Barbra Streisand cloned her beloved Coton du Tulear dog into two puppies

babs variety

Barbra Streisand covers the 2018 Oscars edition of Variety. The interview is actually really interesting – Streisand talks a lot about the history of sexism in Hollywood, specifically how she was perceived as a woman who wanted power and control, and how groundbreaking she really was as an actress-director. She also talks politics (she’s always been a liberal Democrat) and how she… cloned her beloved dog to make two new dogs. You can read the full Variety piece here. Some highlights:

On Donald Trump: “He embodies the nasty remarks he makes about other people. He’s a liar. He’s crooked.”

She wasn’t sexually harassed in her youth: “I wasn’t blond enough,” she says. She recalls a strange experience she had as a 16-year-old Brooklyn teenager. “I went to a guy’s apartment once from the Art Students League. He wanted to paint me. He said, ‘The next time you come here, maybe I could paint you with your top off.’ I said, ‘Huh?’”

On Harvey Weinstein: “I thought he was vulgar,” she says. They had a dispute involving the opening night of his Broadway musical “Finding Neverland.” “He wanted me to come there on his arm and sing a song on the album. I said, ‘No. I can’t do that.’” After she turned him down, he threatened not to work with her on future movies and said he wouldn’t be sending her any of his releases to screen at her home. “That kind of stupidity. So I thought he was a boorish guy.”

On the Parkland massacre: “I think even that shooter was affected because Trump brings out the violence in people. He says, ‘It’s OK — rally, lock her up.’”

She’s good friends with Hillary: “I said to her the last time I saw her, ‘You were just too smart.’” In fact, she’s not convinced that Trump beat Clinton. “I really believe she won the election,” Streisand says. “I’ve talked to senators from Michigan and Wisconsin. I do believe, like I believed during Bush, they were playing with those voter machines. And [Al Gore] lost by 537 votes out of 104 million. And now, in retrospect, Bush looks quite good compared to Trump. At least he’s not mean-spirited. He’s not a guy who is retaliating for what Obama did at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.”

Her dogs: Streisand revealed that two of her dogs, Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett, were cloned from her 14-year-old Coton du Tulear Samantha, who died in 2017. Before Samantha died, Streisand had cells taken from her mouth and stomach. “They have different personalities,” Streisand says. “I’m waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her [Samantha’s] brown eyes and seriousness.” After the clones arrived, Streisand dressed the dogs in red and lavender to tell them apart, which is how they got their names — Miss Scarlett and Miss Violet.

[From Variety]

Re: dog cloning… I loved my late Newfie-mix dog so much, but I never wanted to start over with him as a puppy-clone. It just never crossed my mind, nor would I have the means to do so, but more than that, I would not have the inclination. I believe animals have souls and each one has their own personality, and that’s part of the joy of being mom to a fur-baby. We grieve for them when we lose them and that’s part of life. I don’t know… I’m just uncomfortable with Barbra’s cloned dogs. Hm.

As for what she says about politics and Trump… I used to want her to stay quiet about politics because she really wasn’t winning anyone over. But nowadays… whatever, she should say whatever she wants.

Here’s a video about her cloned dogs:

babs2

Photos courtesy of Variety.

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64 Responses to “Barbra Streisand cloned her beloved Coton du Tulear dog into two puppies”

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  1. Brittney B. says:

    Sigh… I know she can do what she wants with her money, but I can’t help imagining how many dogs I could save with the money it costs to make two clones.

    • minx says:

      Well, that’s exactly what I was going to say.
      Her money, her choice, but still….

      • Milla says:

        My dog is 16. I understand her but I don’t know what i would do, if i could. I don’t judge her at all. It is so sad that dogs live so so short.

      • Dita von Katzhausen says:

        @Milla I love my cat to pieces, and I understand her too, but what I know about cloning is, that you will get an animal, that looks exactly the same, but will not have the same personality. So I would never have the same cat. I agree with minx and Brittney; with the money she spent on that, she could have saved many more animals.

    • LetItGo says:

      It’s her money, and I have no doubt Streisand gives to her share of charitable causes, including those pertaining to animals/dogs. Pretty sure I’ve read about her contributions over the years.

      That said, that header pic on the main page looks so much like Jennifer Aniston. I did a double take. I’d say they should do a movie together but I think Aniston is just a mediocre talent.

      Still maybe Babs would inspire her and up her game a notch. Although since Barbara has had work, they actually look more like sisters now.

