Julie Andrews

Was named a Dame by Britains Queen Elizabeth II on the Millenium New Years Honours List on December 31, 1999.

(November 1998) Her husband reported that she would probably never sing again because the throat surgery had ruined her voice.

(June 1997) Underwent throat surgery.

Stepmother of Jennifer Edwards and Geoffrey Edwards.

Uses the pen-name Julie Edwards.

Born at 6:00am-BST.

Spent some time in a psychiatric clinic, to help her cope with the trauma resulting from her throat surgery.

Mother, with Tony Walton , of daughter Emma Walton Hamilton.

7 September 2000 - Her malpractice suit against the 2 New York Mt. Sinai Hospital doctors who allegedly botched her throat surgery was settled for an undisclosed sum.

The London press reported that Miss Andrewss settlement for her botched throat surgery was nearly 21 million British pounds, or about 30 million U.S. dollars.

While she played the original Eliza Dolittle in the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady", Audrey Hepburn played the part in the movie My Fair Lady . The studio executives did not want Andrews because she hadnt had any experience in film and thought Hepburn would be the better choice. However, while the film My Fair Lady took home several Oscars in 1964, it failed to win the Best Actress category. That award went to none other than Julie Andrews for her performance in Mary Poppins .

When Tony Walton proposed to her, he gave her a broach instead of a ring.

She has a rose named after her.

Has perfect pitch.

She was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2001.

In 2002, she was voted the 59th greatest Briton ever in a BBC poll.

Played the same role of "Victoria Grant" in the Broadway musical adaption of Victor Victoria . She turned down a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

Has owned a chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, for many years. Every year she pays for Gstaads Christmas lights. In July she presents the prize for the winner of the annual Gstaad Tennis Open. She once said if she was nervous before a performance on stage, shed just have to look at a photo from lovely Gstaad, and she was reassured.

In the 1960s she sported a bumper sticker on her car reading "Mary Poppins is a junkie".

In 1969, when MGM cancelled their proposed Irving Berlin musical biography "Say it With Music" in which she was set to star, she sued the studio and collected her $1,250,000 salary.

Mary Poppins for Disney, The Sound of Music for 20th Century Fox and Thoroughly Modern Millie for Universal were the biggest money-makers yet for their studios. However, her next two films, Star! and Darling Lili , to put it mildly, failed to get their money back.

Received a standing ovation at The 75th Annual Academy Awards when she appeared to present a short film celebration sequence.

Changed her last name from Wells to Andrews when her mother married her stepfather Ted Andrews.

Her stepfather was an alcoholic.

She adopted two children from Vietnam with Blake Edwards , Amy Edwards (b. 1974) and Joanna Edwards (b. 1975).

Was passed over for the role on Eliza Dolittle in favor of Audrey Hepburn for the film My Fair Lady . Unlike Andrews, however, Hepburn was not a natural singer. She took voice lessons and recorded the tracks for the movie, but the producers, without telling Audrey, dubbed her voice with that of Marni Nixon. Nixon appeared with Andrews in The Sound of Music .

Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is directly in front of the new addition to the Chinese Theatre. The star was dedicated on 5 Oct, 1979.

Filmed a cameo sequence as a chambermaid in Blake Edwards 1975 Inspector Clouseau comedy The Return of the Pink Panther , but the sequence ended up on the cutting-room floor.

Was selected by the Walt Disney Company to become the Offical Ambassador for "The Happiest Homecoming On Earth: Disneylands 50th Anniversary Celebration".

Sings scales rather than songs in the shower.

She was the youngest person ever to appear in a Royal Command Performance. She performed for King George VI , Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth/Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.

Her performance as Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins is ranked #45 on Premiere Magazines 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Is the only actress to be nominated for (and later win) the Oscar in the Lead Actress category in a Walt Disney film ( Mary Poppins ).

Possessed a five-octave coloratura soprano range until a vocal nodule surgery mishap ruined her singing voice.

The song, "Your Crowning Glory" from The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement , was the first time she had sung in public or on screen since she had throat surgery in 1997. She reportedly nailed the song on the first take, and brought tears to the eyes of the crew present.

The Americanization of Emily is the only black and white movie she ever made.

Best friends with Carol Burnett. Carol is godmother of Julies daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton.

Grandmother of daughter Emma Walton Hamilton s children Samuel and Hope.

Was considered for the role of Susy Hendrix in the film Wait Until Dark . The role eventually went to Audrey Hepburn as it did in My Fair Lady .

