Lea Michele ''cried hysterically'' the first time she met Barbra Streisand.

The 'Glee' star is a huge fan of the iconic vocalist, and was honoured when she finally got to perform for her in January 2011 at a MusiCares Benefit show. Although she wasn't introduced to her then, they had a chance meeting at the Grammy awards a few nights later.

Lea writes in her autobiography, 'Brunette Ambition': ''I left The Grammys early, in order to avoid the post-event valet rush, and was standing there in the quiet before the storm waiting for my car when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and it was Barbra. And she said, 'I just wanted to say thank you for introducing me to your generation.' And I gave her a big hug, and told her that I thought she was amazing, and she looked at me and asked, 'Did I sound good tonight?' And I said, 'You were incredible.' And that was it. The minute she walked away, I started to cry hysterically. Sometimes you meet your idols and they don't live up to your expectations, but that moment was one of the best in my life.''

Lea got another chance to meet her idol last year after she and co-star Chris Colfer went to see her in concert, but now regrets passing it up.

She explained: ''It was a gorgeous night to sit under the stars and listen to Barbra: She sounded so beautiful and seemed so relaxed... At the end of the concert Chris wanted us to go backstage to say hi, but I didn't want to mar my perfect moment of meeting Barbra at The Grammys... so I chickened out.

''A few weeks later, I checked my mail and Barbra had sent me a copy of that night's programme with a note on it that said: 'Thank you for coming to my show, I wish you would have come backstage, I would have liked to have given you a hug.' And then I really died.''