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Barbra Streisand.
Silver Screen Collection/Getty ImagesBarbra Streisand didn’t hold back while writing her long-awaited memoir My name is Barbra.
“For forty years, publishers asked me to write an autobiography. But I kept rejecting them because I prefer to live in the present rather than dwell on the past,” Streisand wrote in the prologue. “And the fact is, I’m afraid that after 60 years of people making up stories about me, I’m going to tell the truth and no one will believe it.”
In the book, which was released on Tuesday, November 7, Streisand opened up about her mother, Diana Streisand, who did not support her when she sought a career in Hollywood before her success in Funny girl. In addition to her fame, the EGOT winner got candid about her tumultuous relationship with her ex-husband Elliot Gould and more.
My name is Barbra is now available. Keep scrolling to read Barbra’s biggest revelations:
Dealing with comments about her appearance
When Barbra became famous, the actress was criticized for her appearance. She noted that it felt like her nose was “getting more pressure” than she was. The singer claimed that several unnamed people told her that she “needed to get a nose job.” Barbra recalled being compared to a “Babylonian queen” and a “basset hound” at certain points in her career – which ultimately took a toll on her.
“I wish I could say none of this affected me, but it did,” she wrote. “Even after all these years, I’m still hurt by the insults and can’t quite believe the praise.”
Her mother’s discouragement from acting
Although Barbra knew she was talented, she revealed that her mother warned her that she might not find success because she “didn’t look like those other girls in the movies.”
“She was so against me being an actress that it felt weird to me knowing she was in the audience watching me,” Barbra admitted. ‘I was afraid of what she would say. And sure enough, she didn’t disappoint me. “Mom, what did you think?” She frowned and said, “Your arms are too skinny.”
During Barbra’s first appearance as Fanny Brice in Funny girlshe revealed that her mother wasn’t there for her opening night performance.
“I grew up without her approval, without support for my dreams,” she wrote. “I don’t remember her ever giving me a compliment.”
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She never had a relationship with Barry Dennen
Despite Dennen claiming he and Barbra dated in the 1960s, the actress claimed the pair were only friends. The duo hooked up earlier in her career and she revealed that Dennen was “one of the first men” to pay “attention” to her. When he wrote his 1997 book, My life with Barbra: a love storyBarbra confessed that she was “so hurt” that he “made up this crazy love affair.”
Compromising on her name change
Barbra – whose real name is spelled Barbara – revealed that when she started out in the industry, casting agents suggested she change her name.
“They wanted something simpler…Barbara Strand of Sands…but that felt fake,” she recalled. “And how would my old friends know it was me, once I became famous?”
Instead, Barbra decided to stay true to herself and simply change the spelling of her first name so she could be “different and unique.”
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Her relationship with Elliot Gould
Barbra confided that she wasn’t attracted to Gould when they first met, admitting that her bond with the actor changed and that he became “more than a friend” over time. As their relationship progressed, the duo wore rings as a symbol of their romance. Despite no legal ceremony taking place, Elliot called the couple “spiritually married.”
“I loved Elliott. He was known to me… from Brooklyn, down to earth. But I still wasn’t sure if I was ready for marriage,” she wrote. ‘After all, I was only twenty-one and he was my first serious boyfriend. I didn’t want this marriage thing to be a big deal.”
However, Barbra changed her mind one day and proposed marriage. The couple headed to Las Vegas for their wedding. Three years later, Barbra learned she was pregnant with her and Gould’s son Jason.
“The news was a shock. Elliott and I had been living together since I was nineteen, and now I was about to turn twenty-four,” she shared. “For years I honestly thought there was something wrong with me because I had never gotten pregnant. Having a baby seemed like something for other women, not for me.”
Gould and Barbra’s relationship began to change as they began to focus more on their careers and spend less time together.
“And the truth is, I don’t think either of us were very upset about the divorce. Something had changed between us,” she reflected, adding that she “didn’t miss him as much” as she should have after he moved to New York.
Barbra and Gould broke up just before the Oscars in 1971, but the couple still attended the event together. The actress noted that she was not “ready for marriage in 1963,” but was “very ready for a legal separation.”
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Landing funny girl
Barba found out that Anne Bancroft would direct the musical but wanted “no part” of the show after realizing she couldn’t sing the songs. Carol Burnett was also reportedly interested in the role, but turned it down because it was intended for “a Jewish girl.”
After being cast, Barbra said she wanted to know more about who her character, Fanny Brice, was, in order to better portray her on stage.
“When I read Fanny’s own words, I realized that she and I were so similar it was almost scary,” she wrote.
Her affair with Sydney Chaplin
During Funny Girl, Barbra claimed she had an affair with costar Sydney Chaplin, son of Charlie Chaplin. She eventually came out to Gould and ended her relationship with Sydney. However, Barbra claimed that after their breakup, Sydney cursed her and became unbearable to work with.
“It started to become a nightmare. Now, every night at 7:30 as I was getting ready to go on, I felt sick,” she wrote. “It wasn’t just the pressure of having to meet the expectations of the public. Now I also had to deal with a new enemy… my costar.”
Barbra said she considered quitting the show when she started having “panic attacks,” but ultimately pulled through.
“I knew in my heart that I would never be on a Broadway stage again,” she said of her final performance, noting that the Sydney experience had been “so traumatizing.”
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Barbra Streisand.
Screen Archive/Getty ImagesBalance between work and motherhood
While on the set of A star is born, her son visited her during filming. While there, Jason allegedly told Barbra that Gould said she was “working too many long hours” and not seeing her child enough.
“Wow! That was a stab in my heart. And my guilt, which was always lurking, immediately sprang into action,” she confessed. “I was angry at Elliott because he criticized me in front of our son instead of supporting me.”
Her connection with King Charles III
Barbra said she was invited to stay with the monarch at his Highgrove home in 1995, noting he was a “gracious host.” The actress also claimed that Charles revealed he had a poster of her in his room in Cambridge. According to Barbra, the pair are still close and have exchanged birthday presents.
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Falling in love with James Brolin
Although she was previously unlucky in love, things changed for Barbra after her girlfriend Christine Peters set her up James Brolijn in 1996. When the couple first met at a dinner party, she criticized his hair and he immediately fell in love with her.
“It was unusual for me to get so close to someone so quickly. But Jim wasn’t intimidated by me,” she admitted. “He was actually very supportive and said, I want to give you strength.”
Although Brolin knew right away that he wanted to tie the knot with Barbra, she needed more time. The couple eventually married in July 1998 on the same day they first met.