      • Sullivan says:

        Streisand and Aniston look like sisters.

      • minx says:

        Love Babs, but I would like to see her, JA and SJP ditch that center part. When you have a strong nose the part accentuates it. But Babs is 75 so I’m sure she just does what she pleases.

      • Alix says:

        Any more work, and she’ll start resembling the late Duchess of Alba. Yikes.

    • Sabrine says:

      It’s her business what she does in regard to cloning her beloved pet. Being an animal lover, she likely gives all kinds of money for the welfare of animals. It’s easy to criticize when you don’t know any of the facts.

    • Clare says:

      I have thought very seriously about cloning our dog. He is now 16 and the thought of life without him hurts my heart. Genuinely don’t know how I will live without him. It actually isn’t THAT expensive – I’m told about £30k, so a mid range car. However, the risk is you can end up with 0 or 12 dogs, depending on how many clones take. There is also no guarantee if personality (obviously!) because the new Dog will have different exposure etc. Also my husband thinks it’s insane and we should rescue instead.

      Anyway we have settled for string another doggy from the same line, and he too, is amazing. Although I think I’d say that about any dog who lets me tickle his tummy.

      My point is, dogs are amazing and I can’t judge her for loving her’s beyond reason.

    • Leigh says:

      THIS. And a cloned dog may have the same DNA, but they don’t have the same “soul” or whatever it is that makes someone themself. Grieve, and then adopt and love some new wonderful dogs, there’s millions out there in America alone waiting for loving homes!

      • Milla says:

        I think this is the best possible solution. Don’t even wait too long. Cos new dog will shift your focus.

        I know I’ll fall apart but i have another pup and he’s gonna need me. He’s around 5 now and he was abused and whatnot.

        Ok I’m gonna cry now. Feeling all the love for our fur babies. And they are my babies, if my mum can call them babies, so can i. And my mum is mum of two humans.

    • TwoPac says:

      My thoughts EXACTLY. I wouldn’t doubt she gives to some charities that are helpful…but I purposely brought my son to the highest kill shelter to bring home the most needy dog. The bottom line is the lil doggy loved and still loves my once distressed (major custody issued) kiddo. If people only saw shelter animals and all that love just waiting to be expressed…infinity sigh…

    • stinky says:

      ADOPTION IS THE BEST!!!!! … . . … tho for someone as rich as Baba, im not surprised in the least. The woman takes her own toilet seat on tour with her. Shes just not one of us.

  2. savu says:

    Eh. This is also someone who had an entire mall built in her basement to show off her antiques. She’s kind of a weirdo. I’m guessing she’s philanthropic to animal causes (purely a guess) so I won’t yell about adoption. Our animals are our babies. We just had to put down one of our six-month-old (rescue) kittens because he had a congenital brain defect that just started physically manifesting. He was such a baby, that’s what was so painful about it. If it was a reasonable option to us, maybe we would’ve thought about cloning him. We also have his biological sister, it would be nice to give her a true brother again. (a friend has the other two siblings – same brain defect in the male started manifesting, had to put him down just a week earlier.) Idk. I won’t judge.

    • lucy2 says:

      Oh I’m so sorry. I have 2 4-month old kitten siblings, I can’t imagine how hard that must have been to go through.
      Before I adopted them, I had a cat for almost 2 decades. I loved her so much and miss her terribly, but I personally wouldn’t feel right cloning.

      • savu says:

        Aw thanks. It’s been so hard – the other one was so lost and bored without her brother. We weren’t emotionally ready but adopted another bc she was so understimulated and lonely. Her name is Sonoma, we had to put down our beloved Atlas. They’re both named after wine regions or geological features of wine regions my partner loves (he’s a wine-loving meteorologist). Atlas was such a perfect name we’re struggling to name the new guy! We’ve had him 10 days now and nothing feels quite right.

        I’m sorry about the loss of your other cat. I fully believe people who miss their animals months and years later must be amazing pet parents. Those kittens are lucky to have you! Cherish them.

      • lucy2 says:

        Thank you too.
        I’m glad you were able to adopt another, knowing how my two interact and how attached they are to each other, I can really see how they’d have a hard time being an only cat, so it’s good you were able to adopt again. I hope they are bonding well, and the perfect name comes to you!

