Andrews is also known for her collaborations withCarol Burnett, including television specials in1962,1971, and1989. She starred in her variety special,The Julie Andrews Hour (1973), for which she received thePrimetime Emmy Award. Recently she co-created and hostedJulie's Greenroom (2008, 2017), and voiced Lady Whistledown in theNetflix seriesBridgerton (2020–present). Andrews has co-authored numerous children's books with her daughter and two autobiographies,Home: A Memoir of My Early Years (2008) andHome Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years (2019).
Julia Elizabeth Wells[8] was born on 1 October 1935 inWalton-on-Thames,Surrey, England.[9][10] Her mother, Barbara Ward Wells (née Morris; 25 July 1910[11]–1984) was born inChertsey[12] and married Edward Charles "Ted" Wells (1908–1990), a teacher ofmetalwork andwoodwork, in 1932.[13] Andrews was conceived as a result of an affair her mother had with a family friend. Andrews learned of her true parentage from her mother in 1950,[14][15] although it was not publicly disclosed until her 2008 autobiography.[16]
With the outbreak ofWorld War II, her parents went their separate ways and were soon divorced. Each remarried: Barbara to Ted Andrews, in 1943,[17] and Ted Wells in 1944[18] to Winifred Maud (Hyde) Birkhead, a war widow and former hairstylist at a war work factory that employed them both inHinchley Wood, Surrey.[14][15][19] Wells assisted with evacuating children to Surrey duringthe Blitz, while Andrews's mother joined her husband in entertaining the troops through theEntertainments National Service Association. Andrews lived briefly with Wells and her brother, John,[20] in Surrey.
In 1940, Wells sent her to live with her mother and stepfather, who Wells thought would be better able to provide for his talented daughter's artistic training. While Andrews had been used to calling her stepfather "Uncle Ted", her mother suggested it would be more appropriate to refer to her stepfather as "Pop", while her father remained "Dad" or "Daddy" to her, a change which she disliked.[21] The Andrews family was "very poor" and "lived in a badslum area of London" at the time, stating that the war "was a very black period in my life." According to Andrews, her stepfather was violent and an alcoholic.[16] He twice tried to get into bed with his stepdaughter while drunk, resulting in Andrews fitting a lock on her door.[16]
As the stage career of her mother and stepfather improved, they were able to afford better surroundings, first toBeckenham and then, as the war ended, back to the Andrews' hometown ofHersham. The family took up residence at the Old Meuse, in West Grove, Hersham, a house (since demolished) where Andrews's maternal grandmother had served as a maid.[15] Andrews's stepfather sponsored lessons for her, first at the independent arts educational school Cone-Ripman School (previouslyArtsEd, nowTring Park School for the Performing Arts) and thereafter with concert soprano and voice instructor MadameLilian Stiles-Allen.
Andrews said of Stiles-Allen, "She had an enormous influence on me", adding, "She was my third mother – I've got more mothers and fathers than anyone in the world". In her memoirJulie Andrews – My Star Pupil, Stiles-Allen records, "The range, accuracy and tone of Julie's voice amazed me ... she had possessed the rare gift ofabsolute pitch",[22] though Andrews herself refutes this in her 2008 autobiographyHome.[14][23] According to Andrews, "Madame was sure that I could doMozart andRossini, but, to be honest, I never was".[22]: 24 Of her own voice, she says, "I had a very pure, white, thin voice, a four-octave range – dogs would come from miles around."[22]: 24 After Cone-Ripman School, Andrews continued her academic education at the nearby Woodbrook School, a local state school in Beckenham.[24]
Andrews was also trained in dance, learning from both a professional studio and her aunt’s school, where she studied ballet, ballroom, and tap. This early training gave her strong stage movement and rhythm, which later supported her work in musical theatre and film.[25]
Beginning in 1945, and for the next two years, Andrews performed spontaneously and unbilled on stage with her parents. "Then came the day when I was told I must go to bed in the afternoon because I was going to be allowed to sing with Mummy and Pop in the evening", Andrews explained. During her initial shows, Andrews stood on a beer crate to sing into the microphone, performing a solo or a duet with her stepfather, while her mother played piano. She later stated that "it must have been ghastly, but it seemed to go down all right".[26][27] Fellow child entertainerPetula Clark, three years her senior, recalled touring around the UK by train to sing for the troops alongside Andrews; they slept in the luggage racks. Clark later said "It was fun—and not a lot of kids were having fun".[28]
