A spoonful of Julie Andrews makes everything better
The first time my mom ever punished me was because I obnoxiously shouted at her for not hiring a nanny like Mary Poppins. What I got was a nice elderly lady from the local church who spoke with a thick German accent; what I wanted was a young, spirited singing Brit to swoop in on an umbrella, reveal goodies out of her bag and serenade me. I wanted Julie Andrews, darn it!
But honestly, could you blame me? The actress was just so delightful in the magical role, perfectly embodying every child’s fantasy. Obviously, I consoled myself by constantly popping Mary Poppins—one of the musical greats—into our chunky VCR in the basement. I guess you could say this movie was my metaphorical spoonful of sugar.
Andrews is such a cherished legend that she’s deeply woven into the fabric of all our childhoods. Perhaps your family watched The Sound of Music every year around the holidays, or you and your kids couldn’t get enough of her regal presence in The Princess Diaries. And guess what? The ever-versatile actress can also do sexy (including topless in 1981’s S.O.B.) and bawdy (as a female impersonator in Victor/Victoria from 1982). Later, she would rather deliciously voice Lady Whistledown in Bridgerton.
But the real Julie Andrews might be the most enchanting of all. Over the decades, she’s proven herself to be gracious, passionate, salty, charming and surprisingly open about loss, including of her glorious singing voice from a botched 1997 procedure and the 2010 death of her husband of 41 years, director Blake Edwards. Now 90 and still ravishing, Andrews is forever worth celebrating. Keep reading as we highlight 10 of her finest moments.
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1. Singing for King George VI … as a teenager (1948)
A child prodigy, Andrews went professional at the tender age of 12. “I could do incredible acrobatics with my voice,” she told Dick Cavett in 1971 of her onetime four-octave range. At age 13, she showed off her amazing soprano skills on the grandest of all stages: the Royal Command Performance at London’s Palladium.
Wearing a white dress with ruffled sleeves and standing in front of an audience that included King George VI and his daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II, she sang a lovely rendition of the British National Anthem, “God Save the King.” With her live triumph, young Julie became the youngest solo performer ever to participate in a Royal Variety Performance.
2. Showing her “super” talents in Mary Poppins (1964)
It’s not easy to distill a singular moment from the Disney classic Mary Poppins, which earned Andrews a Best Actress Oscar. But let’s go with the musical number “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” Along with chimney sweeper Bert (the equally iconic Dick Van Dyke), our favorite resourceful nanny brings the tongue-twisting lyrics to life with a joyful performance. (Mixing live action with animation was the pièce de résistance.)
Andrews herself is also a fan of the “Supercal” number, in which Mary and Bert have such a good time together. “It nailed the center of the movie,” she told the American Film Institute (AFI). “It’s so razzle dazzle,” she said. “There was so much happening with the feet, the lyrics, the song, the energy. It just cements the whole movie.”
3. Coming alive as Maria in The Sound of Music (1965)
No doubt the opening scene of the Oscar-winning The Sound of Music sets the tone for the sweeping epic. As the camera pans over the impressive Austrian Alps, we’re immediately introduced to Andrews’s Maria coming up the hill to launch into the soaring title song from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.
There she is, spinning with her arms wide open, singing in appreciation for her surroundings and her life. Who is this wonderful woman? A postulant-turned-governess who will become enamored with a widower naval captain (Christopher Plummer) and his seven children. Quite literally, this is the wonderful Andrews at the height of her musical powers.
4. Revealing her secret prankster side (1989)
Surprise! When it comes to pranks, Andrews is the George Clooney of posh British actresses. In 1964, she and her friend Carol Burnett—who had just starred in the 1962 special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall—tried to pull a fast one on Mike Nichols by sitting on a sofa and kissing each other as he came out of an elevator. (Lady Bird Johnson spotted them instead.)
Then, in the TV special Julie and Carol Together Again, they showed off their physical comedy talents in a hysterical sketch titled “Proper English Tea.” Dressed in frilly gowns, they each one-up each other using food and drink. (That’s Julie lobbing heavy cream into Burnett’s bosom!) She ends up gamely dropping a cream pie on her own head and giving her cohort a warm embrace.
5. Refusing her Tony nomination (1996)
Andrews is only a Tony away from completing an EGOT, aka an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. (She just picked up her third Emmy in September 2025 for her Bridgerton voice work.) But she’s had three opportunities, starting with a nod in 1957 for playing Eliza Doolittle in the original stage production of My Fair Lady. Most notably, she withdrew herself from consideration in 1996 after being nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for reprising her titular role in the Broadway adaptation of Victor/Victoria.
