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Julie Andrews




Dame Julie Andrews, DBE (born October 1 , 1935 ) is an Academy Award -winning English Actress , Singer , and Author , who became famous for her starring roles in the Musical Film s '' Mary Poppins '' ( 1964 ) and '' The Sound Of Music '' ( 1965 ). Currently, she is the Official Ambassador of the Happiest Homecoming On Earth for Disneyland 's 50th Anniversary Celebration.


EARLY LIFE

Andrews was born Julia Elizabeth Wells in Walton-on-Thames , Surrey , England , the daughter of an actor and a pianist. She had a rare, five-octave Coloratura Soprano talent (ranging from C3 to C7), and her parents enrolled her in voice lessons to develop her abilities. Her earliest public performances were during World War II , entertaining troops throughout the United Kingdom with fellow child star Petula Clark . Andrews made her stage debut at an early age, appearing in London 's West End in 1947 . She graduated through radio (on the show ''Educating Archie''), appeared in the London West End ('' Cinderella ''), and made her American debut starring in the Broadway production of '' The Boy Friend '' in 1954 . (Late in her career, she returned to ''The Boy Friend'', directing productions at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York, in 2003 , and at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut in 2005 .)


MID-1950S

In '' with Bing Crosby and Rogers And Hammerstein 's Cinderella .


1960S

In 1961 , Lerner & Loewe again cast her in a period musical, as Guenevere in '' Camelot '', opposite Richard Burton and newcomer Robert Goulet . After a slow start, cast appearances on Ed Sullivan 's television show ensured that the show would ultimately become a hit.

, Karen Dotrice and Dick Van Dyke in '' Mary Poppins '']]
When she lost the starring role in the film of '' for 1965. At the Grammy Awards , she and her co-stars won the Grammy Award For Best Album For Children for '' Mary Poppins ''. She was nominated for an Academy Award again, the following year, for her role as Maria Von Trapp in '' The Sound Of Music '', briefly becoming one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood . As a result, she appeared in the three-hour epic '' Hawaii '', co-starring with Max Von Sydow , and Alfred Hitchcock 's '' Torn Curtain '' with Paul Newman (both in 1966 ), and '' Thoroughly Modern Millie '' ( 1967 ), with Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing .


1970S

'' Star! '', a 1968 biography of Gertrude Lawrence , and '' Darling Lili '', with Rock Hudson (1970), are often cited by critics as major contributors to the decline of the movie musical. Both were damaging to Andrews' subsequent career and, despite several starring roles in musical and non-musical films—including some directed by her second husband, Blake Edwards , such as '' 10 '', '' Victor/Victoria '', and '' S.O.B. '', in which she appeared topless—she was seen very rarely on screen during the 1980s and 1990s.

She starred in her own variety series (for one season, on the ABC network in 1972 - 1973, winning 7 Emmy Awards ), but the greatest critical acclaim accorded her TV work was for her Variety Show specials with her close friend, Carol Burnett .

In 1983, she was chosen as the Hasty Pudding Woman Of The Year by the Harvard University theatrical society.


REVIVAL

Director Garry Marshall cast her in '' The Princess Diaries '', opposite Anne Hathaway , and its sequel; playing the role of the Queen of an imaginary country, both of which proved to be major box office hits. She has also starred in two made-for-television movies based on the character of Eloise (playing her Nanny), the Moppet who lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York City . In 2004 , she lent her voice in the role as Queen Lilian to the highly successful animated hit '' Shrek 2 '', the sequel to the 2001 smash.


RECENT ACTIVITIES

In the 2000 New Year's Honours, she was made a Dame Commander Of The British Empire (DBE).

Andrews has been struggling to recover her five-octave singing voice following a throat operation, but had a short tour of the USA at the end of 2002 with Christopher Plummer , Charlotte Church , Max Howard , and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra . In 2005 she agreed to direct a Toronto revival of ''The Boy Friend'', the Broadway musical in which she made her debut in America.

Dame Julie's career is said to have suffered from thanked Andrews for "showing us that the hills were still alive", alluding to her most famous line from the title song of ''The Sound of Music''.

Andrews received Kennedy Center Honors in 2001. She also appears in the 2002 List of " 100 Greatest Britons " sponsored by the BBC and chosen by the public. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Julie Andrews has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 6901 Hollywood Blvd.


FACTS

  • Dame Julie repeatedly hit an F sharp above soprano high C during her earlier live stage appearances. She is noted for her extreme vocal agility, high range, perfected vocal technique and impeccable diction.


  • Andrews has written several children's books, under the name Julie Andrews Edwards. Among the best known are ''Mandy'' and '' The Last Of The Really Great Whangdoodles '' 2. She also has collaborated with her daughter (Emma Walton, her only child from her 1959 - 1967 marriage to Tony Walton ) on the ''Dumpy'' children series, illustrated by Walton.


  • Andrews and Edwards have adopted two daughters from Vietnam, Amy Leigh and Joanna Lynne. Andrews has seven grandchildren.


  • She was raised with virtually no religious affiliation.


  • Andrews became a "zealous convert" to Freudian Psychoanalysis as an adult. She spent many years in five-days-a-week psychoanalysis and, after initial secrecy about her participation, became a vocal proponent of the practiceRobert Windeler, ''Julie Andrews: A Biography'', St. Martin's Press: New York (1983), pages 9-10, 26, 114, 128-129..


  • She has had a Rose named after her.



  • In the fall of 2005, ''The Boy Friend'', directed by Andrews at The Goodspeed Opera House (in Connecticut) with sets and costumes designed by Tony Walton, became a touring production.


  • Julie also served in 2005 as the honorary ambassador for the 50th anniversary celebration of Disneyland . She hosted the ceremony in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at the park on May 5, 2005 to kick off the celebration.



  • Her name is a slang term for how a beverage (usually tea or coffee) should be prepared i.e Milk and no sugar as in Milk and none. Pun on the fact that Julie Andrews played a nun in the film The Sound of Music. See also Whoopi Goldberg .


  • She is one of the many famous women namedropped by Elton John in his 1980 Top 20 hit "Wrap Her Up" from his album " Ice On Fire ."



FILMOGRAPHY

in a promotional poster for ''The Princess Diaries 2'']]



  Title Academy Award For Best Actress
  Years 1964<br>'''for '' Mary Poppins '' '''
  Before Patricia Neal <br>for '' Hud ''