- The London press reported that Miss Andrews's settlement for her botched throat surgery was nearly 21 million British pounds, or about 30 million U.S. dollars. (2001)
- Was created a Dame by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on the Millenium New Year's Honours List on December 31, 1999.
- Has had one of her ankle bone joints replaced with a titanium implant to avoid being confined to a wheelchair. Andrews had to turn down the role of Aunt Emma in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) owing to her period of recovery after the operation.
- Her husband reported that she would probably never sing again because the throat surgery had ruined her voice. (November 1998)
- Changed her last name from Wells to Andrews when her mother married her stepfather Ted Andrews.
- According to Andrews, Walt Disney originally approached her to read for the part of Mary Poppins after a performance of the Broadway show, Camelot. Andrew's told Disney she could not take the part because she was pregnant. Disney responded, "That's all right. I'll wait.".
- Thanked only Walt Disney by name in her Oscar acceptance speech.
- While she played the original Eliza Dolittle in the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady", Audrey Hepburn played the part in the movie My Fair Lady (1964). The studio executives did not want Andrews because she hadn't had any experience in film and thought Hepburn would be the better choice. However, while the film My Fair Lady took home several Oscars in 1964, it failed to win the Best Actress category. That award went to none other than Julie Andrews for her performance in Mary Poppins (1964).
- Turned down her Tony nomination for "Victor/Victoria" for Best Actress in a Musical in 1996 because the rest of the cast and crew were overlooked for consideration.
- Is the only actress to be nominated for (and later win) the Oscar in the Lead Actress category in a Walt Disney film (Mary Poppins (1964)).
- "Your Crowning Glory" from The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), was the first song she had sung in public or on screen since she had throat surgery in 1997. She reportedly nailed the song on the first take, and brought tears to the eyes of the crew present.
- Possessed a five-octave coloratura soprano range until a vocal nodule surgery mishap ruined her singing voice.
- Learned to play the guitar specifically for the role of "Maria" in The Sound of Music (1965).
- She adopted two daughters from Vietnam with Blake Edwards, Amelia Edwards (b. 1974) and Joanna Lynne Edwards (b. 1975).
- Has perfect pitch.
- Could sing notes only dogs could hear at the age of seven.
- Spent some time in a psychiatric clinic, to help her cope with the trauma resulting from her throat surgery.
- After the success of Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965), she declined huge offers for more nanny roles with the explanation: "I've done that.".
- She was the youngest person ever to appear in a Royal Command Performance. She performed for King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth/Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.
- Best friends with Carol Burnett. Carol is godmother of Julie's daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton.
- She has a rose named after her.
- Returned to work 4 months after giving birth to her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton to begin filming Mary Poppins (1964).
- Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is directly in front of the new addition to the Chinese Theatre. The star was dedicated on 5 Oct, 1979.
- Was one of the first women to be named a Disney Legend (and inducted into the Disney Hall of Fame). She was in the 1991 class with animator Mary Blair.
- In 1969, when MGM cancelled their proposed Irving Berlin musical biography "Say it With Music" in which she was set to star, she sued the studio and collected her $1,250,000 salary.
- Has owned a chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, for many years. Every year she pays for Gstaad's Christmas lights. In July she presents the prize for the winner of the annual Gstaad Tennis Open. She once said if she was nervous before a performance on stage, she'd just have to look at a photo from 'lovely' Gstaad, and she was reassured.
- She has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965).
- Was passed over for the role on Eliza Dolittle in favor of Audrey Hepburn for the film My Fair Lady (1964). Unlike Andrews, however, Hepburn was not a natural singer. She took voice lessons and recorded the tracks for the movie, but the producers, without telling Audrey, dubbed her voice with that of Marni Nixon. Nixon appeared with Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965).
- When Tony Walton proposed to her, he gave her a brooch instead of a ring.
- Was selected by the Walt Disney Company to become the Offical Ambassador for "The Happiest Homecoming On Earth: Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Celebration".
- In the 1960s she sported a bumper sticker on her car reading "Mary Poppins is a junkie".
- Sings scales rather than songs in the shower.
- She was chosen for her 3rd film role in 'The Sound of Music' before her two previous films had been released.
- According to her autobiography, she first saw second husband Blake Edwards at a party while she and first husband Tony Walton were on their honeymoon. She and Blake did not become friends until several years later.
- Musically, she had always preferred singing music that was "bright and sunny", choosing to avoid songs that were sad, depressing, upsetting, or written in a minor key, for fear of losing her voice "in a mess of emotion". She cited this as yet another reason for avoiding opera.
- Is one of 4 actresses to win the Best Actress Oscar for their film debut (for Mary Poppins (1964)). The others are Shirley Booth (for Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)), Barbra Streisand (for Funny Girl (1968)), and Marlee Matlin (for Children of a Lesser God (1986)).
- Her performance as Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins (1964) is ranked #45 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
- Recepient of a 2011 Lifetime Achievement Grammy.
- In 2002, she was voted the 59th greatest Briton ever in a BBC poll.
- Played the same role of "Victoria Grant" in the Broadway musical adaption of Victor/Victoria (1982). She turned down a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
- During the Vietnam War, she and Blake Edwards both became involved with the Committee of Responsibility, which brought severely injured children from the war zone to the US for treatment. Their involvement led them to adopt two Vietnamese abandoned children.
- Met husband-to-be Blake Edwards after she'd heard that he once described her as being, "...so sweet she probably has violets between her legs." Andrews was so entertained by the remark she sent Edwards a bunch of violets accompanied by a note. They began dating and later married.
- She was considered to voice Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast (1991).
- She was supposed to reprise her stage role of Guinivere in Camelot (1967) opposite Richard Burton as King Arthur, but had become such a popular film star by this time, that she was unable to accept the role. .
- Received a standing ovation at The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003) when she appeared to present a short film celebration sequence.
- Is one of 15 actresses to have won both the Best Actress Academy Award and the Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical Golden Globe for the same performance; hers being for Mary Poppins (1964). The others, in chronological order, are: Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday (1950), Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl (1968), Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972), Glenda Jackson for A Touch of Class (1973), Diane Keaton for Annie Hall (1977), Sissy Spacek for Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Cher for Moonstruck (1987), 'Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Helen Hunt for As Good as It Gets (1997), Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love (1998), Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005), Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose (2007), Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and Emma Stone for La La Land (2016).
- Uses the pen-name 'Julie Edwards'.
- Is one of nine actresses to have won an Academy Award for their performance in a musical. The others in chronological order are; Rita Moreno, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Emma Stone, and Ariana DeBose.
- She played Eliza in 'My Fair Lady' for 2 years Broadway and 18 months in London and didn't miss one performance.
- She was considered for Nancy in Oliver! (1968).
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content