During a curtain call of a matinee performance, she explained that she wanted to stand in solidarity with the cast and crew (including director Edwards), who were all snubbed for nominations. “I have searched my conscience and my heart and find that I cannot accept this nomination, and prefer instead to stand with the egregiously overlooked,” she told the audience. Still, her name remained on the ballot.
6. Getting knighted by Queen Elizabeth II (2000)
Yep, to us civilians, she is actually Dame Julie Andrews. More than 50 years after first performing for Queen Elizabeth, Andrews found herself in the company of royalty once more—this time by becoming a Dame Commander of the British Empire for her services in the performing arts.
“It made me so thrilled to be honored by my own country,” she said on LIVE with Kelly and Ryan in 2019. “It really is quite special, and [the queen] is quite lovely.” She added that her majesty said something along the lines of “I’ve been waiting a long time to see you here.” (Fun fact: The British-born Elizabeth Taylor received the honor on the same day.)
7. Reigning supreme in The Princess Diaries (2001)
It’s hard to believe that 2026 will mark 25 years since Andrews first graced the screen in the rewatchable comedy The Princess Diaries—her first Disney project since Mary Poppins. As Queen Clarisse Renaldi, she’s pitch-perfect (and 100% credible) as the royal designated to mentor scruffy would-be American princess Mia (Anne Hathaway).
She delivers the big news about Mia’s heritage during an afternoon tea, expressing both warm elegance and understandable confusion at the teen’s slang. “You will study languages, history, art, political science,” she tells Mia. “I can teach you to walk, talk, sit, stand, eat, dress like a princess.” And even though a freaked-out Mia immediately runs off, our queen gets her way. Of course.
8. Delivering an inspiring graduation speech (2013)
The seniors at the University of Colorado Boulder will surely never forget who was the keynote speaker at their graduation ceremony. During her 19-minute speech, Andrews was her usual sparkling self, joking that she too had a late night out drinking at the pub, and asked, “Truthfully, how good does a Starbucks latte with an extra shot of espresso sound right now?”
She then doled out pearls of wisdom appropriate for all ages. A snippet: “Use your knowledge and your heart to stand up for those who can’t stand. Speak for those who can’t speak. Be a beacon of light for those whose lives have become dark. Fight the good fight against global warming. Be a part of all that is good and decent. Be an ambassador for the kind of world you want to live in.”
9. Receiving a standing ovation at the Oscars (2015)
Technically, Birdman was the top winner at the 87th Annual Academy Awards. But it was Andrews who really ruled the night. After Lady Gaga sang a gorgeous medley of hits from The Sound of Music to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary, the star herself waltzed onstage to thunderous applause. After whispering in Gaga’s ear, “You were amazing,” she told the audience, “Dear Lady Gaga, thank you for that wonderful tribute, oh my God. It really warmed my heart.” It was the top social media moment of the night in terms of Tweets per minute, and it garnered 58 million interactions on Facebook among 21 million engaged people.
10. Telling a naughty story about Dudley Moore (2020)
Surefire way to liven up a talk show: Invite Andrews as a guest and let her fly. (Check her out yukking it up with Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Sir Ian McKellen on the Graham Norton Show.) In one memorable appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’s eponymous talk show, Dame Julie told the host an anecdote from her time on the set of the 1979 comedy 10, which co-starred Dudley Moore and was directed by her husband Edwards. While filming a scene in which her girlfriend character, using a telescope, spies on Moore invading an orgy at their neighbor’s home, Edwards suggested that his wife swing by the happening set.
“I went dashing over,” she said. “What Blake had done was hire an awful lot of people who were very at ease doing orgy films. Everybody was stark naked and lying around very happily.” She was especially amused that the diminutive and completely naked Moore was standing between “two enormously statuesque” ladies with their respective private parts misaligned. “It was more adorable than anything else,” she added. Ha!
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Sources:
- People: “Julie Wins 2025 Emmy for Bridgerton Voice-Over Performance as Lady Whistledown After Three Previous Nominations”
- Playbill: “Julie Andrews declines Tony Nomination”
- CBS News: “Liz: Delighted to Be a Dame”
- Variety: “Oscars: Lady Gaga, Julie Andrews ‘Sound of Music’ Is Top Social Moment”
- YouTube: “JULIE ANDREWS Chats About Finding Her Singing Voice | The Dick Cavett Show”
- YouTube: “Julie Andrews (Aged 13) Sings for King George VI (1948) | British Pathé”
- YouTube: “Julie Andrews on the ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ scene in MARY POPPINS”
- YouTube: “The Sound of Music (1965) Movie CLIP ♦ Julie Andrews [ The Hills Are Alive ] HD”
- YouTube: “Proper English Tea (1989) – Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett”
- YouTube: “Julie Andrews CU Boulder Commencement Speech”
- YouTube: “Julie Andrews Opens Up About Watching a Fake Orgy”
