Julie Andrews Biography Quotes 24 Report mistakes

Early Life and Family
Julie Andrews was born Julia Elizabeth Wells on October 1, 1935, in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. Her mother, Barbara Ward (later Barbara Andrews), was a pianist and singer, and her father, Ted Wells, was a teacher. During her childhood her mother married the singer and vaudeville performer Ted Andrews, whose surname Julie eventually adopted. The household was musical and itinerant, shaped by wartime London and the British variety circuit. From an early age Andrews showed an extraordinary vocal gift, including perfect pitch and an unusually large, flexible soprano. She studied with the distinguished vocal coach Madame Lilian Stiles-Allen, whose guidance refined her technique and extended her range.

Training and Early Performances
As a child and teenager Andrews performed in music halls and on radio alongside her mother and stepfather, quickly earning recognition as a prodigy. She sang for the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium while still in her early teens, an occasion that introduced her to a national audience. The experience of live performance honed her poise, diction, and comic timing, qualities that would become signatures of her stage presence. Even before she reached adulthood, she was known for an operatically agile voice and a disciplined professionalism unusual in someone so young.

Breakthrough on the Musical Stage
Andrews made her Broadway debut in 1954 in The Boy Friend, a lighthearted musical that showcased her blend of innocence and wit. Her major breakthrough came two years later when she created the role of Eliza Doolittle in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady (1956), with music by Frederick Loewe and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Directed and shaped by Moss Hart and playing opposite Rex Harrison, Andrews delivered a celebrated performance that demanded both vocal brilliance and nuanced acting. She followed with the role of Queen Guenevere in Camelot (1960), again working within the Lerner and Loewe tradition and starring with Richard Burton and Robert Goulet. These shows cemented her reputation as one of the era's premier musical theater artists.

Transition to Film and International Stardom
Despite originating Eliza Doolittle on stage, Andrews was passed over for the film version of My Fair Lady, a casting decision that unexpectedly opened a path to cinema in another form. Walt Disney cast her as the title character in Mary Poppins (1964). The film became a worldwide sensation, and Andrews's performance earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. She followed with The Americanization of Emily (1964) opposite James Garner, showing a dramatic range beyond musicals. Her next signature film, The Sound of Music (1965), directed by Robert Wise and co-starring Christopher Plummer, became one of the most successful motion pictures in history. Andrews received another Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Maria, combining luminous screen presence with a voice that carried both clarity and warmth.

Expanding a Screen Career
Over the next decade Andrews explored a wide array of roles. She worked with Alfred Hitchcock in Torn Curtain (1966) opposite Paul Newman, and starred in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Star! (1968), and Darling Lili (1970). Beginning in the late 1970s she collaborated frequently with director Blake Edwards, whom she had married in 1969. Their films together included 10 (1979), the satirical S.O.B. (1981), and Victor/Victoria (1982), in which Andrews played a woman masquerading as a man who performs as a female impersonator. That daring, comic, and musically demanding role brought her another Academy Award nomination and reinforced her stature as a versatile screen performer.

Television, Concerts, and Special Events
Parallel to her film work, Andrews built a rich television career. She starred in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella in a live broadcast in 1957, and later headlined the variety series The Julie Andrews Hour (1972, 1973), earning critical acclaim and awards recognition. Her specials with close friend Carol Burnett, including Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1962), became beloved showcases for musical comedy and duet artistry. Concerts and television appearances kept her connected to audiences around the world, even when she was not committed to long theater runs.

Authorship and Later Voice Work
Andrews developed a second creative life as an author, writing for young readers and families, often in collaboration with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. Their books, along with a personal memoir in two volumes, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years and Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years, broadened her connection to readers and revealed the discipline and curiosity that underpinned her artistry. In the 2000s and 2010s she also became a distinctive voice performer and narrator, contributing to films and television as varied as Enchanted, the Shrek series, Despicable Me, and the period-drama phenomenon Bridgerton, where her narration introduced her to a new generation.

Setbacks, Resilience, and Stage Return
A serious vocal-health crisis in the late 1990s, following surgery on her throat, altered Andrews's singing career. The loss of the full instrument that had defined her early life might have curtailed a lesser artist, but she adapted. She continued to act, to write, and to teach, and she returned to the stage in a new capacity. In the mid-1990s she starred in a Broadway adaptation of Victor/Victoria, and in later years she directed stage revivals, sharing her understanding of musical theater craft with younger performers.

Personal Life
Andrews married set and costume designer Tony Walton in 1959; they had one daughter, Emma, and later divorced in 1967. In 1969 she married filmmaker Blake Edwards, beginning a long personal and professional partnership that lasted until his death in 2010. Andrews and Edwards adopted two daughters, Amy and Joanna, expanding a family that also included his children from a previous marriage. Friends and collaborators such as Carol Burnett, Christopher Plummer, and James Garner figured prominently in her professional life, and the continuity of those relationships speaks to her loyalty and generosity offstage as well as on.

Legacy and Honors
Andrews has earned sustained recognition across theater, film, television, and publishing. She received the Academy Award for Mary Poppins and subsequent nominations for The Sound of Music and Victor/Victoria, along with multiple Golden Globes and Emmys for her television work. She was named a Disney Legend and was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2000. Honors such as the Kennedy Center Honors celebrated her contribution to American arts and culture, while tributes from film institutions affirmed her enduring screen legacy. Yet her influence is felt as much in the discipline and artistry she modeled as in any single accolade: an approach that values clarity of storytelling, respect for collaborators, and the joy of connecting with audiences.

Enduring Cultural Impact
Julie Andrews remains emblematic of a rare combination: crystalline technique married to emotional directness. From the painstaking rehearsal processes under Moss Hart to the relaxed chemistry with Carol Burnett, from the lyrical warmth of Maria to the playful precision of Victor/Victoria, she set a standard for musical storytelling on stage and screen. Her resilience after vocal loss, her embrace of authorship, and her later voice and narration work have allowed her to continue evolving. For generations of performers and audiences, she stands as a model of grace under pressure, excellence without vanity, and the belief that craftsmanship, preparation, and kindness can coexist at the highest levels of popular art.

Our collection contains 24 quotes who is written by Julie, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Music - Love - Art - Equality.

Other people realated to Julie: Richard Burton (Actor), Charlotte Church (Musician), Meg Cabot (Author)