Julie Andrews- Bio, Net Worth & Family

Who Is Julie Andrews?

Julie Andrews was a smash on the English stage before transferring to Broadway, where she won Tony Awards for roles in Camelot and My Fair Lady.

She was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in The Sound of Music and won for her performance in Mary Poppins. 

Julie Andrews went on to work on a series of critically acclaimed films with her husband Blake Edwards, and in 2000 she was made an English dame.

Quick Facts about Julie Andrews

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Early Life and Family

Julia Elizabeth Wells was born in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on October 1st, 1935.

Although Ted Wells adopted her, she had a new father when her mother had an affair with a family acquaintance. 

Julie Andrews during her childhood

Julie’s true father was a family friend. Despite finding out about it, in 1950, Andrews kept it a secret until 2008, when her autobiography was published.

Julie’s parents divorced soon after the outbreak of World War II.

She stayed with Ted Well for a short time before being returned to live with her mother in 1940. 

Her mother and her new husband were poor, but Ted Wells felt that they would be best suited to help Julie prosper in the film business since they had a few contacts. 

On the other hand, Julie’s stepfather was a drunken alcoholic who attempted to assault her on many occasions sexually.

On the other hand, Julie’s stepfather and mother were emerging stars in the local theater scene and paid for her acting classes.

Andrews started voice lessons with a well-known British soprano singer at an independent arts educational school. Julie was clearly on the fast track of greatness.

Career of Julie Andrew

Julie Andrews began her career on stage, performing with her parents in several productions.

Her stepfather eventually introduced her to Val Parnell, a businessman of considerable clout in London’s live music venues. 

Julie Andrews gave a professional solo performance at the London Hippodrome in 1947. Following that, she appeared at the London Palladium in front of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

She worked in radio and television for five years before appearing in West End theater productions.

In 1952, she made her voice acting debut as Princess Zeila in the Italian animated film “The Singing Princess.”

Julie Andrews made her Broadway debut in 1954 with the musical “The Boy Friend.”

She went on to star in “My Fair Lady” and then in the made-for-TV film “High Tor.”

Andrews made her debut in 1963 with the title role in “Mary Poppins” after performing in a series of variety and talk shows in the 1950s and early 1960s. 

Andrews was cast because Walt Disney insisted on it, and the film became her greatest box office hit at the time. The Academy awarded her Best Actress prize for her performance.

Andrews followed up with “The Sound of Music” in 1965, another hugely successful film with strong box office returns.

This film ranks third highest in United States history after accounting for inflation. Julie’s starring performance earned her further accolades, including a Golden Globe nomination and an Academy Award nomination.

Andrews’ career, unfortunately, took a nosedive after these two major victories.

Julie’s films “Star!” and “Darling Lili” were both box office bombs, and she shifted her focus to tv. Between 1972 and 1973, she presented her own variety show for a year. 

She shifted her attention to television appearances until the mid-1990s when she lost her singing voice.

Andrews had surgery after doctors told her she had cancerous nodules that needed to be removed.

Julie later discovered that her lack of voice resulted from a comparatively simple strain from a former occupation and that the operation permanently weakened her vocal cords. 

She sued the doctors who performed her surgery for malpractice in 1999. In 2000, an undisclosed amount was paid for the case. Julie’s speech was never the same after that.

After this setback, Julie Andrews had to face serious consequences. However, she rebounded in 2001 with a role in “The Princess Diaries.”

She also appeared in the sequel to the film. She landed a voice acting part as Queen Lillian in “Shrek 2” in 2004. She appeared in many spin-offs and sequels. 

She has had a voice acting role in “Despicable Me” and its sequels, where she played Marlena Gru.

Julie Andrews: Relationships and Marriage

Julie married Tony Walton, a stage builder, in her first engagement.

Since having one child together, she married him in 1959, and they divorced in 1967. 

Andrews then married agent Blake Edwards. Edwards died in 2010, and their union lasted from 1969 to 2010. They adopted two Vietnamese daughters: Joanna and Amelia, during their relationship.

