Feminine icons
She won the Oscar for best female performance for ‘Mary Poppins’, snatching it from Audrey Hepburn who replaced her in the film version of ‘My Fair Lady’
For many viewers, Julie Andrews’s name is associated with that of an ex-novice turned Austrian nanny before World War II who comes in to care for Captain Von Trapp’s numerous brood in Salzburg, or another friendly nanny dressed in black, with a cute little hat and a talkative umbrella, capable of making live, thanks to magic and imagination, the most delightful adventures to a couple of children in Victorian England. Julie Andrews is as much the novice in love with ‘Smiles and Tears’ as ‘Mary Poppins’. But it should not be forgotten that this intelligent actress and excellent singer has to her credit a filmography that goes far beyond the musical numbers that she performed in those films.
Born in the county of Surrey (England), on October 1, 1935 – she just turned 86 – Julie Andrews (real name Julia Elizabeth Wells) was discovered when she was just a child thanks to her charming voice. She studied singing and was 12 years old when she made her debut at the London Hippodrome in London, in 1947, with the play ‘Starlight Roof’, and later with a version of ‘Cinderella’. Her debut in the United States took place in 1954, in the Broadway production ‘The Boy friend’ where little Julie conquered the demanding New York public.
In 1956, composers Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner hired Andrews to star alongside Rex Harrison in the play ‘My fair lady’, based on the play ‘Pygmalion’ by George Bernard Shaw. This work is a success both at the box office and with the public, which years later would be taken to the cinema starring Audrey Hepburn. In 1961, the same producers rehired Julie Andrews to star in their new play. This time it is an adaptation of the legend of King Arthur, which they call ‘Camelot’. The performance is once again a success and begins to make the actress famous in the artistic world.
The cinema, however, takes time to notice her. When the film version of ‘My Fair Lady’ was being prepared, which after the success of Broadway harbor the hopes of starring in it, Hollywood does not trust her and prefers Audrey Hepburn. But Julie Andrews has, however, her little rematch when in that same year (1964). Disney proposes the role of ‘Mary Poppins’, with which she would win the Oscar for acting, snatching it from Audrey Hepburn for ‘My Fair Lady’, as well as the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical, and along with the others protagonists of the film, the Grammy for the best album for children in 1965. From that moment, his career runs between the stages and the cinema, obtaining extraordinary success in both media.
The following year, Julie is once again a candidate for the Oscar for best actress, this time for her portrayal of a novice turned governess in the film ‘Smiles and tears’. This movie was the one that elevated her to stardom in Hollywood. Proof of this is that in the following two years he starred in ‘Hawaii’, alongside Max von Sydow or the Alfred Hitchcock film ‘Torn Curtain’, alongside Paul Newman. She was not the ideal actress for Hitchcock, who would not claim her again; and then ‘Millie, a modern girl’, with Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing.
A disease in the larynx
After a previous marriage, in 1969 she married director Blake Edwards, with whom she had two children, staying by his side until his death. Edwards makes her the protagonist of his following films (‘Darling Lili’, from 1970, ‘The Tamarindo seed’ from 1974, ’10, the perfect woman ‘, from 1979,’ SOB You are honored bandits ‘, from 1981,’ ¿ Víctor or Victoria? ‘, 1982, for which she won the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical and a new Oscar nomination,’ My problems with women ‘(1983), or’ That’s life ! ‘, 1986). At the same time, she has her own television show and is the star of other films such as’ The rogue and his garment ‘(Walter Bernstein, 1980), Longing to live’ (Andrey Konchalovskiy, 1986), ‘Cin cin’, along with Marcello Mastroianni (Gene Saks, 1991) or ‘People with class’ (Eric Styles, 2000).
In 1998 she underwent surgery for a disease in the larynx that left her vocal cords very affected, which prevented her from singing again. In 2000 she received the title of Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from the hands of Queen Elizabeth II of England. With the turn of the century, the actress starred alongside Anne Hathaway in the film ‘Princess by surprise’ (2001) and its sequel, which became blockbusters and relaunched Andrews’ career. In 2001 he was awarded the Donostia Prize at the San Sebastián Festival, which takes place a week after 9/11, so he did not come to pick it up. In 2018 he refuses to appear in ‘The Return of Mary Poppins’. And in 2019 he receives a Golden Lion for his entire career at the Venice Festival. In recent years he has voiced different characters in animation films. Elegant, ductile, unique, with a subtle sense of humor, at 86 years old Julie Andrews remains a star and a great lady of the theater and the screen.
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