Received the Screen Actors Guild lifetime achievement award on January 28, 2007.

As of 2013, she is one of six women who has received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for a performance directed by her spouse, namely for Victor Victoria directed by Blake Edwards. The other five are Elisabeth Bergner for Escape Me Never (1935) (directed by Paul Czinner ), Joanne Woodward for Rachel, Rachel (directed by Paul Newman ), Jean Simmons for The Happy Ending (directed by Richard Brooks ), Gena Rowlands for A Woman Under the Influence & Gloria (both directed by John Cassavetes ), and Frances McDormand for Fargo (directed by Joel Coen ). Jules Dassin also directed his future wife Melina Mercouri in a Best Actress Oscar nominated performance ( Pote tin Kyriaki ), but they werent married yet at the time of the nomination.

Mother-in-law of Steve Hamilton.

Could sing notes only dogs could hear at the age of seven.

Her daughter, Amy Edwards , married rock musician Lauren Scheff on October 24, 2004. They are now divorced.

Her brother, Christopher Stuart, was born in May, 1946.

Her two biological grandchildren are Sam (b. 1996) and Hope (b. 2003) from daughter Emma Walton Hamilton. Her other grandchildren are: Max Scheff, from adopted daughter Amy Edwards ; Kayti and Hannah Schneider , from stepdaughter Jennifer Edwards ; Isabelle and Hank, from stepson Geoffrey Edwards.

Was one of the first women to be named a Disney Legend (and inducted into the Disney Hall of Fame). She was in the 1991 class with animator Mary Blair.

Turned down her Tony nomination for "Victor/Victoria" for Best Actress in a Musical in 1996 because the rest of the cast and crew were overlooked for consideration.

According to her autobiography, she first saw second husband Blake Edwards at a party while she and first husband Tony Walton were on their honeymoon. She and Blake did not become friends until several years later.

Was offered the role of Carol in Once Upon a Time in America , but turned the role down. The part went to Tuesday Weld.

Was at one point going to star in Follow Me! .

Learned to play the guitar specifically for the role of "Maria" in The Sound of Music .

Recepient of a 2011 Lifetime Achievement Grammy [December 23, 2010].

Thanked only Walt Disney by name in her Oscar acceptance speech.

Release of the book, "Julie Andrews: A Life on Stage and Screen" by Robert Windeler.

Release of her book, "Thanks to You: Wisdom from Mother and Child" by Julie and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton Hamilton.

Release of the book, "Julie Andrews: An Intimate Biography" by Richard Stirling.

(March 2008) Release of her book, "Home: A Memoir of My Early Years".

(March 2009) Doing the voice of "Queen Lillian" in Shrek Forever After .

Over a period of six years, from 1964 to 1970, she performed in four different films as characters with rhyming names, Mary, Emily, Millie, Lili, and each of those names were part of the respective title: 1964 Mary Poppins - Mary; 1964 The Americanization of Emily - Emily; 1967 Thoroughly Modern Millie - Millie; 1970 Darling Lili - Lili. Additionally, during the same period, she portrayed the similar sounding, if not rhyming, Maria in The Sound of Music , where her characters name was not part of the title. All except Darling Lili were big money makers.

After the success of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, she declined huge offers for more nanny roles with the explanation: "Ive done that."

Both Julie and her husband, Blake Edwards, underwent psychoanalysis in the 1970s as a way to deal with their respective career slumps.

During the Vietnam War, Julie and her husband, Blake Edwards both became involved with the Committee of Responsibility, which brought severely injured children from the war zone to the US for treatment. Their involvement led them to adopt two Vietnamese abandoned children.

Was the 61st actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Actress Oscar for Mary Poppins at The 37th Annual Academy Awards on April 5, 1965.

Has had one of her ankle bone joints replaced with a titanium implant to avoid being confined to a wheelchair.

Is one of 4 actresses to win the Best Actress Oscar for her film debut (for Mary Poppins ). The others are Shirley Booth (for Come Back, Little Sheba (1952) ), Barbra Streisand (for Funny Girl ), and Marlee Matlin (for Children of a Lesser God ).