Andrews had her career breakthrough when her stepfather introduced her to managing directorVal Parnell, whoseMoss Empires controlled prominent performance venues in London. At the age of 12, Andrews made her professional solo debut at theLondon Hippodrome, singing the difficult aria "Je suis Titania" fromMignon as part of a musicalrevue, called "Starlight Roof", on 22 October 1947. She played at the Hippodrome for one year.[14][29] Of her role in "Starlight Roof", Andrews recalled: "There was this wonderful American person and comedian,Wally Boag, who made balloon animals. He would say, 'Is there any little girl or boy in the audience who would like one of these?' And I would rush up onstage and say, 'I'd like one, please.' And then he would chat to me and I'd tell him I sang. ... I was fortunate in that I absolutely stopped the show cold. I mean, the audience went crazy."[30]
Andrews subsequently followed her parents into radio and television.[33] She performed in musical interludes of theBBC Light Programme comedy showUp the Pole and was a cast member inEducating Archie, from 1950 to 1952.[32] She reportedly made her television début on the BBC programmeRadiOlympia Showtime on 8 October 1949.[34] Andrews appeared onWest End theatre at theLondon Casino, where she played one year each as PrincessBadroulbadour inAladdin and the egg inHumpty Dumpty. Andrews also appeared on provincial stages inJack and the Beanstalk andLittle Red Riding Hood, as well as starring as the lead role inCinderella.[33] In 1952, she voiced Princess Zeila in the English dub of the Italian animated movieLa Rosa di Bagdad (renamedThe Singing Princess), in her first film and first venture into voice-over work.[35]
Andrews asEliza Doolittle meetsRex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins inMy Fair Lady, the musical adaptation ofPygmalion.
On 30 September 1954, the eve of her 19th birthday, Andrews made herBroadway debut as Polly Browne in the London musicalThe Boy Friend.[1] Andrews was recommended to directorVida Hope for the part by actressHattie Jacques, whom Andrews regards as a "catalyst" for her career.[36] Eve Benda recognised her special talent and predicted her stardom. Andrews was anxious about moving to New York; at the time, she was both breadwinner and caretaker for her family, and took the part upon her father's encouragement.[36]
Andrews stated that at the time, she had "no idea" how to research a role or study a script, and citesCy Feuer's direction as being "phenomenal".[36]The Boy Friend became a hit, with Andrews receiving praise; critics called her the stand-out of the show.[37][36] In 1955, Andrews signed to appear withBing Crosby in thetelevision film,High Tor. It filmed in November 1955 in Los Angeles and was Andrews's first screen project, which she described as "daunting".[36]High Tor was televised the following March before a live audience for theFord Star Jubilee, receiving lukewarm reviews.[38][36]
Near the end of her one-year run withThe Boy Friend, Andrews was approached to audition toAlan Jay Lerner andFrederick Loewe for the role ofEliza Doolittle inMy Fair Lady.[36][39] She was offered the part during her third reading.[36] She later wrote that she felt she could "be Eliza, could find and understand her" if only someone were to "gently unravel the knotted ... string inside my stomach".[36]
During rehearsals, directorMoss Hart spent forty-eight consecutive hours solely with Andrews, where they "hammered through each scene"; Andrews later stated that "the good man had stripped [her] feelings bare ... moulded, kneaded, and helped [her] become the character of Eliza ... [and made] her part of [her] soul".[36] Andrews referred to it as the best acting lesson she had ever received, later cementing the role with her "own touches and flourishes" and continuing to work on the character throughout her two-year run.[36] On 15 March 1956,My Fair Lady opened on Broadway at theMark Hellinger Theatre. The play was a huge success with both the audience and critics, though soon after opening she learned she needed to tone down her learnedcockney accent so that the American audience could understand her, a change which was reversed at the West End performance a year later.[40] Andrews describes her performances as Eliza as "the great learning period" of her life.[36]
Richard Rodgers was so impressed with Andrews's talent that concurrent with her run inMy Fair Lady she was featured in theRodgers and Hammerstein television musicalCinderella, which was written especially for her.[37][36]Cinderella was broadcast live onCBS on 31 March 1957 under the musical direction ofAlfredo Antonini and had an estimated 107 million viewers.[41][42] The show was broadcast live in colour from CBS Studio 72, at Broadway and 81st Street in New York: CBS' only East Coast colour studio.[36] Andrews was nominated for anEmmy Award for her role. She described the performance as "incredibly hard" and stated it took her "years to realise the enormity" of the production.[36][43] In 1957, Andrews released her debut solo album,The Lass with the Delicate Air, which harked back to her British music hall days.[44] The album includes performances of English folk songs as well as the World War II anthem, "London Pride", a patriotic song written byNoël Coward in 1941 duringthe Blitz, which Andrews herself had survived.[44][45]
