The marvelous Julie Andrews
The beautiful and elegant Julie Andrews is an epitome of talent. She is an English film and stage actress, singer, author, theatre director and dancer. She made her debut in 1948 on the West End as child actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in a 1954 production of ‘The Boy Friend’. But, she raised to eminence in musicals such as May Fair Lady and Camelot. In 1957, she appeared on television with the title role in the musical Cinderella, which was seen by over 100 million viewers. She personified Cinderella’s character.
Julie Andrews portrayed poise, power, dedication, sophistication, grit and modesty of women through her various screen roles. She played so many shades of women’s individuality in her numerous characters: a free-spirited young Austrian woman studying as a postulant to become a nun in The Sound of Music, a young Cockney woman who sells flowers in My Fair Lady, a magical and loving woman who descends down from the clouds in response to the Banks children’s advertisement for a nanny. She is not only firm in her use of authority, but gentle and kind as well in Mary Poppins and many more subtle yet potent roles. In Americanization of Emily she played a noble British war widow who falls for a feckless US soldier. This was the first of the big American Julie Andrews films after leaving Camelot on Broadway. The film gave her an opportunity to demonstrate her talent as an actor.
With her mahagony hair, her glowing, porcelain-like skin, eyes framed by long lashes, a straight nose, full lips – she seemed the picture of perfection in her each movie. When she smiled, the world would sigh with gratification. When she laughed, her fans would laugh with her. And when she wept, the whole theater would want to comfort her. She won an Academy Award for playing the title role in Mary Poppins and was nominated for her performance in The Sound of Music. She won numerous accolades and wards in her long career.
She mentions in her biography ‘Home’ that she had lived in a bad slum area of London; she recalls that as very black period in her life. She had to live with her stepfather who was violent and an alcoholic man. Her parents parted their ways during the World War II. Andrews lived briefly with Ted Wells – her step father and her brother John in Surrey.
In her later life, Julie Andrews experienced a huge personal setback in the late 1990s, when her vocal chords were damaged during an operation. While she never regained her powerful, sharp singing voice, she continued to act in films and television movies. She is an inspiration to the womankind because she had to deal with some major challenges in her life. Instead of those experiences breaking her, they made her strong. She became a successful woman; she used her problems as stepping-stones. Julie Andrews has large fan following all over the. In my opinion, she is the most beautiful woman.
