Queens Babs is back. Well, she was never really gone, but Netflix is putting out a documentary about her this month, and it’s going to be grand. The trailer just came out; it’s called “Barbra: The Music…The Mem’ries…The Magic!” and it’s a concert documentary that includes duets with, and appearances by Jamie Foxx, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman and Melissa McCarthy, among others.The documentary, which spans Streisand’s career, was co-directed, produced, and written by Streisand. (She made her own documentary — that’s so Barbra!)
To celebrate the living legend and the film (which premieres on Netflix on November 22), I rounded up Streisand’s pearls of wisdom from over the years (during which she’s won two Oscars, nine Golden Globes, 10 Grammys, six Emmys, and one Tony).
On not changing for fame:
1. “I arrived in Hollywood without having my nose fixed, my teeth capped, or my name changed. That is very gratifying to me.”
On the importance of trusting your gut:
2. “I go by instinct—I don’t worry about experience.”
On how we contain multitudes:
3. “I was a personality before I became a person — I am simple, complex, generous, selfish, unattractive, beautiful, lazy, and driven.”
On why having an ego is a good thing:
4. “To have ego means to believe in your own strength. And to also be open to other people’s views. It is to be open, not closed. So, yes, my ego is big, but it’s also very small in some areas. My ego is responsible for my doing what I do — bad or good.”
On double standards:
5. “Men are allowed to have passion and commitment for their work … a woman is allowed that feeling for a man, but not her work.”
On being shy:
6. “I don’t enjoy public performances and being up on a stage. I don’t enjoy the glamour. Like tonight, I am up on stage and my feet hurt.”
On love is love is love:
7. “Nobody on this earth has the right to tell anyone that their love for another human being is morally wrong.”
On handling the truth:
8. “I can take any truth; just don’t lie to me.”
On being a perfectionist:
9. “I’ve been called many names like perfectionist, difficult and obsessive. I think it takes obsession, takes searching for the details for any artist to be good.”
On romance:
10. “What is exciting is not for one person to be stronger than the other … but for two people to have met their match and yet they are equally as stubborn, as obstinate, as passionate, as crazy as the other.”
On what mothers know:
11. “Sometimes you resent the people you love and need the most. Love is so fascinating in all its forms, and I think everyone who has ever been a mother will relate to this.”
On what art should do:
12. “Art does not exist only to entertain but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for the truth.”
On politics:
13. “How I wish we lived in a time when laws were not necessary to safeguard us from discrimination.”
On not growing up completely:
14. “There’s a part of you that always remains a child, no matter how mature you get, how sophisticated or weary.”
On having Republican friends:
15. “I do have friends that are Republicans, and we have very spirited conversations on a whole range of issues. I am often baffled by why they are Republicans, but I enjoy the dialogue and can move beyond politics to find common ground in my personal relationships.”
On comfort:
16. “I like simple things. Elastic waists, so I can eat.”
On being creative:
17. ” I’ve always needed to have a creative outlet, whatever form it takes. And when I am passionate about something, I take it on with intense commitment. By the way, I was an actress first, and only started singing to pay my bills.”
On why you should be bossy:
18. ” I insisted on one thing early on when I did my records and TV shows: artistic control. That’s what mattered to me. I trusted directors like William Wyler and Sydney Pollack. I both learned from them and was heard by them. But when I wanted more artistic control, I started directing. It allows me to complete my own vision.”
On sexism in the film industry:
19. “Women aren’t paid as much as men, and it’s still difficult to get films made.”
On being a good parent:
20. “If you’re not fulfilled and happy, you can’t be a good parent to your child.”
On dealing with anxiety:
21. “When I want to decompress, I watch movies and play games on my computer.”
The documentry trailer is below:
