NEW YORK – Barbra Streisand's very long and very long-awaited memoir, a project she has talked about for years, is coming out this fall. Viking, a Penguin Random House imprint, will release “My Name is Barbra” on Nov. 7.
Her memoir, fitting for a superstar of the grandest ambitions, is listed at 1,040 pages.
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“The book is, like Barbra herself, frank, funny, opinionated, and charming,” according to the publisher. “She recounts her early struggles to become an actress, eventually turning to singing to earn a living; the recording of some of her acclaimed albums; the years of effort involved in making ‘Yentl’; her direction of ‘The Prince of Tides’; her friendships with figures ranging from Marlon Brando to Madeleine Albright; her political advocacy; and the fulfillment she’s found in her marriage to James Brolin.”
“My Name Is Barbra” also is the title of a 1965 Streisand album and television special.
Publishers have sought a Streisand memoir for decades, with the singer telling Jimmy Fallon in 2021 that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis asked her to write one in the early 1980s, when the former first lady was an editor at Doubleday. During an Associated Press interview in 2009, Streisand mentioned that she had been writing chapters about her life, in longhand.
“I go back and forth,” Streisand said at the time. “Do I really want to write about my life? Do I really want to relive my life? I’m not sure.”
The memoir was first announced in 2015, and scheduled for two years later, although it didn’t have a title at the time. A reference to it on her web site, posted in 2015, was later pulled.
Financial terms for the memoir were not disclosed. Streisand was represented by Robert Barnett, the Washington attorney whose other clients have ranged from Barack Obama to Elton John.
Streisand, 80 has long been wary of discussing her private life, including her relationships with actor Elliott Gould and producer Jon Peters. She has been married to Brolin since 1998.