Streisand Quotes

It always gave me the creeps when I saw performers who desperately wanted the audience to like them. That's not what I'm about. ~ Barbra Streisand

Just imagine how boring life would be if we were all the same. My idea of a perfect world is one in which we really appreciated each other's differences: Short, tall; Democrat, Republican; black, white; gay, straight-a world in which all of us are equal, but definitely not the same. ~ Barbra Streisand

Seeing Jennifer Holliday from 'Dreamgirls' perform on the Tony Awards telecast and later discovering Barbra Streisand by listening to her albums at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh really changed everything for me. ~ Billy Porter

I hear these melodies. I hear horn lines and string lines. That's what's fun about recording with an orchestra. ~ Barbra Streisand

Men are allowed to have passion and commitment for their work ... a woman is allowed that feeling for a man, but not her work. ~ Barbra Streisand

I've survived beach bunny cheerleaders, a sluthunting , ex-boyfriend, and five years of cross-country camp. I'm not afraid of some throwback to ancient myth with astrocious highlights and a Barbra Streisand nose. ~ Tera Lynn Childs

Why is it people who want the truth never believe it when they hear it? ~ Barbra Streisand

I just don't want to be hampered by my own limitations. ~ Barbra Streisand

She [Barbra Streisand] was just - we can't know what we mean to each other. You know, artists, you can't know - you can't know that, but she was really important. ~ Meryl Streep

I remember watching Barbra Streisand and seeing Jennifer Grey in 'Dirty Dancing' - these were people who acted like me and looked like me. Now it's great that everyone on 'Glee' is so unique and people can relate to us and look up to us. ~ Lea Michele

They're called 'angels' because they're in heaven until the reviews come out. ~ Barbra Streisand

Around people I don't know, I'm totally at a loss. ~ Barbra Streisand

But it's hard to be hip over thirty when everyone else is nineteen, when the last dance we learned was the Lindy, and the last we heard, girls who looked like Barbara Streisand were trying to do something about it. ~ Judith Viorst

Without ruining the ending, the gist is that he's a gay reindeer who can't afford a nose job, but he becomes a superstar in the end. It's all very inspirational. It turns out that, just like Rudolph, what I initially considered to be such a negative is, in fact, the very thing that has made me stand out. Not to sound preachy, but accepting my voice has given me the confidence I've needed to pursue my dreams. And just like Seal rocks his facial scars, Cindy Crawford works her mole, and Barbra Streisand wins every race by a nose, I hope you're inspired to make the most of your possibly less-than-perfect trademark, too. ~ Chelsea Handler

Just like my father, I've always loved education. In school I was a member of the honor society. ~ Barbra Streisand

Stay true to yourself. People respond to authenticity. ~ Barbra Streisand

It is true, even people with painful childhoods ... grow up to be more interesting people. So, there's always a positive to a negative. ~ Barbra Streisand

Love comes from the most unexpected places. ~ Barbra Streisand

What is with this campy fixation on all things Ronald Reagan? They talk about him the way gay people talk about Barbra Streisand. I think they just want him on a stamp so they can lick his ass. I think they only named an airport after him so they can say, I'm coming into Reagan! ~ Bill Maher

Being a woman in music was fine, but when I wanted to direct, I was poking my head into a man's world. ~ Barbra Streisand

As far as female vocalists, I love Heart, Joan Jett, Courtney Love, Laura Branigan, Linda Ronstadt, Barbra Streisand - or going back to when I was a child, Aileen Quinn, the original Annie. ~ Fergie

I got sent to a health camp when I was about 6 years old, and we all had to wear the same starchy blue uniform. The lady who took care of me after school knit me a burgundy sweater. It was the only thing that gave me any individuality. ~ Barbra Streisand

In the music business, we all do different things, but we sit there and admire other people who can write a song differently or sing differently. It's not so competitive. ~ Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand has always been an inspiration for me. I admire Jennifer Lopez because she's been against all the odds, and she's made such a name for herself, and she can put her name on anything and it sells, and I admire that about her, but Barbara Streisand and Woody Allen are my favorites. ~ Lauren London

You knew the difference between Barbra Streisand and Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, straight away. Now everyone sounds like each other, and I don't think that's right. ~ Bobby Womack

And remember, this was a president (George W. Bush) who was selected by the Supreme Court rather than the people. ~ Barbra Streisand

We elected a President, not a Pope. ~ Barbra Streisand

What is dangerous about the far right is not that it takes religion seriously - most of us do - but rather that it condemns all other spiritual choices - the Buddhist, the Jew, the Muslim, and many others who consider themselves to be good Christians. The wall of separation between church and state is needed precisely because religion, like art, is too important a part of the human experience to be choked by the hands of censors. ~ Barbra Streisand