Film Projects With Husband Blake Edwards

Following her role as a fellow actress/singer Gertrude Lawrence in Star! (1968), Andrews only acted in a few films in the 1970s, including The Tamarind Seed (1974) and 10 Years (1976). 

Her second husband, Blake Edwards, directed the latter, which starred British comedian Dudley Moore and actress Bo Derek.

During the 1980s, Andrews seemed ready for new opportunities.

S.O.B., a cynical look at Hollywood directed by Edwards, was released in 1981, and she starred in it. 

Andrews earned her third Oscar nomination the following year for Victor/Victoria, in which she plays a character who pretends to be a male pretending to be a woman. 

After working with Edwards again, she was reunited with her leading man, Garner. 

Andrews collaborated on several collaborations with her husband during her lifetime, including Darling Lili (1970), The Guy Who Loved Women (1983), and That’s Life! (1986).

Andrews made her Broadway comeback in 1996 with the stage production of Victor/Victoria. 

The role in the musical earned her her third Tony nomination. However, she declined the award, claiming that the majority of the cast had been ignored.

Dame Commander

Andrews was also given a special honor by Queen Elizabeth II at the turn of the century when she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

She portrayed a queen in the films The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement as befitting an English dame (2004).

Julie Andrews: Filmography

Voice Roles, Books, and Lifetime Achievement Recognition

Andrews went on to voice Queen Lillian in the anime film series Shrek for several installments.

She also played Gru’s mother in the 2010 film Despicable Me, and she reprised her part in the 2017 sequel. 

Andrews turned down a role in the 2018 revival of Mary Poppins in favor of voicing the all-powerful sea monster Karathen in Aquaman. 

In the 2020 series Bridgerton, she also voiced Lady Whistledown, the narrator.

She has written many children’s books for her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, from her first marriage to Tony Walton after losing her singing voice on purpose.

Andrews wrote Home: A Memoir of My Early Years in 2008. Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years followed in 2019.

Andrews won the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2007 for her professional achievements and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy a few years later.

Lady Gaga performed a Sound of Music tribute for her at the 87th Annual Academy Awards in 2015. 

Andrews was also revealed as the director of a My Fair Lady production at the Sydney Opera House in 2016 to commemorate the work’s 60th anniversary.

Andrews continued her involvement for children and the arts by co-creating and starring in Julie’s Greenroom, a Netflix preschool television series that debuted in March 2017.

With schools around the world closed due to the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, the celebrated actress announced the arrival of Julie’s Library: Story Time with Julie Andrews, a podcast she will co-host with her daughter and her regular writing collaborator, Emma.

Julie Andrews’s Net Worth 

Julie Andrew’s primary source of income is acting.

While she acquired most of her wealth through it, she also made a good living from her music and other riches.

Earning from acting

Julie Andrew has starred in 49 films and television programs since 1945. Andrew made $125,000 from the Mary Poppins film, which launched her acting career.

Julie made her film debut in The Sound of Music a year later. Julie Andrews earned $225,000 from this film.

Julie Andrews was paid $1 million for her role in Thoroughly Modern Millie in 1967. 

Julie Andrews is credited with $814,616,092 in worldwide box office receipts. 

This huge sum was earned thanks to her leading role in 14 films. 

As a result, Julie Andrews gathered the majority of her wealth through acting.

Earning through singing

Julie Andrews is a singer as well as an actress.

During her brief musical career, she has recorded a number of songs.

Julie has so far published 43 musical songs. The majority of these were purchased in large quantities. 

Aside from that, she has 354 musical songs on the SoundCloud website. She has 171 fans on this website.

Earning through real estate

Julie Andrews’ real estate firm has reaped some rewards. Her Brentwood home is on the market for $2.649 million. She was able to make some money later on as a result of this.

Earnings Summary of Julie Andrews

• Yearly Income: $7.72 million
• Monthly Income: $643k
• Weekly Income: $148k
• Daily Income: $21k
• Hourly Income: $881