The Biggest Revelations From Barbra Streisand’s 992-Page Memoir

Topline

Barbra Streisand’s long-awaited and lengthy memoir, My Name is Barbra, was released this week, containing revelations about the actress and singer’s early career, being pursued by men including Marlon Brando and King Charles and pressure she faced to alter her physical appearance.

Streisand’s nearly 1,000-page memoir, ‘My Name is Barbra,’ was released on November 7. (Photo by … [+] Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)

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Key Facts

In the book, Streisand wrote Sydney Chaplin, her Funny Girl costar on Broadway and the son of Charlie Chaplin, called her “vicious names” while on stage after she broke off a brief flirtation between the two, making her feel “physically ill” and leading Chaplin to be face charges by the Actors’ Equity Association (according to The Daily Beast).

She also described being pursued by Marlon Brando, whom she said she regretted rejecting; King Charles, who Streisand says called her “devastatingly attractive” with “great sex appeal”; and Yentl costar Mandy Patinkin, who allegedly told Streisand he “thought we were going to have an affair” (according to The New York Times and USA TODAY).

Streisand also writes she was repeatedly told the size of her nose would hinder her success, even stating Columbia Records tried to remove the bump from her nose on her The Way We Were album cover, but she said she never considered plastic surgery for fear it would impact her vocal abilities (according to the Today show and People).

She dismissed rumors she and Judy Garland had a rivalry—which was pushed by the media, though the two famously sang on The Judy Garland Show together—as “made up,” stating Garland was a “completely generous” friend who shared advice, including the plea: “Don’t let them do to you what they did to me” (according to Variety).

She said she was “appalled” to hear of her supposed role in creating what is known as the “Streisand effect,” the idea that attempting to hide information inadvertently draws attention to it—she denied trying to remove a picture of her house from the California Coastal Records Project’s website, clarifying she instead asked for her name to not be published alongside the photo online for security reasons (according to The Daily Beast).

Streisand discussed negative experiences with men on set, including being yelled at by Walter Matthau on set of Hello, Dolly!, being scared by film producer Jon Peters’ temper and alleging Frank Pierson “blackmailed” his way to directing A Star is Born and wrote a “cruel” article disparaging her (according to The Daily Beast).

News Peg

Streisand released My Name is Barbra on November 7, published by Viking Press. My Name is Barbra has received positive reviews from book critics, according to review aggregator Book Marks. The New York Times critic Alexandra Jacobs called it a “victory lap past all who ever doubted, diminished or dissed her,” stating readers “might not have the appetite to linger for the whole thing, but you’ll find something worth a nosh.” NPR critic Brittany Luse wrote the book honors her “living legend” status, calling it a “distinct pleasure to look back with My Name Is Barbra and marvel at how the real she came to be.” In a more mixed review, The Independent critic Louis Chilton gave the book three stars and said it is “rarely more profound or revealing than other far shorter celeb-penned books out this year,” though he admitted “there’s no real way of translating Streisand’s captivating screen power to print.”

Big Number

992. That’s how many pages Streisand’s memoir is. The audiobook version, which Streisand narrates, clocks in at more than 48 hours in length.

Crucial Quote

“This is my legacy. I wrote my story. I don’t have to do any more interviews after this,” Streisand told the BBC of her memoir, stating: “It was the only way to have some control over my life.”

Key Background

Talk of a Streisand memoir dates back nearly 40 years, when Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, then a publisher at Doubleday, offered to edit Streisand’s work in 1984. Streisand said she was not yet ready to write a memoir and declined her offer. “Frankly, I thought at 42 I was too young, with much more work still to come,” Streisand told Vanity Fair in an interview ahead of her book’s publication. Streisand said she began thinking about her memoir in 1999, when she started keeping handwritten journals, and she began seriously writing in 2008. She said the pandemic helped her focus on finishing the book. At 81, Streisand is known for her impact and versatility in music, film and theater and is one of few performers to have EGOT status, having received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award (though her Tony was a noncompetitive honor). Streisand has achieved 11 No. 1 albums in the United States (the most for a woman, until Taylor Swift broke the record this year), acted in projects including Funny Girl and A Star is Born and directed three films.

Tangent

Streisand’s book is the latest high-profile celebrity memoir to come out this year, closely following Britney Spears’ October 24 release The Woman in Me, which attracted much media attention for its revelations about Spears’ conservatorship and relationships with her family and ex Justin Timberlake. Spears’ memoir sold more than one million copies across all formats in its first week. The celebrity memoir genre had an early jumpstart in 2023 when Prince Harry released Spare on January 10, which was noted for its frank descriptions of his relationship with the royal family and his private life and has sold more than 1.19 million print copies to date. Other big hits this year include Pageboy: a Memoir by Elliot Page and Love, Pamela: a Memoir of Prose, Poetry, and Truth by Pamela Anderson.