Barbra Streisand Reveals the Moment James Brolin Fell for Her

The actress talks confidence, relationships and winning her Oscars.

ByABC News
November 17, 2016, 5:45 PM

— -- Barbra Streisand knows that she intimidates some men.

However, that confidence was also what won over her husband, actor James Brolin.

In an interview with W magazine, the actress revealed that she and the actor met on a blind date, and she was characteristically straightforward with him, which he liked.

"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?'" she told the magazine. "He later told me that’s when he fell in love with me. My fella likes to hear the truth, which is unusual."

That sensibility translates to her life on screen, too. Streisand, 74, is known for playing strong females in her films, from her Academy Award-winning turn as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl" to Yentl Mendel in "Yentl," for which she also won an Oscar. ("I thought to myself, 'I’m going to win two Oscars in my lifetime, and I’ll be more conservative next time,'" she told W of her famous sequinned 1969 Oscars look.) Choosing these roles was intentional, she said.

"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," she said. "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."

However, she added, she likes to leave work, well, on the set. When asked if she sings in the shower, Streisand responded, simply, "no."

"I don’t sing around the house or anywhere," she said. "I never sing unless it’s for a purpose, like fundraising or making a record."