Casting for thefilm adaptation ofMy Fair Lady began in 1962; Alan Jay Lerner hoped for Andrews to reprise her role, butWarner Brothers studio headJack Warner decided Andrews lacked sufficient name recognition; the part was played by the established film actressAudrey Hepburn, with the bulk of the singing dubbed byMarni Nixon. As Warner later recalled that the decision was made for financial purposes, stating, "In my business, I have to know who brings people and their money to a cinema box office. Audrey Hepburn had never made a financial flop."[46] Andrews later reflected that she understood her experience on Broadway "was within a very small pond" but wished she had been able to record her performance for posterity.[36]
In 1963, Andrews began work in thetitular role ofDisney's musical filmMary Poppins.Walt Disney had seen her performance inCamelot and subsequently offered her the role; Andrews initially declined because of pregnancy, returning to London to give birth, but Disney firmly insisted, saying, "We'll wait for you."[47] After the birth of her daughter, she received a call fromP. L. Travers, author of theMary Poppins book series, who told her, "Well, you're much too pretty of course. But you've got the nose for it."[36] Disney rented a house inToluca Lake, Los Angeles, for her family to reside in during production. Andrews relied largely on instinct for her portrayal, conceptualising her background and giving the character a "particular walk" and a turned-out stance to suit her ladylike sensibility.[36] Andrews referred to production as "unrelenting" given the physical exertion and technical details, saying that she "could not have asked" for a better introduction to film.[36]
Mary Poppins became the biggest box-office draw in Disney history.Variety lauded Andrews's performance as a "signal triumph. ... She performs as easily as she sings, displaying a fresh type of beauty".[48] The film was nominated for thirteenAcademy Awards and won five, including theAcademy Award for Best Actress for Andrews's performance.[49] She also received theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, while Andrews and her co-stars won the 1965Grammy Award for Best Album for Children. As a measure of "sweet revenge", asPoppins songwriterRichard M. Sherman put it, Andrews closed her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes by saying, "And, finally, my thanks to a man who made a wonderful movie and who made all this possible in the first place, Mr. Jack Warner."[47][50]My Fair Lady was in direct competition for the awards.
Andrews alongside co-starChristopher Plummer inThe Sound of Music (1965)Publicity photo of Andrewsc. 1965
Andrews starred oppositeJames Garner in the comedy-drama war filmThe Americanization of Emily (1964).[36] Andrews took the role partly to avoid typecasting as a nanny.[36]Bosley Crowther ofThe New York Times called Andrews "irresistible ... with a brush of sentiment" in both her comedic and emotional scenes.[51] Andrews was nominated for theBAFTA Award for Best British Actress in a Leading Role. Andrews later described it as her favourite film, a sentiment shared by her co-star Garner.[52] Andrews starred inThe Sound of Music (1965), which was the highest-grossing film of its year.[53] Andrews later said she was "ashamed" to admit that she thought the musical "rather saccharine" before being cast.[36] Rehearsals took place in London before filming commenced inSalzburg, Austria, in 1964.[36] Filming was rather slow; because of weather conditions in Salzburg, the cast were "lucky" if they got a single shot's worth of scenes.[36]
Andrews stated she relied on lyrics to anchor her to the film's songs and utilised vocal interpretation to "convey" Maria's character by "[hanging] onto words and the images they conjured".[36] Andrews wrote that her senses were "suffused" with Austria, saying that the music "still" and "always lives in her soul".[36] The film received mixed reviews, though critics highlighted Andrews's performance; Crowther again praised her for her "air of radiant vigour ... plain-Jane wholesomeness and her ability to make her dialogue as vivid ... as she makes her songs".[54] For her performance asMaria von Trapp, Andrews won her second Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. She was nominated a second time for theAcademy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in a Leading Role.[55] Andrews later wrote that the "gift" and "privilege" of portraying her first three film roles would have been "enough to satisfy" her for a lifetime.[36]
