NEED TO KNOW
Barbra Streisand may be a public figure, but that doesn’t mean she’s always enjoyed putting her private life on display.
The legendary singer, actress and director, 82, recently opened up to PEOPLE about why she’s long been press shy — and why she’s finally starting changing her tune.
“I always kind of avoided publicity because they got so many things wrong,” she says. “In the early years of my career, it was ridiculous. I never liked being misunderstood.”
Streisand says she was put off by the negativity that often surrounded her interviews. But after the positive coverage of her 2023 memoir My Name Is Barbra, the star admits that perhaps the media is not the same as it once was.
“I must say, the reviews of my book were so positive and so lovely that I thought, ‘Oh, maybe times have changed,” she says.
Kathryn Boyd Brolin
The Funny Girl star recently put out her first record in seven years, a duets album called The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two. She sings with A-listers like Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan, as well as up-and-coming stars like Laufey.
Streisand says that all of the “wonderful people” she sings with on the new record were catalysts for her return to the studio — and she’s not done yet. The 10-time Grammy winner says that she’s certainly open to recording another album at some point.
“As long as I have a voice, I love the privacy of recording,” she says. “I love standing there in front of the mic and the music in my ears and singing. When I was 18 years old, I made my mother call up publishers to get free music. I still have that person inside, that kid. There are more songs I want to sing.”
While fans have had the record on repeat, don’t expect Streisand to do the same.
“I don’t listen to my own records and I don’t watch my own movies,” she says. “I don’t know. I feel that would be egocentric or something.”
The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two is out now.
