LOS ANGELES — As a newly independent teen living in a New York apartment, Barbra Streisand never made her bed.
Determined to pursue her dream as a Broadway actress, she regarded her unkempt covers and thought, “I have to make it.”
Make it in her career, that is. How else would she get money to pay someone else to tidy up?
That story was just one of the memories the singer shared with a sold-out audience that packed Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on March 16 for a tribute to her TV work.
The event was the opening night for this year’s annual PaleyFest, which honors current and veteran TV favorites. The festival, which will host evenings devoted to “Stranger Things,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and other shows, continues through Sunday.
Friday’s salute kicked off with clips from Streisand’s 1960s specials “My Name Is Barbra” and “Color Me Barbra” and her recent Netflix special, “Barbra: The Music … The Mem’ries … The Magic!”
When the lights came up, Streisand walked out on stage alone and started waving to the audience, who greeted her with a thunderous ovation. She was joined a few moments later by Ryan Murphy (“Glee,” “American Horror Story”), the evening’s moderator.
Murphy dismissed those who merely want to label Streisand as the greatest female star in entertainment.
“No, that’s not enough,” he proclaimed. “Barbra Streisand is the greatest star, male or female, period.” The crowd roared in agreement.
As Murphy listed her achievements, which include two Academy Awards, 10 Grammy Awards, five Emmy Awards and a slew of lifetime achievement honors, Streisand craned her neck in mock bewilderment.
“What? I don’t remember that,” she quipped, indicating she often remembered more about the menu at the ceremonies than the actual awards: “I usually remember things by the food.”
Referencing the current focus on sexual harassment in Hollywood, Murphy asked Streisand if she had ever experienced a #MeToo moment.
“Never,” she responded, adding, “I wasn’t like those pretty girls with those nice little noses. Maybe that’s why. I have no idea.”
She also addressed her reputation for being “difficult” and controlling because of her insistence on approving quotes and photographs in stories about her.
She said, she has grown comfortable with supervising her image and letting go of anxieties she felt as a young actress.
“I didn’t want people to call me controlling, which I am,” she said. “Everyone who is talented … wants to control their work.