Today, one of Britain’s finest celebrates her 85th birthday. Julie Andrews is not only an actress, but also a singer and author. Through her many years on and off screen, it is only right that we celebrate her as one of the greats.
Julie Elizabeth Wells was born 1 October 1935 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey to Mother Barbara Wells and Father Edward Wells. However, only in 1950, Andrews found out her father was not her biological parent, and that she was conceived as a result on an affair with a friend of the family.
However, after World War II started, Julie’s parents went their separate ways, each of them remarrying – her mother marrying Ted Andrews and her father marrying Winifred Birkhead.
Ted Andrews – Julia’s stepfather – entertained the troops on the front line in the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), where her mother also assisted. For a brief time Julie did live with her father and brother in Surrey, however as Julie was beginning to exhibit her artistic talents, Ted Wells thought it was best she lived with her mother and step father as he believed they could provide for her ever growing talent.
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In her 2008 biography Home, Andrews describes how her family was “very poor”, as they lived in a destitute part of London. She described it as a “very black period” in her life, as her step father was not only a violent alcoholic, but he used to try and get into bed with his step daughter, resulting in Julie having to put a lock on her door.
Fortunately, things started to pick up for the family again when Ted and Barbara’s stage career improved, and the family moved to a bigger – and more comfortable – home. As they managed to get things back on their feet, Ted began to sponsor lessons for Julia. First was at the Independent Arts Educational school, Cone-Ripman School in London. After that, she began lessons with voice instructor and soprano Madame Lilian Stiles-Allen. Madame Lillian was a great influence to Julie, as she saw her as a third mother.
Andrews career finally began when Julie started performing spontaneously on stage with her parents. There she would tour the country with her parents singing for troops as they battled in the war. However, her big break came when she was introduced to Val Parnell by her stepfather and made her professional debut at the London Hippodrome where she sang Je Suis Titania in 1947. After that, she continued to appear on the Hippodrome stage for the rest of the year.
At only 13 years old, Andrews became the youngest solo performer ever to perform at the Royal Command Variety Performance in front of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. After that, Andrews continued to perform alongside her parents but this time it was in television, appearing in the BBC show Up the Pole and Educating Archie.
Flash forward a few years to 1954, and Andrews made her way towards Broadway, and on the eve of only her 19th birthday, she made her debut in The Boy Friend, portraying Polly Browne. Straight away she was a critical success after being named the standout performer in the show. After establishing her name in the states, her success only grew from there and appeared in High Tor, the first made-for-television film alongside Bing Crosby.
In 1956, she was offered the part of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady after auditioning for it after her stint in The Boy Friend. However, just before she took the part Andrews auditioned for a part in Richard Rogers musical Pipe Dream, although it was him who told her to take the part in the musical – despite wanting her in his musical.
Later the next year, she appeared in Rodgers and Hammerstein TV musical Cinderella – broadcast in March 1957 – reaching an estimated 107 million viewers. Over the next few years, not only did Julie release her debut solo album titled “The Lass with the Delicate Air”, but she also guest starred on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dinah Shore Show, The Jack Benny Program and many more.
Next up in 1963, her true film work began – some of what we know and love today – where she began her work under Walt Disney in the classic Mary Poppins after Mr Disney saw Julie perform herself as Queen Guinevere.
Not only did Mary Poppins become the biggest box-office hit in Disney history, but Andrews won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Next up she appeared The Americanization of Emily (1964) alongside James Garner and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in a Leading Role.
In 1965, Andrews starred in the highest grossing film of the year – and a true classic even today, especially at Christmas – The Sound of Music. Even in 2018, it remained the third highest grossing film of all time in the US. In Andrews performance as Maria Von Trapp, she won her second Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.
In the years following, she appeared in other films including two of Hollywood’s biggest flops – Star! (1968) and Darlin Lili (1970) – directed by her second husband Blake Edwards. Over her career, Andrews managed to pick up a glorious 18 awards including one Oscars, Golden Globes and many more.
Unfortunately, in 1997, Andrews lost her singing voice meaning she had to cancel everything she was due to appear in. However (luckily for her fans) she revived her career and appeared in The Princess Diaries (2001) – alongside newcomer of the time Anne Hathaway – which made it her first Disney film since Mary Poppins.
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In her personal life, Andrews has been married twice. Her first husband was set designer Tony Walton. Julie and Tony first met when she appeared in Humpty Dumpty at the London Casino. They married on 10 May 1959 and had their daughter Emma Katherine Walton. In 1969, Andrews then married Blake Edwards – a director – and together they adopted two daughters from Vietnam – Amy in 1974 and Joanna in 1975.
Julie Andrews is a true British treasure, and not only has she granted us with some classic British films for all the family, but she is an actress who will remain one of our favourites for both past and present.
By Katie Green
Feature image: BBC