Julie Andrews, a household name among many countries, but do you know how this musical legend came to be? Julia Elizabeth Wells who later on will be known as Julie Andrews was born on October 1st, 1935, in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. Andrews was born into a musical family. Her Mother was a pianist and her stepfather was a singer. Andrews had always had amazing musical talent, she had a four-octave vocal range which is a very rare find even to this day. Soon after finding out about this gift of hers, her parents immediately got a singing career. All throughout her childhood and teenage years, Andrews performed in countless music halls, and by the age of 20 she starred in a London Palladium production of "Cinderella" which is what started her stage career. Not long after this, she and her family packed and moved to America. This is what later on will lead to the start of her broadway career.
During the mid 50s Andrews starred in the musical “My Boyfriend” where she was featured as the main character, Eliza Doolittle and starred opposite Rex Harrison. The musical was a big success and critics loved Andrews’ performance as Eliza. This is why not long after she received her first Tony nomination for best actress in a musical. She followed that amazing performance with another one in the musical “Camelot” in which she also starred as the lead and received yet another Tony nomination.
In 1963, Walt Disney approached Andrews and offered her a role as the lead in an upcoming production like none before. It was a fantasy film that combined both live action and animation, truly ahead of its time. She agreed to star in it only if she didn’t get the role of Eliza Doolitle in the upcoming production of “My Fair Lady”. In the end, Audrey Hepburn got the role as Eliza and Andrews starred in the Walt Disney production of “Mary Poppins”, which was great because it was this role that earned her an Academy Award for best actress. Another one of her most popular and successful works is when she starred in “The Sound of Music”. This movie was deemed one of the top grossing movies of its time and of all time as well. Andrews would later perform in multiple broadway shows and star in countless movies such as “The Americanization of Emily” (1964) and Alfred Hitchcock's thriller “Torn Curtain” (1966).
Although Andrews received countless awards and success throughout the years of her career, life was not always sunshine and rainbows for her. In 1997 she experienced a major setback when she lost her powerful and sharp singing voice due to an operation that damaged her vocal chords. Even after all that, Andrews’ career remained alive. She continued to star in multiple more movies and voiced many animated works. Some of her well known works post surgery are “The Princess Diaries” which was such a hit that it received a sequel a few years after. She also lent her voice in the popular Netflix historical drama tv show, “Bridgerton” in which she played the mysterious Lady Whistledown.
After reading all about Julie Andrews and her amazing life journey, I think we can learn to be strong and not lose motivation easily like her. Even though her life had some challenges, she still managed to be successful and be the best version of herself. That is why she is deemed a true musical legend.
Writer : Jesslyn Levina
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