After completingThe Sound of Music, Andrews appeared as a guest star on the NBC-TV variety seriesThe Andy Williams Show. She followed this television appearance with an Emmy Award-winning special,The Julie Andrews Show, which featuredGene Kelly andthe New Christy Minstrels as guests. It aired on NBC-TV in November 1965. In 1966, Andrews starred inHawaii, the highest-grossing film ofits year. Also in 1966, she starred oppositePaul Newman inTorn Curtain, which was directed byAlfred Hitchcock and shot atUniversal Studios Hollywood.[36] Hitchcock gave Newman and Andrews relative free rein in dialogue during production.[36] She credits the director with teaching her extensively about lenses and camera-work.[36] During a press interview, she "made the mistake" of expressing her unhappiness with her performance and subsequently received a "terse" letter from Hitchcock, which Andrews later cited as an "important lesson".[36] The film received mixed reviews upon release.[56]
The following year, Andrews played the titular character inThoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Andrews described work on the film as a "pleasant distraction" for "allowing her to be something of a clown", as her stepfather died shortly before filming.[36] The film was a box office success; critics described Andrews as "very much the leading lady" and "absolutely darling" as well as "deliciously spirited and dry".[57][58] The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and Andrews scored a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.[59] At the time,Thoroughly Modern Millie andTorn Curtain were the biggest and second-biggest hits inUniversal Pictures history, respectively.[60]
Andrews next appeared in two of Hollywood's most expensive flops:Star! (1968), a biopic ofGertrude Lawrence; andDarling Lili (1970), co-starringRock Hudson and directed by her second husband,Blake Edwards. Andrews "went through her usual period of insecurity" during the production ofStar!, intensely analysing her choices for the character.[36] ChoreographerMichael Kidd worked closely with Andrews during the complicated musical numbers, which Andrews regarded as physically and mentally gruelling, coupled with her divorce from her first husband,Tony Walton.[36] TheNew York Times singled out the film as "not one of [Andrews]'s best", whileVariety wrote her "carefully built-up" performance "sagged" with "overdone hoydenishness".[61][62] Despite reviews, her performance was once again nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.[63] Andrews regards her friendships with Kidd and directorRobert Wise as her "greatest gifts" from the film.[36]
Edwards pitched the concept ofDarling Lili to Andrews two years prior to the start of production in 1968.[36] She prerecorded original songs for the film withHenry Mancini andJohnny Mercer.[36] Andrews citedDarling Lili's tepid reviews as being caused by studio marketing and postproduction issues.[36] While the film was a commercial bomb, theNew York Times praised Andrews's performance, calling her an "unmitigated delight" and "perfect centerpiece" of the film, praising "her coolness and precision as a comedienne and a singer".[64] She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, while the film won both theGolden Globe andAcademy Awards for Best Original Song.[65] Of these films, Andrews later wrote that "nonstop success in a career is impossible [...] but nobody sets out to make a failure, either".[36]
Andrews was the first choice to play the English witch Eglantine Price in Disney'sBedknobs and Broomsticks (1971);Angela Lansbury was cast.[66] Andrews continued working in television. In 1969, she shared the spotlight with singerHarry Belafonte for an NBC-TV special,An Evening with Julie Andrews and Harry Belafonte. In 1971, she appeared as a guest for the Grand Opening Special of Walt Disney World, and that same year she and Carol Burnett headlined a CBS special,Julie and Carol At Lincoln Center. In 1972–73, Andrews starred in her own television variety series,The Julie Andrews Hour, on theABC network.
The show won seven Emmy Awards but was cancelled after one season. Between 1973 and 1975, Andrews continued her association with ABC by headlining five variety specials for the network. She guest-starred onThe Muppet Show in 1977,[67] and the following year, she appeared again with the Muppets on a CBS television variety special. The programme,Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring, aired in March 1978, to mixed reviews and mediocre ratings. She made only two other films in the 1970s,The Tamarind Seed (1974) and10 (1979), both successful at the box office and by critics' reviews.
