British icon of the week: Dame Julie Andrews, the actress who is “practically perfect in every way” | Anglophenia

Lady Julie andrews celebrates her birthday on Friday (October 1st), so we’re celebrating by making this true legend our UK Icon of the Week. Here’s a hands-on guide to some of his most significant – and surprising professional accomplishments.

1. She won an Oscar for her film debut in Mary poppins.

Technically Andrews had film credit before that – providing the voice of a princess in an English dub of the Italian animated film The Rose of Baghdad – corn Mary poppins was her first live role. And it was not only great but, but supercali …

2. She has won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture or Musical three times.

It is a record that she holds jointly with Rosalind Russell. Andrews victories came for Mary poppins, The sound of music, and Victor / Victoria, and she has been nominated in this category five more times over the years.

3. She has also won a BAFTA Film Award, two Emmys, three Grammys, Kennedy Center Honors and an Honorary Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival.

Hope she has a large trophy cabinet!

4. She made a stint as a drag queen … sort of.

In the 1982 film Victor / Victoria, directed by Andrews husband Blake edwardsAndrews plays Victoria Grant, a struggling singer who masquerades as the flamboyant impersonator of Earl Victor Grazinski in a bid to revive her career. It is one of his most accomplished and ambitious performances.

5. His career contains a few other surprises.

When it appeared in 2014 on The Graham Norton Show, Andrews spoke about his role in SOB, a 1981 black comedy directed by Edwards that required a brief, “legitimate” moment of partial nudity. “It took 10 years to make the movie,” she recalls, “so I had 10 years to think about it!”

6. She has a second career as a prolific writer of children’s books.

Andrews has written a range of children’s books, many in collaboration with his daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, including the popular Dumpy the dump truck series and the memorable title The last of the very good Whangdoodles.

7. She is definitely a woman of principle.

In 1996, Andrews declined a Tony Award nomination for his performance in a Broadway adaptation of Victor / Victoria because it was the only nomination of the production. “I searched my conscience and my heart and I am afraid of not being able to accept this nomination”, she had then declared, according to UPI. “I prefer to stay with the largely neglected cast and crew.”

8. In 2000, she was named Lady by the Queen Elisabeth II for performing arts services.

According to Andrews, when she went to Buckingham Palace for her investiture ceremony, the British monarch told her, “I’ve been waiting for a long time to see you here. Adorable!

9. She is gracious to be best known for her family films.

“The thing is … Poppins and Sound of music were so successful that they ousted and eliminated the less kid-friendly movies I made, like [1966’s epic drama] Hawaii and [1964’s war-themed black comedy] The Americanization of Emily“said Andrews The Guardian Last year. “It’s just the way things fell and I would never hit it and I am absolutely grateful for everything I got.”

10. She’s still going strong.

Andrews lends a great deal of gravity to Bridgerton like the voice of Lady Whistledown, proving once again that when it comes to hiring a narrator, there is no such thing as a Lady with impeccably crisp diction.

Do you have a favorite performance from Dame Julie Andrews?