      • Imqrious2 says:

        Savu, I had the same issue. My cat was lonely, so I adopted 2 sibling kittens for her. I had all my cats for a few days before I named them, to see their personalities. CG was named for “Curious George” (actually Georgia- she was a girl 😊)because she was such a curious little monkey wanted to see/know EVERYthing that was going on, my little boy kitten was named PT Barnum (Barney) as he felt I was the sucker born to cater to his every (whim very true lol), and Lucy, after Lucille Ball, because she was just so damned funny! Sigh…I still miss them so much, and it’s been almost 10 years since the last passed away.

        But I do have a furry nephew, a Golden Doodle, that I adore. He was supposed to be a mini (22-25 lbs.), but he had a mind of his own and kept growing. He’s 40 lbs, but likes to think he’s a lap dog lol. When I got sick, I was in the hospital for almost 8 weeks, the first time he saw me when I got home, he was crying, licking, and literally hugging me with his paws around my neck. THAT is unconditional love (and definitely reciprocated 😊). I wish he could live forever.

        I don’t get the cloning though. It’s not like you get the same exact pet, with the same personality, temperament, etc, you just get a physical copy…no? Like an identical twin, with the same DNA? So, wouldn’t you just get that with the same breed?

  3. Jker says:

    No, just no.

    Shes coming from the best of intentions and with genuine love, i know, but no.

  4. Kitty says:

    I don’t get cloning a let…just get the same kind of dog, same colour…a cloned dog is not going to be the same one you lost

    • Elkie says:

      You get a dog with a shorter life span and a greater chance of health issues due to older DNA being more damaged. And one that’s no more the same animal than identical twins are the same person.

      Plus I would be hugely offended if I died and my parents were all like, shrug, just get a clone!

    • Spikey says:

      I think you’re right. Not that I have much experience with cloned dogs… Just today I took my Husky boy for a visit to his Mom (we’re very lucky, she lives nearby and we meet her frequently). She hasn’t met a puddle she doesn’t jump into and totally passed this trait on to her litter. We had two Huskies going for a swim in the freezing river *lol*. It’s like 10 degrees below zero (Celsius) over here and there are still ice free stretches on the river bank. My pooch and his Mom share a family song, it’s a very specific melody when they howl. My other dogs sound completely different, he definitively learned it from Kira. You wouldn’t get that with a clone.

    • Arpeggi says:

      Exactly! A cloned dog will have a different personality and may even look different because genes won’t always be expressed the same way (epigenetic is a thing after all), especially if the DNA was retrieved from an old animal… Plus your pup is more likely to die young and have genetics defects. It’s a super selfish thing to do. Animals aren’t objects, they aren’t a shirt that you buy in 20 different shades cuz you loved the 1st one you bought so much.

      Save your money, get a pup of the same race and enjoy the fact that the pup will live its own life.

  5. OG OhDear says:

    TBH, if I had her money I would be very very tempted. My cat passed away recently and he was the gentlest, sweetest cat – truly a once in a lifetime pet. I was looking at animal shelter websites recently and realized that all I wanted was my cat back again. So while I wouldn’t do it, I understand where she may be coming from.

  6. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I’m just excited I’m part of a time period where we can discuss someone cloning their dogs. I’ve got cloned goose bumps.

  7. LetItGo says:

    That comment she made about how she wasn’t sexually harrassed because she “wasn’t blonde enough,” was beyond weird.

    As if women with jet black hair to brunette and redhead aren’t sexually harrassed?

    Come on now Babs.

    I think what she meant is that her industry saw her as unattractive (which is crazy as I think she’s very attractive) because of her ethnic looks.

  8. Blaire Carter says:

    That main pic, tho.

    • dumbledork says:

      She’s venturing into Jocelyn Wildenstein territory. I’m a little frightened. And cloning a pet versus going out to adopt one of the thousands of shelter pets in need just seems nuts. She’s knows that it’s not the same dog, right?

  9. Scal says:

    I get losing a pet is hard and grief will make you do weird things. To me personally , loving a pet is about more then their genetics. Our beloved rescue is the one we got from the shelter right before I found out I was pregnant. Who curled around my legs when I was in labor. Who jumps into my lap when there’s a thunderstorm. Who has ridden out tornados with all of the family in the basement. He’s going to live forever (we’ve discussed it), but even if we got another dog with the same DNA that pup wouldn’t have gone through those moments with our family. His personality and the moments together-That’s what makes him special not his DNA.

    Now I’m going to hug my dog extra tight.

