Julie Andrews is an Oscar-winning actress and singer famous for her roles in 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music.'

Who Is Julie Andrews? Julie Andrews was a hit on the English stage before duplicating that success on Broadway, where she received Tony Award nominations for her roles in Camelot and My Fair Lady. She won an Academy Award for playing the title role in Mary Poppins and was also nominated for her performance in The Sound of Music. Andrews later worked on a number of acclaimed films with husband Blake Edwards and was made an English dame in 2000.

Early Life and Stage Career Singer and actress Julie Andrews was born Julia Elizabeth Wells on October 1, 1935, in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. Andrews has endured as a popular star of stage and screen for many decades. She came from a musical family; her mother was a pianist and her stepfather, from whom she took her surname, was a singer. Andrews first found success on the English stage in the late 1940s and then moved to America, where she starred in the musical The Boyfriend during the mid-'50s. In 1956, she starred opposite Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle, a role that earned her a Tony Award nomination for best actress in a musical. She followed that stellar performance with another lead role in the musical Camelot in 1960, for which she earned her second Tony Award nomination.

'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music' Andrews made the leap to film stardom in 1964 with lead roles in The Americanization of Emily, opposite James Garner, and Mary Poppins. It was as the lovable, magical nanny in Mary Poppins that Andrews won an Academy Award for best actress. The following year, she was nominated for her part in another musical, The Sound of Music, which featured her as a governess to the von Trapps. The family-oriented movie featured Andrews on songs like "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi" and "Something Good." Both Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music were hugely successful, winning Andrews fans around the globe. The two films have remained popular over the years, becoming firmly entrenched as classics. Film Projects With Husband Blake Edwards After portraying fellow actress/singer Gertrude Lawrence in Star! (1968), Andrews appeared in only a few screen projects during the 1970s, including The Tamarind Seed (1974) and 10 (1979). The latter was directed by her second husband Blake Edwards and starred Brit comedian Dudley Moore along with actress Bo Derek. In the 1980s, Andrews seemed to be ready for new challenges. She starred in 1981's S.O.B., which provided a satirical look at Hollywood and was once again helmed by Edwards. The next year, Andrews took gender-bending to new heights as a woman who pretends to be a man pretending to be a woman in Victor/Victoria—earning the third Oscar nod of her career. She again collaborated with Edwards and reunited with leading man Garner. Over the course of her career, Andrews worked on many projects with her husband, such as Darling Lili (1970), The Man Who Loved Women (1983) and That's Life! (1986). In 1996, Andrews returned to Broadway in the stage production of Victor/Victoria. For her performance in the musical, she earned her third Tony Award nomination. However, she refused the nomination, stating that she felt the rest of the cast had been overlooked.

Losing Her Singing Voice Andrews experienced a huge personal setback in 1997 when her vocal cords were damaged during an operation. While she never regained her powerful, sharp singing voice, she continued to act in films and television movies. Dame Commander Andrews also received a special distinction at the turn of the century, when she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. As befitting an English dame, she played a monarch in the film The Princess Diaries (2001) and its sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).