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Barbra Streisand Reveals Her Final Note to Robert Redford in Emotional Oscars 2026 Tribute
Jane Fonda had hoped for the opportunity to honor her late friend.
After Barbra Streisand’s emotional tribute to Robert Redford during the 2026 Academy Awards, the 88-year-old had one question.
“I wanna know how come Streisand was up there doing that for Redford?” Jane quipped to Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party on March 15. “She only made one movie with him I made four. I have more to say.”
Indeed, Jane—who starred alongside Robert in The Chase, Barefoot in the Park, The Electric Horseman and Our Souls at Night—was filled with memories of her iconic friend, who died in September at 89.
“I was always in love with him,” Jane said. “The most gorgeous human being and such great values and he did a lot for movies. He really changed movies, lifted up independent movies.”
In September, the Grace and Frankie star, whose onscreen collaborations with Robert spanned over five decades, shared insight into her bond with the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance King star.
“It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone,” Jane shared in a statement to E! News. “I can’t stop crying. He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way.”
She added of the longtime political and environmental activist, “He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
As for Barbra, she looked back on her own dynamic with Robert as she celebrated his life and legacy during the Oscars’ In Memoriam segment.
“I miss him now more than ever, even how he loved teasing me,” the Funny Girl star remarked. “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, [Amedeo] Modigliani—our favorite,” she continued. “And as we were hanging up, he said, ‘Babs, I love you dearly, and I always will.’”
Barbara further doted on Robert’s activism and overall charm adding, “He was thoughtful and bold,” she said. “I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail.”
And, paying tribute to their time onscreen together, she ended the extended In Memoriam—which also honored Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton among many others—singing an emotional rendition their film’s Oscar-winning title track, “The Way We Were.”
For more moments from inside the 2026 Academy Awards, keep reading…
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Ryan Coogler & Paul Thomas Anderson
At this point in the night, the Sinners and One Battle After Another directors were just a couple of auteurs clutching their first-ever Oscars, Coogler for Best Original Screenplay and PTA for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
Kylie Jenner & Timothée Chalamet
Jenner is officially a regular, accompanying Best Actor nominee Chalamet to the Oscars for the second year in a row.
John Shearer/98th Oscars/Getty Images The Academy via Getty Images
Teyana Taylor & Cassandra Kulukundis
While fellow attendees started ripping into their snacks, Taylor celebrated One Battle After Another's casting director for winning the first-ever Oscar for Best Casting.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Jacob Elordi
The Frankenstein star made the rounds in between awards.
John Shearer/98th Oscars/Getty Images The Academy via Getty Images
Pedro Pascal & Sigourney Weaver
Weaver's trying and failing not to burst out laughing before the duo headed out to present Best Production Design (to Frankenstein) and Best Visual Effects (to Avatar: Fire & Ash).
John Shearer/98th Oscars/Getty Images The Academy via Getty Images
Chase Infiniti & Paul Thomas Anderson
After making her acting debut in One Battle After Another, Infiniti couldn't have been more thrilled over how the night was going.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
Winners for Best Original Song
Mark Sonnenblick tried to keep the commercial break at bay, to no avail, when one of his fellow songwriters was cut off mid-sentence while accepting "Golden's" historic when for Best Original Song.
John Shearer/98th Oscars/Getty Images The Academy via Getty Images
Demi Moore & Mikey Madison
Madison may have come out ahead in the Best Actress race last year, but they still enjoyed a reunion of substance.
John Shearer/98th Oscars/Getty Images The Academy via Getty Images
Pauline Chalamet & Timothée Chalamet
There was plenty of room for family in the Marty Supreme row, Chalamet's sister joining him and Jenner for a night out.
John Shearer/98th Oscars/Getty Images The Academy via Getty Images
Rachel McAdams & Sterling K. Brown
This is not us, but rather two actors having a moment near the makeup chair backstage at the Academy Awards. No need to send help.
John Shearer/98th Oscars/Getty Images The Academy via Getty Images
Nicole Kidman
The 2003 Best Actress winner didn't mind whiling away a few more of the hours at the 2026 Oscars.
John Shearer/98th Oscars/Getty Images The Academy via Getty Images
Michael B. Jordan & Leonardo DiCaprio
DiCaprio was on hand to celebrate Jordan's golden moment, as he surged in the final days of voting to win Best Actor.
Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Oscar
This was taken March 10 during the Governors Ball preview at the Ovation Hollywood Complex, a sneak peek at the glam spot where the winners go to get their statues engraved, but we thought you should see how the sausage, er, chocolate is made.
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