  10. Rocknrust says:

    Barbara is definitely eccentric. I don’t like the idea of cloning pets but whatever. She can be extreme with her politics but that’s fine, however I’ve always enjoyed reading her interviews concerning women and Hollywood. Especially since she tried to put her name, talent and money into making women films.

    On another note, she’s beginning to look like the cat lady.

    • TwoPac says:

      Is cloning your pet “eccentric” or just basic? Dogs have souls, they are not their “shells”. I have to say I bristle when people REQUIRE a particular breed. I guess it’s lack of courage to “try”- our mixed whatever dog is such a constant delight of surprise personality traits.

  11. Anastasia says:

    I just hope she’s also giving money to adoption groups for animals. Adopt, don’t shop!

    (That being said, I have a dog now that I love so so so so much that I choke up at the thought of her death. Like, I’ll have to go into counseling. But I still wouldn’t clone her. It wouldn’t be the same. It’d be a Monkey’s Paw situation, and ug, that’s creepy.)

    • Imqrious2 says:

      When each of my cats passed (due to age/illness), my vet actually asked me if I would like a referral to a grief counsellor because I was so broken up. It’s NORMAL to grieve someone you’ve loved. These are our fur babies, family to us. Of course we grieve.

  12. minx says:

    The funny thing is, when my family lost a pet (17 cats and 3 dogs over the years) we seemed to unconsciously search for a new pet that resembled it. But for various reasons we would end up adopting an animal that looked very different and then come to love that pet just as much. We had to put down a beloved gray and white shorthair kitty years ago. We searched shelters, always gravitating towards cats who looked like her, but for whatever reason the adoption didn’t work out. Then we saw a gorgeous copper colored fluffball and that was it! We were crazy for her and had her for 14 years.
    We also had to put down our brown (lovable but not too smart) beagle/dachshund a few years back..shed so many tears. We searched online and always gravitated towards dogs who resembled him. Then we went to a pet adoption event and fell in love with a black and white Aussie/border collie mix, smart as a whip. She’s our baby!
    My point is, I guess, is that the animals find you and you find them, even if you initially don’t think they are what you want.

    • Anastasia says:

      This is so true. But–as a child I had a cat named Potsie who was a black and brown tabby. He lived to be 21 years, so I was away at college when he died, but I was so grief-stricken.

      At the age of 25, I adopted a cat who looked JUST like Potsie. Named him Thunder. He died at the age of 9, unfortunately, of kidney disease.

      Two years later, I found Max. He also looks just like Thunder and Potsie. Max is now 18 years old and still going strong. I guess we’ll always have at least one cat that looks like dear old Potsie.

      (We’re like you with dogs, though. We say we’re going to get one just like the departed one, but we never end up doing that. And I’m glad–they’ve all been wonderful!)

      • minx says:

        I know. Our copper colored fluffer was Chessie and I just loved that cat so much. She was MINE. Obviously too late to clone her but the thought of having another Chessie…sigh…

  13. Helen Smith says:

    It is interesting to see what people with tons of money choose to do with it. Tells you everything you need to know about them.

    • AnnaKist says:

      A guy I knew died recently. He’d never married and had no children or siblings, but always lamented that he’d never married one particular lady. He owned a 3-bedroom apartment in a very upmarket and highly-sought-after Sydney beach suburb. His will stipulated that his estate be split three ways: one-third to his female cousin aged 79, one-third to his ex that he regretted not marrying, and one-third to a certain animal welfare agency. That would be a minimum of $1 million each – not in La Streisand’s league, but still. Yeah, the cloning is a bit weird, but Babs has always been a little odd. Aren’t we all, though?

  14. Blonde555 says:

    If I had the means I would clone my pet. He’s perfect to me so why not. To each their own.

    • N. says:

      The cloned animal will probably look like your pet but it will not have the same personality. So no matter how many times you clone it, you will not get your dead pet back.
      Do yourself a favor and save the money. Or better yet, donate to a shelter and adopt a homeless dog or cat.

    • Applecore says:

      Because there’s a huge failure rate for cloning which means pups are born with mutations and killed and the mama dogs have miscarriages all the time and live in awful conditions as breeding machines.

