Barbra Streisand, 81, maintains she’s ‘too old to care’ whether critics think she dresses provocatively

Barbra Streisand is laying down the law when it comes to personal fashion.

During a recent conversation with The New York Times, the iconic singer, actress and director said everyone should dress however they want regardless of their age.

‘People should express themselves and wear whatever they feel on any given day,’ the 81-year-old told the outlet.

Streisand says he personal style has ‘nothing to do with age’, and that there have been times during her career where she didn’t want to portray herself as se.xy.

‘I was too afraid to be seen that way at that time,’ the Funny Girl star said, before adding, ‘Now I’m too old to care.’

Barbra Streisand, 81, clapped back at critics who think she dresses too provocatively for her age: ‘People should express themselves and wear whatever they feel on any given day’

‘People should express themselves and wear whatever they feel on any given day,’ the 81-year-old told the outlet; seen in 2019

After beginning her career with performances in nightclubs and Broadway theaters in the early 1960s, the New York native seemed to put an emphasis on her singing career, releasing two studio albums a year from 1963 to 1967.

She was also recognized for her Broadway performances during that time in I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1961-1963) and Funny Girl (1964-1965), both of which earned her a Tony Award nomination.

Her big breakthrough in film came with the adaption of the musical comedy-drama Funny Girl (1968), resulting in her winning an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Whether it was in film, as an actress or director, television, or the stage, Streisand succeeded in all avenues of show business.

In fact, her wide-raging abilities over a career that spans more than six decades also put her on the short list of people to win an EGOT, which is someone who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

As of 2023, only 18 people have achieved competitive EGOT status and six others, including Streisand, have done so with honorary or special awards.

While allocating the time to her wide-ranging talents and interests, her film career seemed to take the biggest hit, not for a lack of love but for the sheer time it takes for a film production.

After scoring hits as the star and director in The Prince of Tides (1991) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), the Brooklyn native has only appeared in three comedy films in 27 years.

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After revealing in her recent memoir – My Name Is Barbra – that there was a time when she was ‘too afraid’ to be seen as sexy, the Funny Girl star now confesses ‘I’m too old to care’

During her legendary career that spans more than six decades, Streisand is among the short list of people to be awarded an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony); she is seen in the film version of Funny Girl (1968)

With her last film being released nearly 14 years ago, Barbra readily admits that she’s just too tired to make another movie.

‘It gets exhausting, trying to come up with the structure of the movie and then have it not happen,’ she told PEOPLE  earlier this month.

‘I had many movies that I wanted to make, and then I get lazy.’

She added, ‘I go, “Oh yeah, to do this one, I have to have all these fittings for period clothes. This one, I’d have to live in Arkansas to do this one.” I don’t know. It’s complicated, but I am complicated, I guess … I get lazy,’ she confessed.

In her recent autobiography, My Name Is Barbra, she also revealed that if she had continued making films all those years, she would have never been able to write the book.

‘If I could have made my movies, I never would’ve written a book,’ The Way We Were singer shared. ‘I had such good movies to make, meaning they were about things I cared about, very interesting subjects.’

In the end, it took Streisand about 10 years to write her 970-page memoir, which spans her early life in New York through her career in New York and Hollywood.

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In her memoir, the legendary performer also shares about her husband James Brolin, 83, whom she met on a blind date in 1996 and then marred two years later; the couple are seen in Los Angeles in August 2016

While the audiobook version spanned 48 hours of narration from Streisand herself, it ended up taking about six weeks to complete.

‘I think, to do the audiobook, I was so sick of myself — can you imagine? I mean, you write a book for 10 years, then you’ve gotta say it out loud,’ she told Variety last month.

In her memoir, the legendary performer also talks about her life with husband James Brolin, 83, whom she met on a blind date in 1996 and then marred two years later.