In February 1980, Andrews headlined "Because We Care", a CBS-TV special with 30 major stars raising funds for Cambodian Famine victims through Operation California (now Operation USA, on whose Board she serves). Later that year, she starred inLittle Miss Marker as "English rose" Amanda Worthington (a label she had first been given in the 1960s).[68] In Blake Edwards'sS.O.B. (1981), she played Sally Miles, a character who agrees to "show my boobies" in a scene in the film-within-a-film. A dual role of Victoria Grant and Count Victor Grezhinski in the filmVictor/Victoria (1982) reunited her with Garner once again. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, as well as a nomination for the 1982 Academy Award for Best Actress, her third Oscar nomination.[1][69] In 1983, Andrews was chosen as theHasty Pudding Woman of the Year by theHarvard University Theatrical Society.[70] That year, she co-starred withBurt Reynolds inThe Man Who Loved Women. Her next two films wereThat's Life! andDuet for One (both 1986), which earned her Golden Globe nominations. In December 1987, Andrews starred in an ABC Christmas special,Julie Andrews: The Sound Of Christmas, which went on to win five Emmy Awards. Two years later, she was reunited for the third time with Carol Burnett for a variety special which aired on ABC in December 1989.
In 1991, Andrews made her television dramatic debut in the ABC made-for-TV film,Our Sons, co-starringAnn-Margret. Andrews was named aDisney Legend within the year. In the summer of 1992, Andrews starred in her first television sitcom; the short-livedJulie aired on ABC for only seven episodes and co-starredJames Farentino. In December 1992 she hosted theNBC holiday special,Christmas In Washington. Having played a Cockney flower seller inMy Fair Lady, Andrews had an orangey-salmon pink rose named after her at London'sChelsea Flower Show in 1992. Stating she was "ever so flattered", portions of the sales of the "Julie Andrews Rose" were donated to charity.[71] In 1993, she starred in a limited run at theManhattan Theatre Club in the American premiere ofStephen Sondheim's revue,Putting It Together. Between 1994 and 1995, Andrews recorded two solo albums – the first saluted the music of Richard Rodgers and the second paid tribute to the words of Alan Jay Lerner. In 1995, she starred in the stage musical version ofVictor/Victoria. It was her first appearance in a Broadway show in 35 years. Opening on Broadway on 25 October 1995 at theMarquis Theatre, it later went on the road for a world tour. When she was the onlyTony Award nominee for the production, she declined the nomination saying that she could not accept because she felt the entire production was snubbed.[72]
1997–present: Children's entertainment and later roles
A botched vocal surgery in 1997 led to the loss of Andrews's singing voice, occasioning her refusal to sing on camera for several years.[73] Despite this, Andrews kept busy with many projects. In 1998, she appeared in a stage production ofDr. Dolittle in London. As recounted on the Julie Andrews website, she performed the voice of Polynesia the parrot and "recorded some 700 sentences and sounds, which were placed on a computer chip that sat in the mechanical bird's mouth. In the song 'Talk to the Animals,' Polynesia the parrot even sings." The next year Andrews was reunited with James Garner for the CBS made-for-TV film,One Special Night, which aired in November 1999.
Andrews pictured in 2001, the year she starred as Queen Clarisse Marie Renaldi inThe Princess Diaries
In 2001, Andrews receivedKennedy Center Honors. The same year, she reunited withSound of Music co-starChristopher Plummer in a live television performance ofOn Golden Pond (an adaptation ofthe 1979 play). Andrews appeared inThe Princess Diaries, her first Disney film sinceMary Poppins. She starred as Queen Clarisse Marie Renaldi and reprised the role in the 2004 sequel,The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. In the film, Andrews sang on film for the first time since having throat surgery. The song, "Your Crowning Glory", a duet withRaven-Symoné, was set in a limited range of an octave to accommodate her recovering voice.[79] The film's music supervisor, Dawn Soler, recalled that Andrews "nailed the song on the first take. I looked around and I sawgrips with tears in their eyes".[79]
Andrews continued her association with Disney when she appeared as the nanny in two television films based on theEloise books, a series of children's books byKay Thompson about a child who lives in thePlaza Hotel in New York City.Eloise at the Plaza premiered in April 2003, andEloise at Christmastime was broadcast in November 2003; Andrews was nominated for an Emmy Award.[43] The same year she made her debut as a theatre director, directing a revival ofThe Boy Friend, the musical in which she made her 1954 Broadway debut, at the Bay Street Theatre inSag Harbor, New York. Her production, which featured costume and scenic design by her former husband Tony Walton, was remounted at theGoodspeed Opera House in 2005 and went on a national tour in 2006.
