Barbra Streisand

This is a 1963 Lydia Lane article. Enjoy!

When Barbara Streisand made her West Coast debut, the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel was filled with celebrities to welcome this girl who will soon be on Broadway starring in the musical life story of Fanny Brice. Individuality is one of the qualities which has made Bar-bra a star.

“There is not enough of it today,” she told me at tea. “There never has been. And there is so much static thought, so many people ready to stifle originality with the warning that ‘it won’t Barbra confessed she was far from individual in her longing to be beautiful but told me she concentrates on her good features. She admits her only gift of beauty are her hands. They are exquiste, graceful and shapely, and her oval nails grow long.

“I don’t like much color on my nails,” she said, “but a plastic coating keeps them from chipping and breaking.” Barbra uses this coating under the nail as well as on top and gives herself regular manicures. A simple exercise to keep hands attractive and graceful is to play an imaginary piano keyboard, pressing firmly and quickly with each finger. Do this on a work break or when watching television at home.

“I have been told to have my nose bobbed,” Barbra continued, “but that would be phony. It built me up to read a review that reported I had the quality of an Egyptian beauty and looked like a figure on an ancient frieze. “When you are not born beautiful, you have to work hard to create an image of beauty. What you believe about yourself will project to others.” I asked Barbra why she had refused to wear the glamorous couturier gown which had been designed for her opening night. “There was nothing wrong with the dress, it was beautiful, but not for me.” Barbra 1 expresses her individuality by choosing men’s suiting as a fabric for some of her formal dresses, but her gown for her debu. here was a satin i blouse over a long, straight white satin skirt.

“This is not a deliberate a to be different,” she said in parting. “These are the clothes I am happy in.”