The Real Reason Barbra Streisand Refuses To Get Cosmetic Procedures

Barbra Streisand has endured a ton of cruel bullying over the years, with many detractors having unkind things to say about her appearance. However, even with all the access she needed to have cosmetic surgery, the award-winning star never has — and there are a number of reasons why. 

Streisand has long been on the receiving end of taunts when it came to her nose, and in her very first memoir, "My Name is Barbra," she admitted that it's gotten to her on many occasions. "Even after all these years, I'm still hurt by the insults," she wrote. Even so, and in spite of all her detractors, she's never felt compelled to change her appearance. Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in 2006, she pointed out that, despite what anyone else had to say, she actually liked her nose. What's more, she said that she was happy that she hadn't succumbed to pressure to go under the knife. 

Being committed to looking like herself was just one of a few reasons why Streisand never got a nose job, though — there was also a pragmatic reason for it. As she revealed in her memoir, having surgery on her nose might have had disastrous consequences for her career. 

"My Name is Barbra" saw the legendary star reveal that in addition to the comments suggesting she should have a nose job, she had also been diagnosed with a deviated septum. However, while countless celebrities have had nose jobs to fix their own breathing problems (and emerge with a sleeker profile), Barbra Streisand was more than a little apprehensive. As she wrote in her memoir of her deviated septum, "Who knew what it might do to my voice .... Maybe that's why I sound the way I do." 

Granted, among specialists, the jury is out on whether cosmetic surgery that also corrects a deviated septum has a major impact on the voice. Writing for CS Music, otolaryngologist and voice specialist Dr. Anthony Jahn said that fixing a deviated septum can actually improve the voice. However, he's also warned that going under the knife to make a nose much smaller can have a detrimental effect on a singer's abilities. As such, he recommended singers base the decision on whether they were struggling with breathing, and if their appearance was troubling them to the point of wanting to take the risk. 

For Streisand, it was a no for both. In addition to not needing any improvements to her voice (obvs), Streisand pointed out in "My Name is Barbra" that she had always been a fan of longer noses, anyway. 

The thought of her voice being affected in any way isn't the only thing that's stopped Barbra Streisand from going under the knife. In fact, on many occasions, she's shared that her biggest fear is a surgeon going too far. As she told Oprah Winfrey, "How could I trust a doctor's aesthetic sense? How would I know he wouldn't take too much off?" It's a concern she touched on again in "My Name is Barbra." All she'd really want, she wrote, were small changes, like adjustments to the tip — and she was worried a doctor would do that and then some. 

Streisand isn't only concerned with doctors willingly making bigger adjustments than she'd like. Another, major concern for her is the thought of a plastic surgery blunder. She's previously been quoted by Mail Online as saying the thought of a bad nose job was scarier to her than having a naturally bigger one. And, in her interview with Winfrey, she made it clear that it wasn't just rhinoplasty she was concerned about. Admitting she was afraid of any cosmetic surgery, she pointed out that she was even apprehensive of having her ears pierced, because she was worried they'd be uneven. 

With a legendary career spanning decades, it's safe to say Streisand did just fine without any cosmetic surgeries.