Actress Julie Andrews was best remembered for two career-defining roles that helped propel her to international stardom: her Oscar-winning turn in “Mary Poppins” (1964) and her Oscar-nominated portrayal of Maria yon Trapp in “The Sound of Music” (1965). Throughout her long career—which included equal measures of stage, screen and television performances, as well as music and books—Andrews constantly found new ways to develop her immense talents while avoiding the trappings of being typecast. Time and again, Andrews defied being pegged as the sugary-sweet do-gooder, excelling in dramatic turns, daring comedies and animated features, all the while carving out a career the likes of which many performers have only dreamed.
Born on October 1, 1935 in Walton-on-Thames, England, Andrews joined her mom Barbara and stepfather Ted Andrews' touring vaudeville act at the age of 12. In her first major appearance—in "Starlight Waltz" (1947)—Andrews brought the house down at the Hippodrome. She quickly graduated to top billing, becoming the family's primary breadwinner on the strength of her several octave-range soprano and continued to tour once Barbara and Ted retired, traveling with a tutor until she was 15. Title roles in pantomime productions of "Humpty Dumpty" (1948), "Red Riding Hood" (1950) and "Cinderella" (1953) preceded her Broadway debut as Polly in Sandy Wilson's 1920s pastiche "The Boyfriend" (1954). Two years later, she was starring on the Great White Way as Eliza Doolittle in a production of “Pygmalion,” and in Lerner and Loewe's "My Fair Lady,” which earned her a Tony nomination. After a four-year run, Andrews landed another plum role, playing Guinevere to Richard Burton's King Arthur in Lerner and Loewe's "Camelot.” A second Tony nomination soon followed.
Though her lilting, sweet soprano and prim British charm had earned her kudos as a Broadway musical star, Andrews was slow to win Hollywood over and would lose all three roles she had created on Broadway to non-singers in their film incarnations. She did impress Walt Disney enough, however, to be offered the title role of "Mary Poppins" (1964), although she kept him waiting until it was definite that Eliza Doolittle would be played by Audrey Hepburn. A truly wonderful amalgam of live-action, animation and Oscar-winning music, "Mary Poppins" earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. That same year, she displayed her non-musical abilities opposite James Garner in "The Americanization of Emily" before reaching greater heights as Maria in the blockbuster film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music" (1965), which became the highest-grossing movie of all time until "Jaws" knocked it from its perch a decade later. The incredible success of that film chiseled her wholesomeness in granite, while the musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (1967) reinforced her as a sweet thing with its terminal cuteness. Hoping to repeat the success of their initial teaming on "The Sound of Music,” director Robert Wise cast Andrews as stage legend Gertrude Lawrence in "Star!" (1968), but the actress failed to come across in that razzle-dazzle biopic-cum-musical. Nevertheless, Andrews acquitted herself in the production numbers, but was hampered by the script's take on Lawrence.
Attempts to break away from her goody-goody stereotyping by appearing in less wholesome, non-musical fare (e.g., Hitchcock's "Torn Curtain" 1966) were ineffectual, and it would take frequent collaborations with second husband Blake Edwards (i.e., "The Tamarind Seed" 1974; "10" 1979; "That's Life" 1986) for her to finally prove herself a deft comedienne and a warm dramatic actress. In his glib Movieland satire "S.O.B" (1981), Andrews played an actress baring her breasts for financial reasons, and since she was still trying to shed her virginal image at the time, her going buff made the film a parody of itself. One of her most significant big screen successes was Edwards' gender-bending, often hilarious "Victor/Victoria" (1982), which earned her a third Best Actress Oscar nomination. Over a decade later, she reprised its woman playing a man playing a woman for the Broadway version. Andrews created a flap when she declined her Tony nomination in protest because no one else associated with the production received a nod. A televised version of the 1995 production was aired as part of the Bravo cable series "Broadway on Bravo."
In 1998, Andrews underwent throat surgery that went horribly awry and subsequently robbed her of her crystalline, perfectly pitched singing voice. In 2000 her malpractice suit against the doctors who allegedly botched her surgery was settled for an undisclosed sum, estimated at $30 million. After some counseling to help her deal with the trauma of the loss of her most treasured asset, Andrews also engaged in therapy that helped her regain some of her vocal range. In the meantime, she stayed busy as an actress, appearing as the awkward fledgling royal Anne Hathaway's oh-so-regal grandmother in Garry Marshall's surprise hit film "The Princess Diaries" (2001), a role she reprised for the sequel "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" (2004). She also provided the voice of Queen Lillian, mother of Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) in the animated sequels, "Shrek 2" (2004) and "Shrek the Third" (2007).
Among Andrews' numerous television appearances have been three specials with friend Carol Burnett—"Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall” (CBS, 1962); "Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center" (CBS, 1971); and "Julie and Carol: Together Again” (ABC, 1989). Other highlights include two variety programs directed by Gower Champion, "The Julie Andrews Special" and "An Evening with Julie Andrews and Harry Belafonte" (both for CBS in 1969); "Julie Andrews in Concert" (PBS, 1990) and "The Sound of Julie Andrews" (Disney Channel, 1995). She headlined the Emmy-winning series "The Julie Andrews Hour" (ABC, 1972-73), starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom "Julie" in 1992 and more recently hosted several gala tributes like "The American Film Institute Salute to Robert Wise" (NBC, 1998) and "Hey, Mr. Producer!" (PBS, 1998), celebrating the stage productions of Cameron Mackintosh. In 1999, she joined James Garner for the amusingly screwball telepic "One Special Night" and starred opposite her classic co-star Christopher Plummer in a televised adaptation of "On Golden Pond" directed by the film's screenwriter, Ernest Thompson. In addition, she appeared as The Nanny in a pair of TV movies adapting the adventures of the popular children's book character Eloise, "Eloise at the Plaza" and "Eloise at Christmastime" (both 2003).