Julie Andrews is an icon. For generations, she helped to inspire a love of music in millions of children around the world. Her role as Marry Poppins has become cemented into our culture.
But it wasn’t all “spoonfuls of sugar” for Julie . There is a lot that she had to overcome.
RELATED STORIES
Have a look and check out these 10+ facts about Julie Andrews that fans didn’t know!
1. She’s a Grammy winner!
Over the course of Julie’s career, she’s racked up two Grammy wins. The first was for Best Song Recording for Children , which she shared.
The second was for a spoken-word/poetry album she released back in 2011.
2. *The Princess Diaries 2* was the first time she sung publicly since her surgery.
As you can probably imagine, shooting this scene was incredibly emotional for Julie. For years, she derived her identity through her voice.
And while it’s true that she may not be able to hit the 4th octave high notes, her voice still sounds as beautiful as it ever did.
3. Julie is a real-life Dame.
A Dame is the female equivalent of a Knight. Julie was presented with the prestigious honor back in 2000 by her Majesty the Queen.
She is one of the few remaining true Hollywood Dames.
4. She has her own Netflix series!
Julie was the star of a children’s program called Julie’s Greenroom .
She and a collection of celebrity guests taught performing arts to an assortment of puppet children (and one duck). It ran for 13 episodes.
5. She was a musical virtuoso by the age of 10.
Julie began singing with her mother and her step-father; the three had their own musical act .
From an early age, it was clear to see that Julie was going to be a star. She made her solo debut in 1947’s Starlight Roof .
6. Julie once had a 4-octave vocal range.
An octave, in simple terms, is an interval between one musical pitch and another that is double the frequency.
Remember when you were in school and you used to sing “Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do”? That’s an octave. Julie was renowned for her remarkable voice until one day, tragedy struck…
After a trip to the doctor, Julie was diagnosed with throat cancer and had to get vocal surgery.
The removal of vocal nodules is apparently fairly common. But something went wrong during Julie’s surgery.
She nearly lost the ability to speak, let alone sing. Her voice was never the same again.
7. Julie is in the Hall of Fame!
As I mentioned earlier, Julie’s career was born on Broadway. Back in 1997, she was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.
In order to qualify, inductees must have a minimum of 25 years of service rendered, as well as 5 major credits to their name.
8. Therapy saved her life.
During an interview with Stephen Colbert, Julie wasn’t shy about speaking about her mental health struggles.
She explained that without the introduction of therapy in her life, she wouldn’t be where she is today.
9. She’s an author!
Two times over, as a matter of fact. Julie’s first book was a published memoir titled “Home: A Memoir of My Early Years.”
More recently, Julie wrote a follow-up companion book all about her Hollywood years.
Which was nominated for the 2019 Goodreads Choice Award for “Best Memoir & Biography”!
In case you aren’t a huge bibliophile (fancy word for nerd) like me, Goodreads is like the Facebook of books.
They award excellence in literature, both fiction and non-fiction.
10. Julie has her own podcast for families!
The podcast is called Julie’s Library . She, along with her co-host Emma Walton, read and discuss a variety of different children’s books.
The goal is to encourage a love of learning and reading in children and families.
11. She refused to accept her Tony Award!
In a statement published via Playbill, Julie said,
“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.”
12. She wound up playing *Mary Poppins* by accident.
Julie had her eyes set on landing the role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady , a role she’d previously played on stage.
It was only after she’d lost out on the part to Audrey Hepburn that she accepted the role of Mary Poppins .
That year at the Academy Awards, Julie and Audrey were both nominated for Best Actress!
Julie ended up taking home the award. During her acceptance speech , she made sure to thank the man responsible for the whole evening.
The man who turned her down for the part of Eliza Doolittle — Mr. Jack Warner.