From 2005 to 2006, Andrews served as the Official Ambassador forDisneyland's 18-month-long, 50th-anniversary celebration, the "Happiest Homecoming on Earth", travelling to promote the celebration, recording narration and appearing at several events at the park. On 17 March 2005, Andrews appeared onstage during the curtain calls forthe musical ofMary Poppins at thePrince Edward Theatre in London's West End, where she gave a speech recalling her own memories from making the film and praised the cast for their new interpretation.[80] In 2004, Andrews voicedQueen Lillian in the animated blockbusterShrek 2 (2004), reprising the role for its sequels,Shrek the Third (2007) andShrek Forever After (2010). Also in 2007, she narratedEnchanted, a live-action Disney musical comedy that both parodied and paid homage to Disney films.[81][82]
On 1 May 2005, Disneyland debuted a new fireworks show,Remember... Dreams Come True, for Disneyland's 50th anniversary, with Andrews being the host and narrator of the show. In January 2007, Andrews was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at theScreen Actors Guild's awards and stated that her goals included continuing to direct for the stage and possibly to produce her ownBroadway musical.[69] She publishedHome: A Memoir of My Early Years, which she characterised as "part one" of her autobiography, on 1 April 2008.Home chronicles her early years in Britain'smusic hall circuit and ends in 1962 with her winning the role of Mary Poppins. For a Walt Disney video release, she again portrayed Mary Poppins and narrated the story ofThe Cat That Looked at a King in 2004. From July until early August 2008, Andrews hostedJulie Andrews' The Gift of Music, a short tour of the United States[83] where she sang various Rodgers and Hammerstein songs and symphonised her recently published book,Simeon's Gift. Appearances included theHollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, theMann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, and a performance with theAtlanta Symphony Orchestra.[84][85][86] These were her first public singing performances in a dozen years, due to her failed vocal cord surgery.[87] In January 2009, Andrews was named onThe Times' list of the top 10 British Actresses of all time. The list includedHelen Mirren,Helena Bonham Carter,Judi Dench, and Audrey Hepburn.[88] Also in 2009, Andrews received the honoraryGeorge andIra Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement.[89]
In January 2010, Andrews was the official United States presenter for theGreat PerformancesFromVienna: The New Year's Celebration 2010 concert.[90] This was her second appearance in this role, after presenting the previous year's concert.[91] Andrews also had a supporting role in the filmTooth Fairy, which opened to unfavourable reviews[92] although the box office receipts were successful.[93] On her promotion tour for the film, she also spoke ofOperation USA and the aid campaign to theHaiti disaster.[94]
On 8 May 2010, Andrews made her London comeback after a 21-year absence (her last performance there was a Christmas concert at theRoyal Festival Hall in 1989). She performed atThe O2 Arena, accompanied by theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra and an ensemble of five performers.[95] Earlier (on 15 December 2009 and on many other occasions), she appeared on British television saying that rumours that she would be singing at the performance were not true and that she would be doing a form of "speak singing".[96] However, she sang two solos and several duets and ensemble pieces. The evening, though well received by the 20,000 fans present, who gave her standing ovation after standing ovation,[97] did not convince the critics.[96]
On 18 May 2010, Andrews's 23rd book (this one also written with her daughterEmma) was published. In June 2010, the book, entitledThe Very Fairy Princess, reached number 1 onThe New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Books.[98] On 21 May 2010, her filmShrek Forever After was released; in it Andrews reprises her role as the Queen.[99] On 9 July 2010,Despicable Me, an animated film in which Andrews lent her voice to Marlena Gru, the thoughtless and soul-crushing mother of the main character Gru (voiced bySteve Carell), opened to rave reviews[100] and strong box office.[101] On 28 October 2010, Andrews appeared, along with the actors who portrayed the cinematic von Trapp family members, onOprah to commemorate the film's 45th anniversary.[102][103] A few days later, her 24th book,Little Bo in Italy, was published.[104]
In February 2011, Andrews received aGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award and, with her daughter Emma, a Grammy forBest Spoken Word Album for Children (forA Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies), at the53rd Grammy Awards.[105][106] In her memoir,Home Work (2019), Andrews discussed being offered the role of Aunt Emma byMartin Scorsese for his filmThe Wolf of Wall Street (2013). She declined, citing a recent surgery and saying she wasn't "ready to go back to work" but "would've loved to have done it".[107] At the age of 77, Andrews undertook her first tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2013, hosted byNicholas Hammond[108] who was a boy of 14 when they appeared together inThe Sound of Music.[109] In place of singing, she planned a series of speaking engagements in Australia's five mainland state capitals.[110] The following year she took the show on a tour of England, which was hosted byAled Jones. The tour began with a May date at theNational Indoor Arena in Birmingham and included an appearance at theEcho Arena in Liverpool.[111]
Julie Andrews at theLA Times Festival of Books in April 2012.
