Barbra Streisand Recalls Start of Her Romance with James Brolin in New Interview

Barbra Streisand was the sole guest on Monday’s episode of CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and the legendary entertainer discussed her massive new memoir, My Name Is Barbra, as the host playfully goaded her about aspects of her storied life and career. The interview took place at Streisand’s home in Malibu, California, and one of the many topics she chatted about with Colbert was her romance with husband James Brolin.

Streisand recalled that she was set up with the veteran actor by a friend who had met him and “thought that we might like each other,” and that their first encounter was a blind date.

[RELATED: Barbra Streisand Shares Story About Turning Down Marlon Brando]

When she first laid eyes on Brolin, Streisand explained that she was shocked at his appearance, because he looked so different than he had in photos she’d seen of him.

“He had just buzz cut his hair. He had a little dye on it and then gray at the bottom. And no beard and no nothin’,” she recalled. “So I think he looked at me and I looked at him, and I waved or something like that. But as I … passed him … I touched his hair … [and] I said, ‘Who [f***ed] up your hair?’”

Streisand then noted that someone later asked Brolin about the incident, wondering if he was insulted by her comment to him, “and he said, ‘No, I loved her honesty.’”

The 81-year-old superstar also remembered that the two immediately had a strong connection and that she was attracted to his boldness.

“We talked about everything that night, and then he said, ‘I’m taking you home,’” she recalled. “Woo, whoa. I never had a man say that to me, ‘I’m taking you home.’ That was interesting.”

She also shared that as she was driving home with Brolin that night, she was so nervous that she worried she was going to throw up.

Things, of course, ended up going smoothly because the couple have now been married for more than 25 years.

Later in the interview, Colbert asked Streisand if she planned to record any more duets, to which she responded, “Yeah, that’s fun.”

Colbert obviously had something in mind when he asked the question, as he began singing a bit of her famous duet with Neil Diamond “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” hoping that she would join in.

“You do have a good voice. I’ve noticed that on your show,” Streisand responded, then asked, “Do you want to sing with me sometime?”

“Right now,” Colbert answered, but Streisand vehemently said, “No way,” as Colbert began mimicking Diamond’s voice.

“I don’t want you to do Neil,” Streisand then commented. “It has to be your own voice.”

Colbert asked the iconic star once more, “You would actually sing with me someday?”

Streisand assured him that she would, adding, “Because you sing well. You have a good sound. That’s what counts.”

Colbert finished the segment by thanking Streisand and telling her, “You’ve got a pretty good sound too.”

You can check out more of Colbert’s interview with Streisand on The Tonight Show’s official YouTube channel.

My Name Is Barbra, a 992-page tome that took Streisand almost 10 years to complete, is available now.

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