Barbra Streisand reveals she was 'addicted' to gambling on the stock market and invested in Viagra: 'I immediately bought some shares'
Barbra Streisand revealed she was once 'addicted' to gambling on the stock market.
The Funny Girl star, 81, shared in her memoir, My Name Is Barbra, that she traded millions of dollars between 1998 and 2000 and even invested in Viagra maker Pfizer, according to The mirror.
The actress wrote that gambling gave her a thrill: “From about 1998 to 2000, I traded Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. At 6:25 a.m. my eyes opened wide, with no alarm.”
“I got up, put on my bathrobe, sat at my new desk with a cup of hot chocolate and started trading. That was a whole new learning experience. I like gambling. “Every time I sang in Las Vegas, I played blackjack,” she said.
'I had to follow the news and pick stocks. I read about a new drug for men called Viagra and thought, “That's going to be really popular!” It's made by Pfizer, so I immediately bought some shares.”
Barbra Streisand revealed she was once 'addicted' to gambling in the stock market; in the photo in 2023
The New York native – who has won eight Grammy Awards in her 60-year career – continued: “I chose Apple because I liked their products. (My PA) Renata likes Starbucks coffee, so I bought Starbucks.”
'Once I picked a stock because it had my initials. It was fun. I was on a rollercoaster in the market and it was scary and exciting at the same time.'
She added that being able to do all of this from the privacy of her home was a big plus.
“The main reason I loved it was because it was private. I didn't have to act or sing. Nobody looked at me. I could do all my transactions over the phone, in my nightgown.”
Streisand made $1.8 million in the stock market in five months, but the singer eventually gave up her hobby when it became too stressful.
'I don't play with such large amounts anymore. After being burned several times (I lost my shirt, my dress and my nerves during the 2008 financial crisis), I decided to stick to bonds.”
Streisand's autobiography was published late last year.
Following the publication of her memoir, the star insisted the book marked the end of her career.
She has opened up about why she decided to leave show business behind and how she just wants to 'live life'.
The Funny Girl star, 81, shared that she traded millions of dollars between 1998 and 2000 and even invested in Viagra maker Pfizer
“I read about a new drug for men called Viagra and thought, 'That's going to be really popular!' It was made by Pfizer, so I immediately bought some shares,” she wrote in her memoir; in the photo in 2013
Streisand made $1.8 million in five months on the stock market, but the singer eventually gave up her hobby when it became too stressful; seen during a performance in Toronto in 2006
The star made the revelation in her memoir My Name Is Barbra, which was released late last year
Despite the glitz and glamor of fame and winning ten Grammys, Barbra admitted she hasn't had “a lot of fun” in her life and wants more moving forward.
In what she said, it will be her last interview, she told the newspaper BBC: 'I want to live. I want to get in my husband's truck and just wander around, hopefully with the kids somewhere near us.
“Life is fun for me when they come around. They like to play with the dogs and we have fun.
'To tell you the truth, I haven't had much fun in my life. And I want to have more fun.”
In her new memoir, Barbra talked about some of her famous ex-boyfriends, but she confessed that if it were up to her, she would have left them out.
I'm speaking to Gayle King CBS Sunday morningshe revealed she was told she had to write about her A-list lovers if she hoped to move copies of her new book.
“Listen, I didn't want to write about any of them!” she said emphatically after King listed her greatest conquests.
“But you did!” Gayle pushed back.
She blamed the salacious material on her editor, recounting, “My editor said, 'You have to leave some blood on the page.'
Elsewhere in her book, Barbra also revealed why she never had a nose job – after receiving cruel comments about her appearance during her early career; pictured around 1965
Barbra previously dated Miami Vice's Don Johnson, celebrity hairstylist turned superstar producer Jon Peters and former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
She was also married to The Long Goodbye star Elliott Gould from 1963 until their divorce in 1971, and in 1998 she married her current husband James Brolin.
Elsewhere in the book, Barbra also revealed why she never had a nose job – after receiving cruel comments about her appearance during her early career in entertainment.
The iconic actress said her appearance has been compared to “an amiable anteater, a sour persimmon, an angry hamster,” and said she feared a nose job would damage her famous voice.
In an excerpt obtained by People, she writes about how she was urged to have surgery and “cover her teeth”: “I thought, isn't my talent enough? A rhinoplasty would be painful and expensive. Besides, how could I trust anyone to do exactly what I wanted and no more?'
She added, “Plus, I liked long noses… Italian actress Silvana Mangano had one, and everyone seemed to like her.”