Barbra Streisand has some misty watercolor memories of Robert Redford.

Six months after the legendary actor died at the age of 89, his The Way We Were costar took part in a special tribute to Robert at the 2026 Oscars, hosted by Conan O’Brien at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood March 15. Barbra stepped out in a black gown during the In Memoriam segment as she recalled how Robert used to tease her.

“I miss him now more than ever, even how he loved teasing me,” Barbra shared. “He’d call me, ‘Babs.’ And I’d say, ‘Bob, you know, do I look like a Babs?’ But the way he said it made me laugh.”

“Many years later, we were chatting on the phone about the usual, politics, art, Modigliani—our favorite,” she continued. “And as we were hanging up, he said, ‘Babs, I love you dearly, and I always will.’”

That phone call left an impression on Barbra, and played a role in the final note she wrote to Robert, saying, “I ended it with, ‘I love you too,’ and I signed it ‘Babs.’”

Barbra Streisand Performs at Oscars During Robert Redford Tribute
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And Barbra couldn’t help but rave about her former costar, sharing his accomplishments from defending the freedom of the press to protecting the environment and founding the Sundance Institute.

“He was thoughtful and bold,” she said. “I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail.”

The 83-year-old then launched into a heartbreaking rendition of The Way We Were’s title song—which won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1974.

Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, 2002MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images

Following Robert’s Sept. 16 death at his home in Sundance, Utah, Barbra—who had presented him with his honorary Oscar in 2002—recounted their time together on The Way We Were, noting that every day on set was “exciting, intense and pure joy.”

“We were such opposites: he was from the world of horses; I was allergic to them!” she wrote on Instagram last year. “Yet, we kept trying to find out more about each other, just like the characters in the movie. Bob was charismatic, intelligent, intense, always interesting—and one of the finest actors ever.”

The Funny Girl actress also recalled the last time the two saw each other, sharing that Robert joined her for lunch as the two “discussed art and decided to send each other our first drawings.”

“He was one of a kind,” she added, “and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him.”

Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford Tribute, Oscars 2026Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

But that opportunity almost didn’t come to pass. Despite Barbra and director Sydney Pollack’s insistence that he be cast as Hubbell to her Katie in The Way We Were, Robert turned down the role multiple times.

“I have to give Sydney credit. He was as persistent as I was, because we both felt that only Redford would make the picture work,” she wrote in her 2023 memoir My Name Is Barbra. “It’s like playing tennis…I knew my own game would go up when I was opposite a strong player.”

But Robert wouldn’t budge, telling them he felt the character wasn’t developed enough, which led to Barbra and Sydney bringing in writers to add “more scenes to strengthen his character.”

“The courtship had been tough,” Barbra said, “but Bob’s reluctance had a big influence on the script and ultimately resulted in a richer, more interesting character.”