Robbie Williams reveals how he didn’t recognise Barbra Streisand when they first met

Barbra Streisand is one of the most well-known stars in the world, but Robbie Williams admits he didn’t recognise the music legend when they met during a holiday.

The English singer shared the anecdote on BBC Radio 5 over the weekend, saying he and Streisand were introduced by a mutual friend but neither realised the other was famous.

Williams thought the Funny Girl star was a ‘nice old lady’, while Streisand pegged him as a footballer.

“It was like ‘Hi, I’m John’, and ‘Hi, I’m Rob’, and ‘Hi, I’m Steve’ and ‘Hi, I’m Barbra’ – ‘Hello Barbra, I’m pleased to meet you’,” the former Take That singer recalled.

“Nice old lady. Then I sat down next to Barbra and it was Barbra Streisand.”

RELATED: Demi Lovato Interview

After Williams caught on, he realised Streisand was still completely unaware of who he was. Williams’ participation in yearly charity football game Soccer Aid led the actress to believe he was a footballer.

“People were talking about Soccer Aid and she just presumed I played football,” he said.

“I was like ‘Oh no…I’m a singer’ and she was like ‘That’s nice’.”

Williams’ inability to recognise one of the greatest stars of stage and screen is surprising, to say the least.

Streisand is better known for her role as Fanny Brice in the classic 1968 musical Funny Girl. She has won five Oscars, eight Grammy awards and has a net worth of $400 million.

Williams has a recognisable face of his own. He shot to fame during the nineties as part of Manchester pop group Take That, before launching his solo career in 1996. Williams is one of the biggest-selling musicians of all time, with hits including ‘Angels’ and ‘Feel’.

As for life outside of music, Williams is married to Turkish-American model and actress Ayda Field Williams, with whom he shares his four children: Theodora, Charlton, Colette and Beau.

A biopic about the star, titled Better Man, is in production and will cover his rise to fame from boy band heart-throb to stadium sellout.

The film is set to be a ‘musical fantasy’, and is being developed in the Docklands Studios in Melbourne by Australian filmmaker Michael Gracey, who directed The Greatest Showman.

Williams is apparently set to star as himself in the movie about his life. The 48-year-old will take the lead role while British actor Jonno Davies, 29, best known for his role in the Amazon Prime series Hunters, will play the younger version of Williams.