Dame Julie Andrews is an English actress, singer and author who has starred in numerous films and stage plays throughout her career. She is perhaps best known for her roles in Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. She has won multiple awards and remained a beloved icon worldwide for many years.

Born Julia Elizabeth Wells on October 1, 1935, in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, she was raised in a musical family. Her mother was a piano player and her stepfather was a singer.

In 1964, she landed the iconic role of British nanny Mary Poppins in the original Mary Poppins. Her performance in this movie won her an Oscar. She also appeared in the sequels, The Return of Mary Poppins and The Adventures of Mary Poppins, which earned her another nomination for Best Actress.

She has starred in many Broadway shows, including the musicals My Fair Lady and Camelot. She has also lent her voice to several animated films, such as the Italian The Singing Princess, as well as the Shrek franchise and Despicable Me.

Her marriage to set designer Tony Walton in 1959 yielded a daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. She and husband Blake Edwards adopted two more daughters in the 1970s.

In 1969 she married director Blake Edwards, who is a legendary director behind movies such as Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther. They remained together for over four decades until Blake's death in 2012. She is the stepmother of Jennifer and Geoffrey Edwards, and is the grandmother to Amy and Joanna.