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Julie Andrews music biography continued...

Andrews came from a musical family—her mother was a pianist and her stepfather was a singer. It was clear from an early age that Andrews stunning vocal quality would make her a success as an entertainer. In the 1940s, she played in several musicals on the British stage. She came to the United States in the 1950s, starring in the musical The Boyfriend from 1954 to 1955. The next year she starred in My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle, a role earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She followed that outstanding performance with another lead role in the musical Camelot in 1960. Andrews received her second Tony Award nomination for this production. She made the leap to film stardom in 1964 with lead roles in The Americanization of Emily opposite James Garner and in Mary Poppins, for which she won her first Academy Award for Best Actress. The next year she found even bigger success as the lead in the iconic movie musical, The Sound of Music, establishing her as a major international star.



In the 1980s, Andrews starred in several movies directed by her second husband, Blake Edwards, but she returned to the stage in the Broadway production of Victor/Victoria, earning her her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Andrews experienced a huge personal setback in the late 1990s when her vocal chords were damaged during an operation. While she never regained her powerful, sharp singing voice, she continued to act in films and television. Andrews also received a special distinction around this time—being made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II of England. More recently, she was been heard as the voice of Queen Lillian in the second and third installments of the Shrek animated film series. In January 2007, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild's awards, and stated that her goals including continuing to direct for the stage, and possibly to produce her own Broadway musical. There would be nothing more fitting.