Dame Julie Andrews won our hearts with shows like “The Sound of Music,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Mary Poppins,” but the fact is, the lady has been around for a long time and has had an incredibly storied life. In fact, we found a video of Julie singing for King George VI in 1948. She sang the British National Anthem “God Save the King” for a Royal Command Performance in 1948 at London’s Palladium. The little lady was wearing a white ruffly dress and ran onto the stage in front of Danny Kaye. When she started singing, the audience joined in.
I didn’t know that Julie Andrews was a child actress and singer. However, as it turns out, she appeared that same year in the West End and her Broadway debut was “The Boy Friend.” A few years later, she voiced an Italian animated film called “The Singing Princess” as the voice of Princess Zeila. At the time, her classically trained soprano voice earned her the informal title of “Britain’s youngest prima donna.” She went on to star in “Camelot” playing Queen Guinevere and the Rodgers and Hammerstein production for TV “Cinderella.”
It was probably “The Sound of Music” that forever cemented her in our minds, however. She played the starring role of Maria von Trapp, a young nun who marries a wealthy widower and becomes the mother of his seven children.
Julie Andrews had a stellar early career, but in the 2000s, her career took off again with a revival. She voiced Queen Lillian in the “Shrek” series and played a starring role in “The Princess Diaries” and the movie’s sequel. In the iconic and popular “Despicable Me” series, Julie played Marlena, Gru’s mother.
Most recently, the Dame has gained a cult following as the voice of Lady Whistledown in the hugely popular Netflix series called “Bridgerton” (I HIGHLY recommend this show!). Watch her enthusiastic performance for King George IV and his wife Queen Elizabeth (known now as the Queen Mother, mother of Queen Elizabeth II).
Who knew? This lady has lived an amazing life.
