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— CH. 1 · CHILDHOOD IN THE BLITZ —

Julie Andrews

~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
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  • Julia Elizabeth Wells arrived in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, on the 1st of October 1935. Her mother Barbara Ward Wells had married Edward Charles Ted Wells in 1932 after an affair with a family friend produced the child. World War II forced her parents to separate and divorce shortly thereafter. Andrews lived briefly with her biological father before moving to London at age five. She resided in a bad slum area of London while her stepfather Ted Andrews worked as a teacher of metalwork and woodwork. The family was very poor during these years. Her stepfather was violent and an alcoholic who twice tried to get into bed with his stepdaughter while drunk. Andrews fitted a lock on her door for safety. Her mother joined the Entertainments National Service Association to entertain troops. Andrews performed spontaneously on stage with her parents from 1945 until 1947. She stood on a beer crate to sing into a microphone while her mother played piano.

  • Andrews made her professional solo debut at the London Hippodrome on the 22nd of October 1947. She sang the difficult aria Je suis Titania from Mignon as part of a musical revue called Starlight Roof. At age twelve she became the youngest solo performer ever seen in a Royal Variety Performance before King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The event took place at the London Palladium on the 1st of November 1948. She wore a white A-frame dress and ran onto stage in front of Danny Kaye to sing the British National Anthem. Her Broadway debut occurred on the 30th of September 1954 as Polly Browne in The Boy Friend. Critics called her the stand-out of the show. She then auditioned for Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe for the role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Director Moss Hart spent forty-eight consecutive hours solely with her during rehearsals. He hammered through each scene to help her become the character. My Fair Lady opened on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on the 15th of March 1956. Andrews later described this period as the great learning period of her life.

  • Walt Disney offered Andrews the titular role in Mary Poppins after seeing her performance in Camelot. She initially declined because of pregnancy but returned to London to give birth. Disney insisted they would wait for her. Production began in 1963 and filming took place in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles. Andrews relied largely on instinct for her portrayal. She conceptualized a particular walk and turned-out stance for the character. Mary Poppins became the biggest box-office draw in Disney history. Variety lauded her performance as a signal triumph. The film won five Academy Awards including Best Actress for Andrews. She also received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Her next major film was The Sound of Music released in 1965. It was the highest-grossing film of its year. Filming commenced in Salzburg Austria in 1964. Weather conditions made shooting slow. Andrews stated she relied on lyrics to anchor her to the films songs. Critics highlighted her performance despite mixed reviews overall. She won her second Golden Globe Award for playing Maria von Trapp.

  • Andrews starred in two of Hollywood's most expensive flops during the late 1960s. Star! opened in 1968 as a biopic of Gertrude Lawrence. Choreographer Michael Kidd worked closely with her during complicated musical numbers that were physically and mentally gruelling. Darling Lili followed in 1970 co-starring Rock Hudson and directed by Blake Edwards. Edwards pitched the concept to Andrews two years prior to production start. She prerecorded original songs for the film with Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. While the film was a commercial bomb, The New York Times praised her performance calling it an unmitigated delight. Andrews later wrote that nonstop success in a career is impossible but nobody sets out to make a failure either. They married in November 1969 after being companions for at least two years. In the 1970s they adopted two Vietnamese daughters named Amy Leigh and Joanna Lynne. Their marriage lasted forty-one years until Edwards died on the 15th of December 2010 at Saint John Health Center in Santa Monica California due to complications of pneumonia.

  • A botched vocal surgery in 1997 led to the loss of Andrews singing voice. She developed hoarseness while performing Victor Victoria on Broadway. Liza Minnelli replaced her towards the end of the run. She underwent surgery at New York Mount Sinai Hospital reportedly to remove non-cancerous nodules from her throat. Andrews emerged from the operation with permanent damage that destroyed the purity of her singing. Her speaking voice became raspy as well. Doctors had assured she would regain her voice within six weeks. It took two years before anyone noticed any return. In 1999 she filed a malpractice suit against doctors Scott Kessler and Jeffrey Libin. The lawsuit settled in September 2000 for an undisclosed amount. Steven M Zeitels operated on her four times later but could not restore her singing ability. Despite this setback she kept busy with many projects including stage productions and television work. She performed the voice of Polynesia the parrot in Dr Dolittle by recording some 700 sentences placed on a computer chip inside the mechanical bird mouth.

  • Andrews received Kennedy Center Honors in 2001. That same year she reunited with Christopher Plummer in On Golden Pond. She appeared in The Princess Diaries playing Queen Clarisse Marie Renaldi. This was her first Disney film since Mary Poppins. She sang on film for the first time since having throat surgery in 2004. The song Your Crowning Glory was set in a limited range to accommodate her recovering voice. Dawn Soler recalled that Andrews nailed the song on the first take. From 2005 to 2006 she served as Official Ambassador for Disneyland fifty-year anniversary celebration. She hosted Remember Dreams Come True fireworks show at Disneyland on the 1st of May 2005. In January 2008 she published Home A Memoir Of My Early Years. It chronicles her early years in Britains music hall circuit ending in 1962. Her book The Very Fairy Princess reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller List for Children Books in June 2010. She voiced Marlena Gru in Despicable Me which opened to rave reviews and strong box office in July 2010. Beginning in December 2020 she voiced Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton.

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Common questions

When and where was Julie Andrews born?

Julia Elizabeth Wells arrived in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, on the 1st of October 1935. Her mother Barbara Ward Wells had married Edward Charles Ted Wells in 1932 after an affair with a family friend produced the child.

What happened to Julie Andrews during her childhood home life?

Andrews lived briefly with her biological father before moving to London at age five. She resided in a bad slum area of London while her stepfather Ted Andrews worked as a teacher of metalwork and woodwork. The family was very poor during these years and her stepfather was violent and an alcoholic who twice tried to get into bed with his stepdaughter while drunk.

How did Julie Andrews make her professional solo debut?

Andrews made her professional solo debut at the London Hippodrome on the 22nd of October 1947. She sang the difficult aria Je suis Titania from Mignon as part of a musical revue called Starlight Roof.

Why did Julie Andrews lose her singing voice?

A botched vocal surgery in 1997 led to the loss of Andrews singing voice. She developed hoarseness while performing Victor Victoria on Broadway and underwent surgery at New York Mount Sinai Hospital reportedly to remove non-cancerous nodules from her throat. Andrews emerged from the operation with permanent damage that destroyed the purity of her singing.

When did Julie Andrews win her Academy Award for Mary Poppins?

Mary Poppins became the biggest box-office draw in Disney history and won five Academy Awards including Best Actress for Andrews. The film also earned her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

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