8 Big Revelations From Barbra Streisand's Memoir, 'My Name Is Barbra': Thoughts on Nose Jobs, Judy Garland Feud Rumors, Pregnancy Surprise, Marlon Brando Proposition & More!

On her nose, and input about her physical appearance:

“Sometimes it felt like my nose got more press than I did. In the cover story in Time magazine, the writer said, ‘This nose is a shrine.’ (Sounds good!) Then he went on, ‘The face it divides is long and sad, and the look in repose is the essence of hound.’ (Not so good.) So which is it? Am I a Babylonian queen or a basset hound? Probably both (depending on the angle). I wish I could say none of this affected me, but it did. Even after all these years, I’m still hurt by the insults and can’t quite believe the praise. I guess when you become famous, you become public property. You’re an object to be examined, photographed, analyzed, dissected…and half the time I don’t recognize the person they portray. I’ve never gotten used to it, and I try to avoid reading anything about myself.”

On changing her appearance:

“I had already been told by several people that I should get a nose job and cap my teeth. I thought, Isn’t my talent enough? A nose job would hurt and be expensive. Besides, how could I trust anyone to do exactly what I wanted and no. more? I liked the bump on my nose, but should I consider a minor adjustment…just straighten it slightly at the bottom and take a tiny bit off the tip? No. It was too much of a risk. And who knew what it might do to my voice? Once a doctor told me I had a deviated septum…maybe that’s why I sound the way I do. Besides, I liked long noses…the Italian actress Silvana Mangano had one, and everyone seemed to think she was beautiful.”