Barbra Streisand raises the bed

Barbra Streisand once demanded "the head of her bed be elevated a specific number of degrees off the ground".

The 66-year-old actress reportedly presented hotel bosses with a huge list of requests when she attended the 'Innovators and Navigators' conference at Santa Barbara's Bacara Resort in 2001, including having her bed specially adjusted.

A source told the New York Post newspaper: "It was totally insane. She requested that there be no oysters in her room at any time, that every square inch of her hotel room and bathroom be carpeted and that the head of her bed be elevated a specific number of degrees off the ground. And she said the bed couldn't be propped up - she wanted an engineer to come in and do it himself.

"She also requested that she not have to use the lobby during her arrival or departure - which was comical when she arrived with her husband and proceeded to plough right through the front door."

Organisers of the 31st Annual Honors gala in Washington D.C. are believed to be hoping Barbra won't have a similar set of requests this weekend.

A close friend of the star said: "I don't want to be in the position of challenging the veracity of her prior contract, but it's not true. There were no demands this time."