Richard E. Grant Wrote Barbra a Letter at Age 14; She Just Responded

Can You Ever Forgive Me? Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant shared his lifelong affinity for Barbra Streisand on Tuesday by tweeting a current photo of himself grinning from ear to ear outside of her Malibu, Calif., home. And as proof of his ongoing fandom, he included a screenshot of a letter he penned to her in the early '70s when he was 14 and she was between making What's Up Doc? and The Way We Were. Streisand tweeted back at the actor with a note praising him for his role as the gay character Jack Hock opposite Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

"As a lifelong fan of someone you'll understand what it meant for me to take this snap outside the home of @BarbraStreisand," Grant wrote in his tweet. "Asked Security for permission & he replied 'It's a public road, but thanks for asking.' Wrote her this letter when I was 14. My wife is very understanding!"

In his letter to Streisand, the teenage Grant (Gosford Park, Downton Abbey, Withnail & I) explained that he and his family were "big fans." Then he invited Streisand to stay at their Swaziland home so that she could get some rest away from the bustle of celebrity:

"My name Richard and I live in a small African kingdom called Swaziland in south-east Africa. Since seeing Funny Girl, we, my family that is, have been very big fans. I have followed your career avidly. We have all your records. I am fourteen years old. I read in the paper that you were feeling very tired and very pressurized by your fame and by your failed romance with Ryan O'Neal.

I would like to offer you a two-week holiday, or longer, at our house, which is very beautiful with a pool and a magnificent view of the Ezulwini Valley. Which the Swazi people call the Valley of Heaven. Here you can rest. No one will trouble you and I assure you will not be mobbed in the street as your films only show in our one cinema for three days, so not that many people will know who you are."

To top off his trip to outside Streisand's home, Grant received a note of praise from her.

The story of mutual admiration didn't end there. The response from the legendary Streisand sent Grant into tears, which his friend saved for posterity.