Beginning in December 2020, Andrews voiced the narrator Lady Whistledown in the Netflix period drama seriesBridgerton.[122] In 2022, Andrews narrated the filmThe King's Daughter forGravitas Ventures. She recorded her narration in 2020. A few weeks later she was announced to be the narrator. On 9 June 2022, Andrews was honoured by theAmerican Film Institute with a Lifetime Achievement Award, where she reflected on her career and received tributes by multiple artists.[123] The same year, she reprised her role as Gru's mother inMinions: The Rise of Gru.[124]
In April 2023, Andrews participated in the NBC primetime specialCarol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love where she paid tribute to her friend Carol Burnett.[125] The same year, she also made a featured taped appearance on the primetime CBS specialDick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic, wherein she told the story of working alongside Van Dyke in the 1964 filmMary Poppins.[126]
In September 2025, Andrews won an Emmy for her voicework as Lady Whistledown onBridgerton.[127]
Andrews marriedset designer Tony Walton on 10 May 1959 inWeybridge, Surrey.Maggie Smith was a guest. Andrews and Walton first met in 1948 when Andrews was appearing at the London Casino in the showHumpty Dumpty. In 1962, their daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, was born.[128] They divorced in 1968.[129]
In November 1969, Andrews married director Blake Edwards, who had been her companion for at least two years,[130][131] becoming stepmother to his children,Jennifer and Geoffrey.[132] In the 1970s, Edwards and Andrews adopted twoVietnamese daughters, Amy (later known as Amelia) Leigh and Joanna Lynne.[133][134][135] They were married for 41 years, until Edwards's death at the age of 88 on 15 December 2010 at theSaint John's Health Center inSanta Monica, California, due to complications ofpneumonia. Andrews was by her husband's side when he died.[136][137][138] Andrews is a grandmother to nine[139] and a great-grandmother to three.[140]
Andrews lives inSag Harbor, New York, where the Bay Street Theater was co-founded by her daughter Emma.[141]
Once termed "Britain's youngestprima donna",[142][143] Andrews's classically trainedsoprano voice has been described as light, bright and operatic in tone and praised for its "pure and clear" sound.[144][145][146] When she was young, athroat specialist examined her and determined that she had "an almost adultlarynx".[145] Despite being encouraged to pursue opera by her voice teacher, sopranoLilian Stiles-Allen, Andrews felt that her voice was unsuited for the genre and "too big a stretch". At the time, she described her own voice as "extremely high and thin", feeling that it lacked "the necessary guts and weight for opera", preferring musical theatre instead.[147]
Over the years, her voice naturally deepened. Losing her vast upper register, her "top notes" became increasingly difficult to sing while "her middle register matured into the warm golden tone" for which she has become known, according to Tim Wong ofThe Daily Telegraph.[145] Musically, she had always preferred singing music that was "bright and sunny", choosing to avoid songs that were sad or otherwise written in a minor key, for fear of losing her voice "in a mess of emotion". She cited this as another reason for avoiding opera.[145]
Andrews was forced to quit theVictor/Victoria stage production towards the end of the Broadway run in 1997, when she developed hoarseness in her voice.Liza Minnelli was the replacement. She underwent surgery at New York'sMount Sinai Hospital, reportedly to remove non-cancerousnodules from her throat,[1] although she later stated the hoarseness was due to "a certain kind of muscular striation [that] happens on the vocal cords"—itself the result of a strain fromVictor/Victoria (she added "I didn't have cancer, I didn't have nodules, I didn't have anything").[148]
Andrews emerged from the surgery with permanent damage that destroyed the purity of her singing and made her speaking voice raspy. In 1999, she filed a malpractice suit against the doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital, including Scott Kessler and Jeffrey Libin, who had operated on her throat. The doctors had assured Andrews that she would regain her voice within six weeks, but Andrews's stepdaughter, Jennifer Edwards, said in 1999, "It's been two years, and [her singing voice] still hasn't returned."[149] The lawsuit was settled in September 2000 for an undisclosed amount.[150]
After 2000,Steven M. Zeitels, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation, operated on her four times and, while able to improve her speaking voice, was unable to restore her singing.[73]
Julie Andrews's signature, handprints, and footprints in the concrete in front ofGrauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
Over her career Andrews received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, aBAFTA Award, sixGolden Globe Awards, threeGrammy Awards, and three Emmy Awards. Despite being nominated for threeTony Awards, Andrews never won. In June 2022, Andrews was awarded theAFI Life Achievement Award at a ceremony in Los Angeles after a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[151] In 2002, Andrews was ranked No. 59 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.[78]
Andrews published several books (mainly children's books and autobiographies) under her name, as well as her married names Julie Andrews Edwards and Julie Edwards.