I'm a terrible lip-syncer anyway because I have to be in the moment, and I can't lip-sync to something I recorded three months before. ~ Barbra Streisand

Eighteenth century American furniture and the design of the architects Greene and Greene are my special love. ~ Barbra Streisand

When I was a teenager in New York, I was buying antique clothes. I still am. ~ Barbra Streisand

I still like my antique clothes. ~ Barbra Streisand

My mother never really thought I could become anything. ~ Barbra Streisand

I don't think I'm tough in a so called tough way. I'm tough on myself. ~ Barbra Streisand

You don't ask a man, 'Do you want to be in control [of your job]?' You assume he wants control. Why would a woman be any different? ~ Barbra Streisand

New Rule: Since Glenn Beck is clearly onto us, liberals must launch our plan for socialist domination immediately. Listen closely, comrades, I've received word from General Soros and our partners in the UN
Operation Streisand is a go. Markos Moulitsas, you and your Daily Kos-controlled army of gay Mexican day laborers will join with Michael Moore's Prius tank division north of Branson, where you will seize the guns of everyone who doesn't blame America first, forcing them into the FEMA concentration camps. That's where ACORN and I will re-educate them as atheists and declare victory in the war on Christmas. ~ Bill Maher

When they tried me out as a host on TV, I found that I just couldn't be that gregarious person. I was stranger than that. ~ Barbra Streisand

Why am I so famous? What am I doing right? What are the others doing wrong? ~ Barbra Streisand

Our role as artist is more controversial now because there are those, claiming the absolute authority of religion, who detest much of our work as much as they detest most of our politics. Instead of rationally debating subjects like abortion or gay rights, they condemn as immoral those who favor choice and tolerance. They disown their own dark side and magnify everyone else's until, at the extreme, doctors are murdered in the name of protecting life. I wonder, who is this God they invoke, who is so petty and mean? Is God really against gun control and food stamps for poor children? ~ Barbra Streisand

I must have got my detailed, obsessive streak from my father, who was an English teacher, because my mother wasn't like me at all. ~ Barbra Streisand

I don't like the word 'superstar'. It has ridiculous implications. These words - star, stupor, superstar, stupid star - they're misleading. It's a myth. ~ Barbra Streisand

Why don't you have a cup of coffee at least? I, um, I'm a little low in sugar and I don't have any cream, but it's real coffee. ~ Barbra Streisand

Most awards, you know, they don't give you unless you go and get them - did you know that? Terribly discouraging. ~ Barbra Streisand

I just don't like the idea of her singing my songs. Who the hell does she thinks she is? The world doesn't need another Streisand! (on Diana Ross) ~ Barbra Streisand

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. ~ Barbra Streisand

I might as well be gay. And not just because I love rhinestones and Barbara Streisand. But because Im a sensitive person who is supportive of gay people the same way Im sensitive to grossly obese people and ugly people. ~ Richard Simmons

How I wish we lived in a time when laws were not
necessary to safeguard us from discrimination ~ Barbra Streisand

There's a part of you that always remains a child, no matter how mature you get, how sophisticated or weary. ~ Barbra Streisand

Growing up, my ideals were Barbra Streisand, Cher, and my mom. ~ Kevyn Aucoin

It is every woman's dream to be some man's dream woman. ~ Barbra Streisand

When I sing, people shut up. ~ Barbra Streisand

I've got to say that I don't see myself as some sort of political type like Alec Baldwin or Barbra Streisand. I don't want to come across like that. I'd be embarrassed if that was the way I came across. ~ Drew Carey

A human being is only interesting if he's in contact with himself. ~ Barbra Streisand

My nose was part of my heritage, and if I had talent to sing and to act, why wasn't that enough? ~ Barbra Streisand

I go by instinct - i don't worry about experience. ~ Barbra Streisand

I've been a big believer in musicians turned actor, going back to Sinatra winning the Oscar for 'From Here To Eternity.' David Bowie in 'Man Who Fell to Earth,' Kris Kristofferson's been great in a bunch of films. Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey, I thought was great in 'Precious.' ~ Peter Berg

When I was working a lot, I felt guilty as a parent. I couldn't pick up my son every day from school, bake him cookies and that kind of thing. ~ Barbra Streisand

I would say I grew up listening a lot to Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland and Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. I grew up listening to those because my parents were kind of into folk music. ~ Melora Hardin

I am a nice person. I care about my driver having lunch, you know ... ~ Barbra Streisand

It's a little intimidating to walk into a studio and know that you're going to sing a duet with Barbra Streisand. ~ Billy Joel

what with the follies and an indecent proposal it's been quite a night ~ Barbra Streisand

I wasn't supported, I wasn't given any self-esteem. ~ Barbra Streisand

When I was maybe 5 or 6 years old, the neighborhood girls would sit on the stoop and sing. I was known as the kid who had a good voice and no father. ~ Barbra Streisand

