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Julie Andrews Facts & Worksheets

Julie Andrews is an award-winning actress and an accomplished singer who starred in various hit movies and musicals

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Julie Andrews is an award-winning actress and an accomplished singer who starred in various hit movies and musicals. Coined as Britain’s Youngest Prima Donna, Andrews is known best for her roles in Sound of Music and Mary Poppins.

See the fact file below for more information on Julie Andrews or alternatively, you can download our 31-page Julie Andrews worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Early Life

  • Julia Elizabeth Wells, popularly known as Dame Julie Andrews or Julie Andrews, was born on October 1, 1935, in Walton-on-Thames in England and raised by parents Barbara Ward Wells and Edward Charles Wells.
  • Her mother was a pianist while her father was a teacher.
  • Barbara Ward Wells divorced Ted Wells when the outbreak of World War II took place and married Ted Andrews, a professional singer.
  • She joined him in his service in the military through the Entertainments National Service Association.
  • Julie Andrews kept fond memories of living briefly with Ted Wells and his brother John; however, she was sent to her mother and Ted Andrews believing that they could nurture her talent better.
  • She lived poorly in the slums of London with her alcoholic mother and her violent and alcoholic stepfather, who tried to get in bed with her twice.
  • Julie Andrews had an abusive childhood and carried the responsibility to work and support their family at a very young age.
  • Julie Andrews had to perform on the road with her mother and her stepfather, and at the same time, she also helped raise her siblings.
  • When she was 14, she later found out that her biological father was a family friend with whom her mother had an affair.
  • Her mother and stepfather’s career flourished, so they bought a home in Beckenham and transferred to Hersham after the war.
  • Her education in Cone-Ripman School, an independent arts educational school, and lessons with Madam Lilian Stiles-Allen, a concert soprano and voice coach, were all financed by Ted Andrews.

Career

  • From 1945, Julie Andrews joined her parents’ performances spontaneously.
  • She used to stand on a beer crate and sing duets or solos with her stepfather, accompanied by her mother on the piano.
  • As a child entertainer, Julie Andrews and her colleague Petula Clark used to sleep in the luggage racks of a train to travel and perform for the military troops.
  • Despite challenges, they enjoyed the experiences. 
  • Julie Andrews’ career formally started when her stepfather introduced her to a managing director named Val Parnell.
  • At 12 years old, she made her stage debut on October 22, 1947, at the London Hippodrome, where she sang Je Suis Titania.
  • Julie Andrews was only 13 years old when she became the youngest soloist at the Royal Variety Performance.
  • She performed various roles such as a Broadway performer, a singer, an actress, and even a voice actress.
  • Her first television appearance was in RadiOlympia Showtime, and her first screen project was High Tor.
  • She was recommended by Hattie Jacques for the role of Polly Browne on her Broadway debut on September 30, 1954, in a musical entitled The Boy Friend.
  • She was recognized and highly praised for her performance on The Boy Friend, despite her doubts and being a newbie.
  • Another notable broadway project she was in was My Fair Lady and she was trained by director Moss Hart.
  • The play was also a huge success and became a good experience for Julie Andrews to improve.
  • Opportunities poured in for Julie Andrews, and these were not only limited to musicals but also in different television appearances.
  • She played the lead character in Cinderella, a written television musical for her, and was cast as Queen Guinevere in the period musical Camelot.
  • She also appeared in television shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, What’s My Line, The Jack Benny Program, The Bell Telephone Hour, The Garry Moore Show, and Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall.
  • In 1962, My Fair Lady began casting for the film adaptation roles; unfortunately, Julie Andrews did not get the character role.
  • For Jack Warner, the Warner Brothers studio head, Audrey Hepburn, must take the role instead due to her established career.
  • The Walt Disney team offered Julie Andrews a musical film role after watching her exceptional performance in Camelot.
  • In 1963, she was asked to play the lead role in the musical film Mary Poppins; however, Julie Andrews declined because, at this time, she was already three months pregnant.
  • However, Disney was determined to cast Julie Andrews to play the role, so they responded to her, “That’s ok, we’ll wait!”.
  • After giving birth, she received a call from P.L. Travers, the author of the book Mary Poppins, who encouraged her.
  • While the production was ongoing, her family lived in a house in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, rented by Disney exclusively for them.
  • Mary Poppins was a huge success and was considered the biggest box-office draw in Disney history and nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, winning five of them.
  • She also auditioned for the musical, The Sound of Music.
  • Although filming became a challenge due to weather conditions, The Sound of Music was also one of the most successful films in history.
  • Julie Andrews also starred in two expensive musical films considered flops, Star! and Darling Lili.
  • In her active years as an artist, Julie Andrews has proven that she is a very versatile actress by performing in comedy and drama films which gained her awards and nominations.
  • She also wrote books and autobiographies such as Home: A Memoir of My Early Years (2008) and Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years (2019).

