Barbra Streisand, 81, explains why she has never had a nose job, which led to her being nicknamed the "ant-eater." Photo

At the beginning of her career, the world-famous American singer and actress Barbra Streisand was subjected to severe hate speech about her appearance, namely her nose, which fans and the press called "too big." The artist, as she said herself, was compared to "an ant-eater, a sour persimmon, and an evil hamster." Many recommended that the star undergo plastic surgery, saying that she would not succeed without a "perfect" face. However, Streisand never went through with the surgery.

In her memoir My Name is Barbra, published on November 7, the winner of two Oscars, as well as Emmy, Grammy, and Golden Globe awards, said that she had always liked her nose. She was also afraid that the surgery would somehow damage her voice. An excerpt from the book was published by People.

Streisand was advised to change not only her nose, but also her jaw and teeth. Even then, she realized that her timbre was unique, and it would be a catastrophic mistake to lose it through plastic surgery. However, it was not only the risk of losing her voice, but also the fact that the singer liked everything about herself, and the hump on her nose in particular.

"I thought: "Isn't my talent enough?" A nose job would have been painful and expensive. Besides, how could I trust someone to do exactly what I wanted and nothing more? Surgery is too risky. And who knew what it could do to my voice? Once a doctor told me that 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 thought she was beautiful," the artist wrote.

In her memoirs, the 81-year-old singer-actress also recalled the cover of Time magazine in 1964, in which the author compared her to a "hound dog." At the time, journalists allowed themselves to write that Streisand allegedly "can't believe the praise" because she was "still offended" by the words about her nose.

In the book, the star criticized the magazine for that article, sharing her thoughts on the disadvantages of fame. She admitted that she often "doesn't recognize the person she is portraying" in the press.

"I think when you become famous, you become public domain. You are an object to be studied, photographed, analyzed, dissected... and half the time I don't recognize the person they are portraying. I've never gotten used to it, and I try to avoid reading anything about myself," the artist said.

By the way, it should be noted that Barbra Streisand actively supports Ukraine in the war with Russia. The celebrity even has her own unique embroidered shirt. The star was presented with the national Ukrainian garment as part of the United24 global initiative to support Ukraine. Details can be found here.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote about stars who disfigured themselves with plastic surgery. Now they warn others not to repeat their mistakes.

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