W readers are soon to become the luckiest people in the world: Next month, Barbra Joan Streisand (!!!!!!!!!!) appears on the cover of the December issue in a shot by Steven Meisel. Edward Enninful styled the shoot, while Lynn Hirschberg sat down with Babs to talk Marlon Brando, James Brolin, and whether she sings in the shower.
On playing strong women onscreen…
“It’s a more interesting part to play! Strong women are, simply, women with opinions. And they have always been treated with suspicion. Look at Hillary Clinton. And, sadly, the strong women usually don’t get the guy at the end of the film. The last movie I directed was The Mirror Has Two Faces, and one of the reasons I took the job was because she got the guy at the end. I thought, Hmm, I’ve been alone too long. I think I’ll do this movie, and then, in real life, I also got the guy at the end! I wound up getting married. In a sense, I believe you can manifest your reality.”
Her movie star crush…
“Since I was 13, Marlon Brando was my favorite. I saw him in Guys and Dolls—and that was it. Interestingly, there was a period of 27 years when I didn’t sing in public, because of stage fright, and when I finally did, I created a scenario in which I sang “I’ll Know” with Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls. I put myself in his movie! I invited Brando to my house to see the piece, and he made me take him through my entire show. We then watched a movie together. It was wonderful: He was my idol, my biggest crush.”
Does she or doesn’t she?…
“No. I don’t sing around the house or anywhere. I never sing unless it’s for a purpose, like fundraising or making a record.”
On meeting the love of her life…
“My husband [James Brolin] and I were set up on a blind date. I met him at a dinner and expected a bearded mountain-man type, and he had cut off all his hair and was clean-shaven. I asked him, ‘Who screwed up your hair?’ He later told me that’s when he fell in love with me. My fella likes to hear the truth, which is unusual.”
