Julie Andrews Fast Facts

CNN  — 

Here is a look at the life of actress Julie Andrews.

Personal

Birth date: October 1, 1935

Birth place: Walton-on-Thames, United Kingdom

Birth name: Julia Elizabeth Wells

Father: Edward Wells, teacher

Mother: Barbara (Morris) Andrews, pianist

Marriages: Blake Edwards (1969-2010, his death); Tony Walton (1959-1968, divorced)

Children: adopted with Blake Edwards: Joanna, 1975, Amelia, 1974; with Tony Walton: Emma, 1962

Other Facts

Took stepfather Ted Andrews’ last name.

Is a children’s book author.

Nominated for three Academy Awards and won one.

Nominated for five Grammy Awards and won two. Also received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nominated for three Tony Awards.

Nominated for 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and won two.

Timeline

1946 - Performs at London’s Stage Door Canteen in front of Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI.

1954 - Moves to New York to play the lead role in the Broadway show “The Boy Friend.”

1956-1962 - Stars in “My Fair Lady” on Broadway.

1960-1963 - Stars in “Camelot” on Broadway.

1964 - Makes her screen debut in “Mary Poppins.”

1965 - Wins a Grammy Award, with Dick Van Dyke, for the 1964 Best Recording For Children for “Mary Poppins.”

1965 - Wins the 1964 Academy Award for Best Actress for “Mary Poppins.”

1965 - The film “The Sound of Music” is released.

1995-1997 - Stars in “Victor/Victoria” on Broadway.

1997 - Undergoes surgery to remove a non-cancerous growth on her vocal cords. The surgery causes her to lose her singing voice.

2000 - Andrews files a lawsuit against the surgeon who removed the growth from her vocal cords. After accepting an undisclosed settlement, the lawsuit is dropped.

2000 - Is made a Dame Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

2001 - Receives Kennedy Center Honors.

2008 - Publishes autobiography “Home: A Memoir of My Early Years.”

2011 - Wins a Grammy Award for 2010 Best Spoken Word Album For Children for “Julie Andrews’ Collection Of Poems, Songs, And Lullabies.”

2011 - Receives a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.

March 26, 2015 - Celebrates the 50th anniversary of “The Sound of Music” at the famed TLC Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

August 4, 2015 - Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events announces that Julie Andrews, Broadway’s original Eliza Doolittle, will be directing a new production of “My Fair Lady” at the Sydney Opera House to celebrate the musical’s 60th anniversary.

June 2, 2016 - Netflix announces that Andrews will star in the new show “Julie’s Greenroom,” premiering in 2017.

September 6, 2016 - The Julie Andrews-directed production of “My Fair Lady” officially opens at the Sydney Opera House.

June 20, 2019 - Netflix and Shondaland announce Andrews is set to voice a character in their new series based on Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series of historical romance novels.

October 15, 2019 - Andrews’ second memoir, “Home Work: A Memoir of My Early Years,” is published by Hachette Books.

April 2020 - Andrews and her daughter, children’s author and educator Emma Walton Hamilton, launch a weekly podcast, Julie’s Library, where they read their favorite children’s books.