BARBRA STREISAND-I've Never Been HAPPIER

ON THE EVE OF THE RELEASE OF HER MEMOIR, THE LEGENDARY STAR LOOKS FORWARD AND BACK

- Rick Egusquiza

In her upcoming memoir, Barbra Streisand recalls turning down an indecent proposal by Marlon Brando at a party in 1966. The actor, whose then-wife was also a guest at the same event, didn’t take offense. In fact, he became a lifelong pal who called Barbra to critique her performance in 1968’s Funny Girl. “You were really good, but you run funny,” she says Marlon told her.

At 81, the legendary performer is ready to tell her story her own way in My Name Is Barbra, out Nov. 7. “I never learned to type,” says the star, who wrote her book longhand over a period of 10 years. She’d been asked to tell all before — most famously by Doubleday editor Jackie Onassis in 1984 — but she felt she wasn’t ready. She still had much to accomplish and hadn’t found her happily ever after yet.

Today, Barbra not only has a stellar career to look back on with pride, she also has a contented private life with actor James Brolin, whom she wed in 1998. “They truly love each other,” says a friend. “They get along great, are best friends, and are still attracted to each other.”