I don't feel like a legend. I feel like a work in progress. ~ Barbra Streisand

Why is it men are permitted to be obsessed about their work, but women are only permitted to be obsessed about men? ~ Barbra Streisand

Issues of foreign policy have a place in every election for President. ~ Barbra Streisand

I love Barbra Streisand. Anybody who knows me knows I just love her, love her, love her! ~ Lauren London

Art transcends politics this weekend. ~ Barbra Streisand

The artist as citizen is here to stay. ~ Barbra Streisand

I can say, I am terribly frightened and fear is terrible and awful and it makes me uncomfortable, so I won't do that because it makes me uncomfortable. Or I could say get used to being uncomfortable. It is uncomfortable doing something that's risky. But so what? Do you want to stagnate and just be comfortable? ~ Barbra Streisand

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. ~ Barbra Streisand

Moviemakers can be late to a subject, or afraid, but often they are brave and ahead of their time. ~ Barbra Streisand

I always wear the same thing at home. I can't be bothered with jewelry. My pants have elastic waists. I like to be comfortable. There are so many more important things to worry about. ~ Barbra Streisand

I don't care what you say about me. Just be sure to spell my name wrong. ~ Barbra Streisand

I tell you what I envy about people in love - I'd love it if someone knew me I mean really knew me. What I like what I'm afraid of what kind of toothpaste I use. - Rose Morgan ~ Barbra Streisand

I'm not that ambitious any more. I just like my privacy. I wish I really wasn't talked about at all. ~ Barbra Streisand

I'd started going to acting classes at 14, played 'Medea' at 15 and really wanted to be a classical actress. ~ Barbra Streisand

Thank God there were a couple of people in my life who said, Go on, go on - you can do it! ~ Barbra Streisand

The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, these are just some of the people who threatened to sue if we used their songs. ~ Colin Mochrie

I never read my reviews ... not even the good ones. Barbra Streisand once told me, if just one person in the audience doesn't applaud, it bothers her. I'm the same way. I'd be devastated to read that someone didn't like my work. ~ Pat Conroy

I've always liked working really hard and then doing nothing in particular. So, consequently, I didn't overexpose myself; I guess I maintained a kind of mystery. I wasn't ambitious. ~ Barbra Streisand

I can take any truth; just don't lie to me. ~ Barbra Streisand

I was kind of a wild child. I wasn't taught the niceties of life. ~ Barbra Streisand

What reaches an audience is honesty. If you're saying something truthful that's supposed to be a funny line, it's going to be funny. And if it's supposed to be a serious line, it's going to be serious. But, I don't think there's a distinction between how you play drama or comedy, if it's based in the truth. ~ Barbra Streisand

You've got to discover you, what you do, and trust it. ~ Barbra Streisand

I've considered having my nose fixed. But I didn't trust anyone enough. If I could do it myself with a mirror. ~ Barbra Streisand

How could such a destructive man [referring to Bush] be so popular with the American people? ... Not only is he poisoning our air and water - he's poisoning our political system as well. ~ Barbra Streisand

As a child, I would put on shows in my neighborhood with friends and perform Barbra Streisand songs for my classmates. ~ Patricia Heaton

Oh God, don't envy me, I have my own pains. ~ Barbra Streisand

I'd love to work with Missy Elliott. I'd love to work with Bonnie Raitt. I'd love, love, love to work with Barbra Streisand. I'm reaching, because why not? You don't know what's going to happen in this life. ~ Jill Scott

We're really awful animals. I mean, that dumb Barbra Streisand song, 'People who need people are the luckiest people in the world' - she's talking about cannibals. Lot's to eat. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

Lucy paints portraits of Barbara Streisand. ~ Hunter S. Thompson

Progress, whatever your definition of it, is not inevitable. ~ Barbra Streisand

Life's too short. Start with Dessert! ~ Barbra Streisand

For me, one of the most disturbing elements of the right wing's political agenda is that it believes that there is one correct spiritual and moral path for all people to follow. The danger inherent in this is its explicit refusal to accept anyone who happens to lead a different lifestyle, and the condemnation of those who differ. ~ Barbra Streisand

If I hear a record once, I usually never listen to it again. I rarely listen to music - unless it's Billie Holiday. ~ Barbra Streisand

The result [Republicans winning the Senate] would be devastating for reproductive choice, the environment, civil liberties, Social Security and health care, as well as corporate accountability. ~ Barbra Streisand

Performing, for me, has always been a very inner process. ~ Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand, for one, is one of my idols. I've listened to her since I was a little kid - the first album I ever bought was 'A Star is Born' with Kris Kristofferson. ~ Idina Menzel

New York critics - I hear when one of them watched "A Star Is Born", he talked back to the screen. ~ Barbra Streisand