Dame Julie Andrews, one of the most beloved stars in Hollywood, celebrates her 80th birthday today. She has been a major figure on stage and screen for most of her life, having begun her career on the stage in the U.K. as a child.
Andrews made her stage debut in 1945, when she was just 10 years old. She was only 13 when she first performed in a Royal Command Variety Performance at the London Palladium. Just as she turned 19, she made her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend. She was then cast in My Fair Lady and, at that point, her career was off and running.
While Andrews was not cast to play Eliza Doolittle in the 1964 film of My Fair Lady, she was cast in Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins. She even won the Best Actress Oscar, although My Fair Lady beat out Mary Poppins for Best Picture.
Mary Poppins suddenly turned Andrews into an overnight star and continued racking up hit after hit with The Americanization of Emily, The Sound of Music (which earned her another Best Actress nomination) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain.
The end of the ‘60s and early ‘70s weren’t so kind to Andrews as musicals began to die out. But, she did turn to television for most of the ‘70s, but she made a movie comeback with Victor Victoria in 1982, which was directed by her second husband, the late Blake Edwards. It earned her a third Oscar nomination.
Andrews still works and experienced another career revival by starring in Disney’s Princess Diaries movies. Just last month, it was announced that Andrews will direct a production of My Fair Lady at the Sydney Opera House in 2016.
We wish Andrews a happy birthday!