Barbra Streisand is not an open book. Though the famously shy diva has managed to keep prying eyes from speculation about her private life, rumours and tidbits of information have emerged nonetheless. Here are the top ten things you didn't know about the living legend.
Memorable moniker
Barbra, also affectionately called "Beazer" by her husband, was born Barbara Joan Streisand. She dropped the "A" in Barbara in the 1960s to make it more distinctive.
Gum-snapping ingénue
As legend has it, a gum-smacking Streisand arrived at the 1961 audition for "I Can Get It For You Wholesale." Her hair a mess, clad in a bedraggled fur-trimmed coat, she walked across the stage and promptly dropped her case of sheet music, or so the story goes. After introducing herself, she removed a wad of gum from her mouth, and stuck it under the chair. After the audition was over, the director asked an assistant to check under the chair. The hunch was right. There was no gum. It had all been an act of pure theatre.
Famous friends
Streisand and Neil Diamond sang together long before their collaboration on "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." They both attended the same Brooklyn high school, where they sang together in the school choir.
Showing some skin
In 1970, she had a topless scene in "The Owl and the Pussycat" on the condition that she could opt to kill it - which she did. In fact, she bought up all prints of the film. When High Society magazine, published the original photos of her bare breasts, Streisand sued them.
Babs on boredom
Streisand said in 2003 that she gave up performing partly because she gets bored listening to her own songs. Streisand told Reader's Digest magazine that once she had recorded an album she became so tired of the music that "I never listen to my records for maybe 10 years."
Dominatrix of doom
Streisand has a sense of humour that is as legendary as her lyrical voice. In 1984, she helped play a practical joke on Harrison Ford during the filming of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." Wearing a leather dominatrix outfit, she pretended to whip him while cursing him for making terrible films. Actress Carrie Fisher threw herself in front of Ford to protect him and Irvin Kershner chided director Stephen Spielberg, asking him: "Is this how you run your movies?"
Between the sheets
Streisand's dating repertoire reads like a who's who of the rich and famous. She has allegedly dated Ryan O'Neal, Tom Smothers, Warren Beatty, Jon Voight, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Don Johnson, Steve McQueen, Andre Agassi, Peter Jennings and Omar Sharif. She is currently married to James Brolin.
Stage fright
Streisand has been known to suffer from stage fright so crippling it has kept her out of the public eye and off the stage. At the 2001 Emmys, she asked organizers to keep her appearance a surprise "because I might get cold feet." But she insisted in 2006 that she has conquered the stage fright and her comeback tour was inspired mostly by her desire to raise money for her favorite charities.
Imitation is not flattery
Imitation is not the best form of flattery in all circles. Streisand is said to have been enraged when Diana Ross, another gay icon, sang "Funny Girl." "I just don't like the idea of her (Diana Ross) singing my songs. Who the hell does she thinks she is? The world doesn't need another Streisand!"
Only she nose the truth
Streisand has long denied persistent rumours that she has had rhinoplasty. She has, however, admitted that she had "a small procedure tightening the jawline" even though she insisted for years that she would never go "under the knife."
Memorable moniker
Barbra, also affectionately called "Beazer" by her husband, was born Barbara Joan Streisand. She dropped the "A" in Barbara in the 1960s to make it more distinctive.
Gum-snapping ingénue
As legend has it, a gum-smacking Streisand arrived at the 1961 audition for "I Can Get It For You Wholesale." Her hair a mess, clad in a bedraggled fur-trimmed coat, she walked across the stage and promptly dropped her case of sheet music, or so the story goes. After introducing herself, she removed a wad of gum from her mouth, and stuck it under the chair. After the audition was over, the director asked an assistant to check under the chair. The hunch was right. There was no gum. It had all been an act of pure theatre.
Famous friends
Streisand and Neil Diamond sang together long before their collaboration on "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." They both attended the same Brooklyn high school, where they sang together in the school choir.
Showing some skin
In 1970, she had a topless scene in "The Owl and the Pussycat" on the condition that she could opt to kill it - which she did. In fact, she bought up all prints of the film. When High Society magazine, published the original photos of her bare breasts, Streisand sued them.
Babs on boredom
Streisand said in 2003 that she gave up performing partly because she gets bored listening to her own songs. Streisand told Reader's Digest magazine that once she had recorded an album she became so tired of the music that "I never listen to my records for maybe 10 years."
Dominatrix of doom
Streisand has a sense of humour that is as legendary as her lyrical voice. In 1984, she helped play a practical joke on Harrison Ford during the filming of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." Wearing a leather dominatrix outfit, she pretended to whip him while cursing him for making terrible films. Actress Carrie Fisher threw herself in front of Ford to protect him and Irvin Kershner chided director Stephen Spielberg, asking him: "Is this how you run your movies?"
Between the sheets
Streisand's dating repertoire reads like a who's who of the rich and famous. She has allegedly dated Ryan O'Neal, Tom Smothers, Warren Beatty, Jon Voight, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Don Johnson, Steve McQueen, Andre Agassi, Peter Jennings and Omar Sharif. She is currently married to James Brolin.
Stage fright
Streisand has been known to suffer from stage fright so crippling it has kept her out of the public eye and off the stage. At the 2001 Emmys, she asked organizers to keep her appearance a surprise "because I might get cold feet." But she insisted in 2006 that she has conquered the stage fright and her comeback tour was inspired mostly by her desire to raise money for her favorite charities.
Imitation is not flattery
Imitation is not the best form of flattery in all circles. Streisand is said to have been enraged when Diana Ross, another gay icon, sang "Funny Girl." "I just don't like the idea of her (Diana Ross) singing my songs. Who the hell does she thinks she is? The world doesn't need another Streisand!"
Only she nose the truth
Streisand has long denied persistent rumours that she has had rhinoplasty. She has, however, admitted that she had "a small procedure tightening the jawline" even though she insisted for years that she would never go "under the knife."
* by Mary Nersessian, CTV.ca News
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