  15. JA says:

    I say I love you to my dog every day before leaving for work after waking up with him every morning and going to sleep with him every night for the past 2yrs! That said don’t think I’d ever clone…it’s not the same dog and even if genetically it is 100% match it’s still won’t be your same dog. Part of life is knowing letting go of things you loved and won’t get back, at least not in this lifetime. That’s kinda the joy in living tho…

    • Anastasia says:

      I love people who love their dogs this much! I have an empty nest now, and my three dogs are my BABIES. I love them like they’re my actual children. I spend as much time as possible with them, loads of cuddles, and they sleep in bed with me each night. I leave the stereo on classical for them when I’m at work (they’re cultured pups, LOL). I tell them what time I’ll be back, LOL. A touch obsessed.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      I said goodbye to my girl this Christmas after almost 16 years together. She greeted me each morning with kisses and snuggled me off to sleep each night. I miss her terribly. The idea of a clone to make the hurt go away is tempting, but no other dog will have the history that me and my girl had together. Our love and bond was the result of so many experiences and so much time together. It wouldn’t be replaced by a clone.

      My boyfriend and I have been grieving pretty hard the past 2 months. (I can’t believe it’s been 2 months, it feels so much longer!)

  16. Jayna says:

    I immediately think it’s crazy when I read it. But I miss my girl so much. Seventeen-and-a-half years together. And she’s been gone since last summer, and it’s still not easy.. I think if I were that wealthy (never going to happen), I might cave. She was the most amazing puppy. Back in those days I took her everywhere with me that I could and even places I shouldn’t have.. She was so smart. She knew her stuffed animals’ names. We would go to the playground, and I would tell her to go up to the little slide platform. She would run up it and stand on the wide platform and look down at me, tail wagging, and down she would come.

    I would clone her. She had the most beautiful eyes and was filled with goodness, loved everybody. And I very objectively knew my girl was the most beautiful dog there was. I was so smug about it. Then, because she was mixed, when she turned about eight months old, she got very odd looking. My smugness was rewarded with my beautiful black-and-white, floppy-eared puppy looking like a homely mutt. But she grew out of the awkward phase and was back to being the most beautiful dog of all time.

  17. Betsy says:

    I agree with her that the vote wasn’t right. Sing it, Babs. Though I wish she’d say more about what those senators said.

  18. Tallia says:

    Oh no. I thought this was Jocelyn Wildenstein after some corrective surgery. 🙁

  19. Boxy Lady says:

    It kinda sucks that with everything she said in the article about politics and her less than ideal experiences as a female director in an overwhelmingly male-dominated field, nearly every media outlet is focusing on the fact that she cloned her dog. I mean, I guess if those headlines lead people to read the entire article, then they are serving their purpose, but still…

  20. BooBooLaRue says:

    Turning into Cat Lady with the work on her face. Sigh.

  21. nikzilla says:

    If the cloned dogs have different personalities, why not just get a new dog of that breed? Seems really expensive and inconvenient if the output is a completely different dog anyway.

  22. KiddV says:

    I don’t know enough, scientifically, about cloning so I don’t have an opinion on that.

    What I do have an opinion on is the mall in her basement. I’m so jealous! It’s a great idea, assuming one has the money. Even if one isn’t a collector of anything, building a mall to hide the crap that gets thrown into the basement would be fun. Lots of broken toys? Misfit Mercantile. And of course the wine cellar would be the corner liquor store. Or BevMo.

    I need a basement. And tons of money.

  23. Ozogirl says:

    I miss my two deceased kitties so much, but the idea of cloning them seems a bit crazy.

  24. daffodil says:

    she’s starting to look like the Duchess of Alba

  25. PJ says:

    I LOVE her outfit, top to bottom, on the cover of the magazine! It probably costs more than two months of my rent but it’s right up my alley: casually pretty, comfy and juuuuust past the point of regular sweats & t-shirt enough that I could wear it out for a meal w/o my friends giving me major side eye 😏 (Once I discovered the extreme comfort and lack of effort that black leggings and a flannel/long Tt-shirt provide, I never went back!)

    As for her pups, I don’t believe in messing with nature to that extreme for any reason, much less for a rich person’s whims. Anyone who knows anything about Babs knows that she LOVED Samantha; I mean, that dog was her second child. However, she could have easily gone to a Coton de Toulear rescue and fallen in love with a new puppy all over again if she was so inclined. Stars: They’re Definitely NOT Like Us.

  26. Puttingitpolitely says:

    She does look super plastic and has definite hints (perhaps more) of craziness about her but you can’t deny she has incredibly self-possession and knows herself, what she wants to do her voice and acting, etc. Made it against the odds but her life seems eccentric.