Is one of 27 actresses to have received an Academy Award nomination for their performance in a musical; hers being Mary Poppins , The Sound of Music , and Victor Victoria . The others, in chronological order, are: Bessie Love ( The Broadway Melody ), Grace Moore ( One Night of Love ), Jean Hagen ( Singin in the Rain (1952) ), Marjorie Rambeau ( Torch Song ), Dorothy Dandridge ( Carmen Jones ), Deborah Kerr ( The King and I ), Rita Moreno ( West Side Story ), Gladys Cooper ( My Fair Lady ), Debbie Reynolds ( The Unsinkable Molly Brown ), Peggy Wood ( The Sound of Music ), Carol Channing ( Thoroughly Modern Millie ), Kay Medford ( Funny Girl ), Barbra Streisand ( Funny Girl ), Liza Minnelli ( Cabaret ), Ronee Blakley ( Nashville ), Lily Tomlin ( Nashville ), Ann-Margret ( Tommy ), Lesley Ann Warren ( Victor Victoria ), Amy Irving ( Yentl ), Nicole Kidman ( Moulin Rouge! ), Queen Latifah ( Chicago ), Catherine Zeta-Jones ( Chicago ), Rene Zellweger ( Chicago ), Jennifer Hudson ( Dreamgirls ), Penlope Cruz ( Nine ), Anne Hathaway ( Les Misrables ), Meryl Streep ( Into the Woods ), and Emma Stone ( La La Land ). Andrews is the only actress to have been nominated multiple times for her performances in musicals.

Is one of 15 actresses to have won both the Best Actress Academy Award and the Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical Golden Globe for the same performance; hers being for Mary Poppins . The others, in chronological order, are: Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday , Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl , Liza Minnelli for Cabaret , Glenda Jackson for A Touch of Class , Diane Keaton for Annie Hall , Sissy Spacek for Coal Miners Daughter , Cher for Moonstruck , Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy , Helen Hunt for As Good as It Gets , Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love , Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line , Marion Cotillard for La mme , Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook , and Emma Stone for La La Land .

Julie Andrews won the Academy Award for Best Actress for feature film debut in Mary Poppins. Andrews has received 28 awards over her career, but that was her only Academy Award despite being nominated for The Sound of Music. Mary Poppins also earned her and her co-stars the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Album for Children. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the musical My Fair Lady.

Her first stage show was at the Hippodrome, London in 1947 (aged 11) where she sang one song Polonaise from Mignon for two performances each night. This led to being asked to perform in the Royal Command Performance 1947 (Then aged 12).

As of 2016 she is the 8th earliest surviving recipient of a Best Actress Oscar nomination, behind only Olivia de Havilland , Leslie Caron , Carroll Baker , Joanne Woodward , Shirley MacLaine , Doris Day , and a tied Piper Laurie and Sophia Loren. She was nominated (and won) in 1964 for Mary Poppins .

According to Andrews, Walt Disney originally approached her to read for the part of Mary Poppins after a performance of the Broadway show, Camelot. Andrews told Disney she could not take the part because she was pregnant. Disney responded, "Thats alright. Ill wait.".

Is one of 8 actresses to have won an Academy Award for their performance in a musical. The others in chronological order are; Rita Moreno , Barbra Streisand , Liza Minnelli , Catherine Zeta-Jones , Jennifer Hudson , Anne Hathaway and Emma Stone.

Was 2 months pregnant with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton when she completed her run of the Broadway musical "Camelot".

Returned to work 4 months after giving birth to her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton to begin filming Mary Poppins .

Delivered her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton naturally.

[1982] Does Mary Poppins have an orgasm? Does she go to the bathroom? I,assure you, she does.

Singing has never been particularly easy for me.

Films are much more my level. On stage I never feel quite enough.

As my mother said, I never sprang out of bed with a glad shout! My voice,needed oiling and then it took off.

A lot of my life happened in great, wonderful bursts of good fortune,and then I would race to be worthy of it.

As soon as you have one, all those dormant maternal instincts start,popping out all over you, like German measles.

All kinds of things have been printed, including much gossip and rumour,and finally I feel ready to have my say. I want to be as honest as I,can.

Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth.

Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.

I was lucky enough to be the lady that was asked to be Maria in the Sound Of Music, and that film was fortunate enough to be huge hit. The same with Mary Poppins. I got terribly lucky in that respect.

By nature, I really am a fairly bouncy and sunny individual.

Almost every morning when I go to the studio to work, I discover a fresh rose in the bud vase on my dressing table. . . one living and vital thing in a dusty arena of powder and tissue and matches and greasepaint.

I had a lot of learning on my feet.

Whenever I think of my birthplace, Walton-on-Thames, my reference first and foremost is the river. I love the smell of the river; love its history, its gentleness. I was aware of its presence from my earliest years. Its majesty centered me, calmed me, was a solace to a certain extent.

I was a very sad little girl.