Marriage

  • On May 10, 1959, Julie Andrews married Tony Walton and had a daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, now an author.
  • However, in 1968, the couple divorced.
  • A year after, she married Blake Edwards, who had two children, Jennifer and Geoffrey. 
  • They also adopted two Vietnamese children, Amy and Joanna.
  • Blake Edwards died on December 15, 2010, after 41 years of marriage.

Julie Andrews’ Voice

  • Julie Andrews was always praised for her voice due to its pure and clear sound.
  • She was told to pursue opera music, but instead, she chose musical theatre as she thought it suited her voice more.
  • In 1997, she developed hoarseness in her voice, which forced her to quit Victor/Victoria stage play and had surgery to remove the nodules in her throat.
  • However, she found out that the hoarseness in her voice was due to the strain caused by performing in Victor/Victoria.
  • In 1999, she sued Mount Sinai Hospital, Scott Kessler, and Jeffrey Libin, the doctors who performed surgery on her, for malpractice, as it had permanently damaged her voice.
  • She had undergone four operations in Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) by Steven M. Zeitels, which improved her speaking voice but not her singing voice.
  • Although this setback caused her a lot of stress because she lost her four-octave voice, it did not hinder her from singing, and instead, she discovered a new style.

Awards and Recognitions

  • Julie Andrews gained a lot of awards and achievements during her career, and some of her notable recognitions include:
  • Queen Elizabeth II made her Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
  • Six Golden Globe Awards (Including her Best Motion Picture Actress awards in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and Victor/Victoria)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guilds Awards
  • Two Emmy Awards 
  • One Academy Award (Best Actress Award In A Leading Role for Mary Poppins).
  • Two British Academy Film Award
  • Three Grammy Awards
  • Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Recognized as a Disney Legend in 1991 for Mary Poppins
  • Gained Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

Julie Andrews Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Julie Andrews across 31 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Julie Andrews who is an award-winning actress and an accomplished singer who starred in various hit movies and musicals.

Julie Andrews Worksheets
Julie Andrews Worksheets
Julie Andrews Worksheets
Julie Andrews Worksheets
Julie Andrews Worksheets
Julie Andrews Worksheets

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Julie Andrews Facts
  • Can You Identify?
  • The Truth Is…
  • The Interview
  • Now Showing
  • Tickets For Sale
  • Famous Lines
  • Movie Time
  • Do-Re-Mi
  • My Books
  • Hall of Fame

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Julie Andrews have a perfect pitch?

Yes, like Mariah Carey or Michael Jackson, Julie Andrews has a great voice and perfect pitch.

What was Julie Andrews’s greatest accomplishment?

The Sound of Music was a musical that was turned into a movie. It was the most successful motion picture at that time. Julie Andrews played one of the main roles in the movie and she did a great job. She was nominated for an Oscar again, and the film won Best Picture of the Year.

What did Julie Andrews say to Lady Gaga?

After Lady Gaga’s amazing performance of songs written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, Andrews whispered into her ear, “You were amazing.”

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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