Still got it! Barbra Streisand, 74, sizzles in sexy shoot as she reveals she met James Brolin 'on a blind date' and calls Marlon Brando her 'biggest crush'

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She readily admits that she believes men have been too intimidated to ask her out in the past.

And now Barbra Streisand has revealed that she met her husband James Brolin on a blind date.

The 74-year-old sizzled in a sexy cover shoot for the new issue of W Magazine and chatted in the accompanying interview about her love life and her astonishing career.

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Sizzling hot at 74: Barbra Streisand smoulders on the cover of the new issue of W Magazine

When asked if men were too nervous to make the first move with her, Barbra said: 'I would think so. There’s a certain amount of intimidation and fear. My husband and I were set up on a blind date.

'I met him at a dinner and expected a bearded mountain-man type, and he had cut off all his hair and was clean-shaven. I asked him, “Who screwed up your hair?” He later told me that’s when he fell in love with me. My fella likes to hear the truth, which is unusual.' 

While Barbra and James have been happily married for almost 20 years now, she did used to have one huge movie star crush.

'Since I was 13, Marlon Brando was my favorite,' she told W Magazine. 'I saw him in Guys and Dolls—and that was it.

'There's a certain amount of intimidation and fear': The actress and singer revealed in the accompanying interview that men were too nervous to ask her out

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Barbra Streisand has been a style icon for decades. And by the sight of this spread for W Magazine, it looks like she's still got it!

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'Interestingly, there was a period of 27 years when I didn’t sing in public, because of stage fright, and when I finally did, I created a scenario in which I sang I’ll Know with Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls. I put myself in his movie!'

She added: 'I invited Brando to my house to see the piece, and he made me take him through my entire show. We then watched a movie together. It was wonderful: He was my idol, my biggest crush.'

As well as her incredible singing voice, Barbra is well-known for portraying strong women in movies such as Funny Girl and The Way We Were, which she says has very much been a deliberate choice.

'He was my idol': Barbra also revealed that Marlon Brando was her 'biggest crush'

'It’s a more interesting part to play!' she explained. 'Strong women are, simply, women with opinions. And they have always been treated with suspicion. Look at Hillary Clinton.

'And, sadly, the strong women usually don’t get the guy at the end of the film. The last movie I directed was The Mirror Has Two Faces, and one of the reasons I took the job was because she got the guy at the end.'

Barbara continued: 'I thought, Hmm, I’ve been alone too long. I think I’ll do this movie, and then, in real life, I also got the guy at the end! I wound up getting married. In a sense, I believe you can manifest your reality.' 

'My husband and I were set up on a blind date': The 74-year-old revealed how she met husband of nearly 20 years James Brolin (seen in August) and said that he loves her for her honesty

The legendary star has won two Academy Awards to date: Best Actress in 1969 for Funny Girl, and Best Original Song in 1977 for Evergreen from A Star Is Born.

And she still remembers what made her pick the famous sheer black jumpsuit that she wore for the 1969 ceremony.

'That night, in my dressing room, I was choosing between two different outfits,' Barbra told W. 'One was lovely, but very conservative. And then there was the pantsuit with plastic sequins.

'I had no idea that when the lights hit that outfit, it would become transparent! I wanted a white collar and cuffs, which it had, and I wore my hair under my chin, because I thought to myself,"I’m going to win two Oscars in my lifetime, and I’ll be more conservative next time."'

Iconic look: Meanwhile Barbra still remembers why she chose the sheer and sequined jumpsuit she wore to the 1969 Oscars where she won Best Actress for Funny Girl

Quite a difference: For her second Academy Award win in 1977 (for Best Original Song for Evergreen from A Star Is Born) the star picked a 'more conservative' look 

Barbra posed on the cover of the magazine in just a men's shirt and tie with fishnet stockings and black heels while perched on a stool, with a suit jacket slung over her shoulder.

For another shot inside the new issue, she could be seen sporting thigh-high boots, a cream trench coat and a floppy hat.

While Barbra has one of the most famous singing voices of all time and recently topped the charts with her new album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, she admits that she never sings in the shower.

'I don’t sing around the house or anywhere,' she confessed in the interview. 'I never sing unless it’s for a purpose, like fundraising or making a record.'

'It's a more interesting part to play!': Barbra said she is drawn to playing strong women, such as her character Katie in 1973's The Way We Were