Everyone who knows me even remotely well knows one thing for sure: I love Julie Andrews, always have, always will. I was raised on her movies: I watched The Sound of Music daily as a child, and on especially windy days I would head outside with my favorite umbrella and try desperately to fly away like Mary Poppins. As I matured, my tastes did as well. I devoured films like Victor/Victoria, Torn Curtain, and Star!, and Thoroughly Modern Millie as fast as I possibly could, and began reading various books by and about my favorite Dame, hoping to learn more about what made her so great.
While her films, albums, and books are what drew me to her in the first place, Julie Andrews as a woman has also had great impact on my life, more so than any of the characters she’s portrayed in her films. In celebration of her 80th birthday, here are three of the many life lessons that I’ve learned (and that everyone can learn) from Julie Andrews.
1. No matter where you come from, anything is possible with hard work and a positive outlook.
Born in 1935, Andrews’ parents divorced soon after her birth, and her mother remarried in 1939 when she was only four years old. Ted Andrews, her new stepfather, brought a series of unwelcome changes into her life. Both he and her mother descended into alcoholism, and the family soon moved to a poor slum of London due to a lack of steady income. Twice while intoxicated Ted attempted to force himself onto his stepdaughter, yet the two frequently performed together, along with her mother, on the British vaudeville circuit. Despite her troubled upbringing, Andrews refused to let these hard times hold her back, kept her head up, kept performing, and went on to become one of the most beloved actresses of all time.
2. It is possible to be a successful mother and have a successful career.
Andrews began filming her first film, Mary Poppins, just months after giving birth to her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, and even though she was burdened with the pressures of being a movie star, she often brought her daughter to the set in order to spend as much time as possible with her. This was also true during the filming of The Sound of Music – traveling to Austria without her husband, Andrews alone was the main caretaker for her daughter while filming a movie for which her presence was required for nearly every scene. Following The Sound of Music, her increased fame and success, and the addition of four more children to her family, Andrews would still rise early every morning to ensure that each of her children had a healthy breakfast and was sent off to school. In an age where women were often told that being a working mother was impossible, Julie Andrews proved them wrong, and serves as a model for women even today that it is possible to fulfill yourself professionally and at home.
3. It’s possible to be classy and sassy at the same time.
Coinciding with her proper nanny image, Julie Andrews is known to be one of the classiest women in Hollywood. Although, as she often says about herself, “sometimes I’m so sweet even I can’t stand it”, Andrews has found a way to balance class and an active sense of humor. Also known for her sarcasm and vocabulary full of profanities, she is a perfect example for women who would like to be considered “ladies” but find the title to constrictive. Using a few bad words or the occasionally sassy eye roll doesn’t mean that a person isn’t nice, classy, or worthy of being taken seriously, and no one shows this better than Andrews.
So, happy belated birthday Julie Andrews. Thank you for teaching me so much, and continuing to be a source of inspiration for women across the world. You truly are “practically perfect in every way.”
Images: Tumblr.com