Lea Michele Told to Get a Nose Job, Not 'Pretty Enough' For TV

The 36-year-old "Funny Girl" star revealed some of the negative feedback while speaking to Town and Country magazine about her new Broadway role as Fanny Brice.

"Growing up, people would tell me to get nose jobs, that I wasn’t pretty enough for film and television," Michele recalled, noting she had the same worries about her appearance as her  "Funny Girl" predecessor Barbra Streisand back in 1964.

In fact, the "Glee" alum said that Streisand wrote her a "complimentary" note congratulating her on her iteration of the role the 80-year-old had originated.

"It was so surreal and such a wonderful moment. The fact that she acknowledged my performance - I could cry ... it was a beautiful, hand-written note that I will cherish. She was incredibly complimentary," Michele gushed. "It exists. It happened, and now I feel like so many dreams can come true."

Back in 1977, Streisand spoke about her own struggles with critics demanding she get a nose job in an interview with Playboy Magazine. The EGOT winner admitted she considered going under the knife at the time, but couldn’t afford it.

"When I was young, everyone would say, "You gonna have your nose done?" It was like a fad, all the Jewish girls having their noses done every week at Erasmus Hall High School, taking perfectly good noses and whittling them down to nothing,” she explained. “The first thing someone would have done would be to cut my bump off. But I love my bump, I wouldn't cut my bump off."

According to Streisand, getting her nose done may have nipped her career before it truly began. She said that the shape of her nose actually helped her sing and added a unique sound to her voice.

"My deviated septum [makes my voice special]. If I ever had my nose fixed, it would ruin my career," she added at the time.