Andrews, Julie and Emma Walton Hamilton (authors).Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years. Hachette, 2019.ISBN9780316349253.
Andrews, Julie and Emma Walton Hamilton (authors) and Christine Davenier (Illustrator).Very Fairy Princess. Little Brown, 2010.ISBN978-0-316-04050-1.
Andrews, Julie and Emma Walton Hamilton (authors) and James McMullan (Illustrator).Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies. Little Brown, 2009.ISBN978-0-316-04049-5.
Edwards, Julie Andrews (author) and Judith Gwyn Brown (illustrator).Mandy. Harper & Row, 1971.ISBN0-06-440296-7.
Edwards, Julie Andrews (author) and Johanna Westerman (illustrator).Mandy: 35th Anniversary Edition. HarperCollins, 2006.ISBN0-06-113162-8.
Edwards, Julie Andrews.Little Bo: The Story of Bonnie Boadicea. Hyperion, 1999.ISBN0-7868-0514-5. (several others in this series)
Edwards, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton.Dumpy the Dumptruck. Hyperion, 2000.ISBN0-7868-0609-5. (several others in the Dumpy series)
Edwards, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, (authors). Gennady Spirin (illustrator).Simeon's Gift. 2003.ISBN0-06-008914-8.
Edwards, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton.Dragon: Hound of Honor. HarperTrophy, 2005.ISBN0-06-057121-7.
Edwards, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton (authors) and Tony Walton (illustrator).The Great American Mousical. HarperTrophy, 2006.ISBN0-06-057918-8.
Edwards, Julie Andrews; Walton Hamilton, Emma (2007).Thanks to You: Wisdom from Mother and Child. Julie Andrews Collection.ISBN978-0-06-124002-7..
^O'Connor, John (25 October 1995)."TELEVISION REVIEW; Julie Andrews, With Tough Edges".The New York Times. Retrieved22 December 2018.With a natural voice of uncommon clarity and purity, Ms. Andrews was soon being billed as "Britain's youngest prima donna."
^Boag, Wally and Sands, Gene.Wally Boag, Clown Prince of Disneyland, Disney Enterprises, Inc. 2009, p. 39
^Windeler (1970), p. 26. "Julie, who was described in the official announcement 14 October as 'a 13-year-old coloratura soprano with the voice of an adult,' was the youngest solo performer ever chosen to perform before royalty at the Palladium. She sang the British National Anthem. She ran onto stage in front of Danny Kaye wearing a white A-frame dress and begins to sing, the audience join in. The evening was held in the presence of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother). The show was presented by Val Parnell."
^Alpern, David M. (30 January 2020)."Jewels From 'Jools'".The East Hampton Star. Retrieved3 May 2023.
^Wong, Tim (26 May 2014)."Julie Andrews, the operatic sensation that never was".The Telegraph. Archived fromthe original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved22 December 2018.You might not know this – though I'm sure diehard fans will – but Dame Julie Andrews started out in opera. In fact she was once billed as "Britain's Youngest Prima Donna".
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