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Singer, actress, comedian, director, liberal activist, control freak, diva of divas -- Barbra Streisand's gargantuan talent, and ego, have been with us for five decades.
A new generation of filmgoers know her as crazy Roz Focker, enthusiastic sex therapist to the geriatric set. But if you've been around long enough to remember Funny Girl (1968) when it played in theaters, or My Name Is Barbra (1965) when it premiered on CBS, you know Streisand has always been a little kooky. And long before Meet the Fockers, there was that voice -- like buttah. She's in talks to do a concert tour this fall.
Christopher Andersen's unauthorized biography, Barbra: The Way She Is (William Morrow, $25.95, in stores Tuesday), has its share of gossip. But Andersen, a former senior editor at People and author of books about Hillary Clinton, Princess Diana and various Kennedys, also re-creates Streisand's exhilarating (and not always easy) climb to fame. Streisand's rep did not respond to requests for comment on the book.
Highlights -- and lowlights -- along the way, according to Andersen:
*Her father's death when Barbra was a baby left a huge void; she hated her cruel stepfather, who told her she was ugly.
*She grew her signature nails as protection -- against her mother's wish that she take typing so she could be a secretary.
*Her notorious fear of performing live started with her legendary 1967 Central Park concert, after she received a death threat promising to kill the "Jew Streisand" for her support of Israel.
*She insisted on creative control on her projects, clashed with fellow cast members and directors, and re-edited her movies to shove aside co-stars and increase her close-ups. "She was downright rude," said Funny Girl assistant director Jack Roe.
*She had affairs with countless leading men, including Sydney Chaplin while she was newly married to first husband Elliott Gould. Other lovers: Omar Sharif, Kris Kristofferson, Dodi Fayed, Richard Gere, Don Johnson, Warren Beatty, Peter Jennings.
*Her liaison with hairdresser-turned-producer Jon Peters was a personal and professional melodrama, full of passion and screaming matches. Their antics on A Star Is Born are Hollywood lore.
*She was perhaps the most famous FOB (Friend of Bill), but was President Clinton more than a friend? Hillary banned Babs from the White House, according to Andersen, after Streisand stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom while Hillary was away.
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