The Big Interview: Barbra Streisand
Sex Is Fun! — and it gets better with age
January 3, 2005
62-year old superstar on love, lust ... and her beloved son
LEGENDARY entertainer Barbra Streisand loves being a homebody, but lately her life has been a whirlwind: she’s survived a cancer scare when a polyp removed from her colon turned out benign and endured promotional duties for her first movie in eight years.
Babs, 62, prefers the quiet life at her Malibu home. And who can blame her? She says sex gets better and better with age! Married to actor James Brolin, 64, for four years, she says it’s important to never let romance die.
Meanwhile, Barbra is finally back on the big screen after her long absence, playing Ben Stiller’s mom and Dustin Hoffman’s wife in Meet the Fockers, the sequel to the 2000 hit movie Meet the Parents, which also starred Robert De Niro.
In this wide-ranging interview, Barbra talks to a freelance journalist about her beloved son Jason, and she reveals what makes her tick ... sex, massages, playing the stock market, building a house — and not working!
Q: In the film, there's a scene where your character jumps on top of De Niro and gives him a massage. What research did you do?
A: First off, I love massages. l worked with my own masseuses. l watched tons of tapes with sex therapists with my husband. They are so funny. They are so factual, so matter of fact, it takes all the sting out of it.
Q: Was it difficult to keep up the sexual energy on the set?
A: Dustin doesn't have to work on it. It comes naturally. Sex is not really forced, neither is horniness. lt's cuddly, it's easy. lt's also about kindness. We were improvising a lot. lt's a very kind thing to do in a marriage — support your spouse. You should be there for your partner. That is real.
Q: What about sex in real life?
A: l find it very important that even later in life in your relationship to never let that die. lt's a life force. It's fun. Dustin and I talked about sex in between takes. l asked him how much sex is he getting, and he said between the two of us we get sex seven times a week. He's getting it once, l'm getting it six times (starts laughing).
Q: Does sex qet better with age?
A: Definitely. You are freer, less inhibited. You really enjoy the enjoyment. You know your mortality, and you want to enjoy every moment to the fullest. Experience your body, that's fun. It's fun to live a sexual life. lt keeps you young and energetic.
Q: You haven't been on the biq screen for eight years. Why?
A: l don't like working that much. l don't have that much time to work, really. l'm having a good time doing things where people don't judge me. Like gardening. They named a rose after me. It just won best fragrance. It starts out burgundy, and then it changes to lavender. l'm having a good time staying home, with the people l love. We are designing a house, building it. Building a house is a very creative process.
Q: What's a typical day in your life?
A: l don't like getting up early in the morning. But l get up at 6:30 to play the stock market a little while. When l am finished, it's 8:30, then l go back to bed to sleep for a while. I like to stay up late. Everything is quiet, and l can play my computer games and read the papers, with no phones ringing.
Q: How is your son?
A: Jason is doing well. He's an incredible artist. He's 38 now. He's made films, he writes music, and his drawings are wonderful. He's very gifted. Now he's designed an incredible set of cards that can be a book. They are called “straight woods" — they're thoughts with drawings. For example, he drew a painting of a man's face with a tear like Picasso. lt says, “The purity of sadness will never lead to madness. It made me cry."
Q: Do you have plans for a new album or movie?
A: Barry Gibb is writing songs for a new album that we are doing together. But l would never do a concert tour again like l have done in the past. They take up too much energy.
Q: Do you still suffer from stage fright?
A: Yes, I do have enormous stage fright. I am actually a very shy person. It's not easy to go on to the stage. To this day, l get extremely nervous.
End.
Related Pages: Meet the Fockers page >>
