play an exclusive one-off gig at small New York jazz club Village Vanguard on 26 September (09) - 48 years after she appeared there to open for iconic musician Miles Davis.
6th August 2009
Fact: Barbra Streisand is cleaning out her closet to benefit her Streisand Foundation charity. The singer/actress is to sell off costumes, furniture and memorabilia at a two-day Julien's Auction event at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles in October (09). Costumes the diva wore in films like Meet The Fockers and Funny Lady will be on display onboard the Queen Mary in Los Angeles from later this month (Aug09).
1st July 2009
Quote: Barbra Streisand is heading back to the big screen to star in a new Seth Rogen film, called MOTHER'S CURSE.
23rd June 2009
Fact: Barbra Streisand is teaming up with jazz singer Diana Krall to work on her first new studio album in four years. The disc, titled LOVE IS THE ANSWER, is due for release in September (09).
8th May 2009
Fact: Barbra Streisand's new concert DVD, Streisand: The Concerts, has hit the top of the U.S. Billboard Top Music DVD chart in its first week out, scoring it the highest sales for any music DVD so far this year. The three-disc DVD package has also topped charts in the U.K.
10th April 2009
Fact: Barbra Streisand has agreed to a U.S. television special of her 2006 concert in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Streisand: Live in Concert telecast will air on 25 April (09).
4th January 2009
Quote: "We've known each other since she was 18 years old. I went out with her roommate. Once I asked her why we didn't ever get married, and she said, 'Because we would have killed each other.'" Dustin Hoffman admits he and longtime pal Barbra Streisand were never destined to be lovers.
17th November 2008
Quote: "Barbra Streisand, that's the career model for me. I want to be like her. She is just the ultimate. And I want to be an icon too." Beyonce Knowles on her hopes of emulating the singer's hugely successful career.
20th October 2008
Quote: "I said, 'If I don't do this role, will you pay me double of what they would have paid me?' But she said no. We haven't spoken about it... (but) she's very excited to see it." Josh Brolin jokes about upsetting his stepmother, staunch Democrat Barbra Streisand by playing Republican President GEORGE W. Bush in Oliver Stone's new movie W.
18th September 2008
Quote: “My dad is probably one of the handsomest guys ever. I was making a joke and I said, ‘If I was a chick, I’d f**k you.’ He was like, ‘You can’t say that! Shut your mouth!’” Josh Brolin on his good-looking father James, who is married to Barbra Streisand.
17th September 2008
Fact: The $9 million (GBP4.8 million) raised at a star-studded gala dinner and concert for Barack Obama in Los Angeles on Tuesday (16Sep08) was the biggest one-off sum ever handed over to a U.S. presidential candidate. Jodie Foster, Leonardo Dicaprio and Jamie Lee Curtis were among the Obama supporters who paid $28,500 (GBP15,400) to dine with the politician and Barbra Streisand performed at the after-dinner concert.
17th September 2008
Quote: "It was genius, man. I had this great conversation with them because they were both coming off the morphine or whatever cocktail they were given. It was good to see her without a few filters." Actor Josh Brolin loved talking to his dad James and step-mother Barbra Streisand after they both underwent a recent colonoscopy.
10th September 2008
Fact: Country legend George Jones, Morgan Freeman, Barbra Streisand, choreographer Twyla Tharp and The Who's Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will receive the Kennedy Center Honors for 2008. The stars will be honoured in Washington, D.C. in December (08).
9th September 2008
Fact: Barbra Streisand will perform at an upcoming Hollywood fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The diva will play the rare show at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on 16 September (08). Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks partners Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen will co-host the star-studded gala.
1st July 2008
Quote: "BARBRA wanted to see it and so I showed it to Barbra. She said, `You can sing,' and I took that. High praise." Pierce Brosnan on showing neighbour Barbra Streisand his new movie musical MAMMA MIA!
28th May 2008
Quote: "He knew how to tell a love story. He was a great actor's director because he was a great actor. And he was a very good friend, someone I even shared secrets with." Barbra Streisand mourns the death of pal Sydney Pollack, who died on Monday (26May08).
27th April 2008
Quote: "I love BARBRA. We made a beautiful life together and produced a wonderful son. It just wasn't our time." Actor Elliott Gould refuses to entertain ill feelings for his ex-wife Barbra Streisand.
4th February 2008
Fact: The new Trope + Trope company attorney assigned to take on Britney Spears' legal woes is Barbra Streisand's second cousin ADAM STREISAND.
26th June 2007
Quote: "I'm too young to be a legend." Barbra Streisand, 65, doesn't believe she is ready for such a hallowed status.
18th June 2007
Fact: CALEIGH PETERS, the singer and TV host who became engaged to Rod Stewart's SEAN on Friday (15Jun07), is Barbra Streisand's goddaughter. During the Barbra Streisand: The Concert TV special in 1994, the diva sang a medley of Disney songs and dedicated it to Caleigh, who was four at the time.
16th April 2007
Fact: DIANE WARREN was inspired to write Aerosmith mega-hit I DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING after hearing James Brolin talk fondly about his wife Barbra Streisand.
5th February 2007
Quote: "I've fantasised about Barbra Streisand and I saw Sophia Loren at a restaurant a couple years ago and I thought, 'Wow, I'd still go there.'" Lost star Josh Holloway has a thing for older women.
15th January 2007
Quote: "I mean, I'm hardly what you'd call a natural performer, a Judy Garland or a Barbra Streisand. To my eyes, awkward is how I look in every music video I've ever made." Singer/songwriter Norah Jones admits she needs more time to hone her screen presence.
15th June 2006
Quote: "I was recently singing a friend's newborn a lullaby and it sounded really bad." Even Barbra Streisand doesn't always have perfect pitch.
2nd December 2005
Quote: <p>"If only we could appreciate how we look when we're in our 20s. We never really appreciate ourselves at that time." Veteran star Barbra Streisand, 63, regrets not thinking highly of herself as a younger women. </p>
2nd November 2005
Quote: <p>"I really do need my eyes done, I must say. They're hanging down. I'd do the minimum I could possibly get away with." Barbra Streisand is contemplating going under the knife to 'fix' the bags under her eyes. </p>
25th October 2005
Fact: <p>Since 1965, exercise guru Richard Simmons has purchased over 10,000 original pictures of Barbra Streisand. Simmons, who's yet to meet Streisand, has also been collecting dolls for 15 years. </p>
25th October 2005
Quote: <p>"I hate liquor. Beer I like. Every once in a while I like peach champagne. I'm a cheap date." Barbra Streisand likes the simple life. </p>
24th October 2005
Quote: <p>"I'm Jewish and I'm from Brooklyn. We don't surf." Barbra Streisand refuses to make the most of living on the California coast. </p>
22nd October 2005
Quote: <p>"I don't listen to music if I can help it." Barbra Streisand admits she hates listening to the latest sounds. </p>
23rd September 2005
Quote: <p>"She sure looks good, Britney Spears, in those little outfits. I don't think much about them, to tell you the truth. JENNIFER (LOPEZ) has talent... she's done wonderful videos." Barbra Streisand muses on the merits of contemporary pop stars. </p>
27th August 2005
Quote: <p>"There's the 10 greatest female artists and there's Barbra Streisand." Former BEE GEES star Barry Gibb admits he's always thrilled to work with Streisand. The couple recently teamed up to record a follow-up to their hit 1980 collaborative album GUILTY. </p>
Barbra Streisand
