Julie Andrews: “You've Always Got To Entertain”
Reader's Digest UK|June 2020
Dame Julie Andrews reflects on her most iconic roles, the changing face of the entertainment industry and what really makes a great cup of tea
Violet Wilder
Julie Andrews: “You've Always Got To Entertain”

LONGEVITY IN THE movie world is a commodity few can lay claim to, not least when the projects that made a certain star famous were being projected onto cinema screens over five decades ago. By that notion then, it seems unfathomable that Julie Andrews, an octogenarian—albeit only in age, given the elegance, sharpness and energy she invests in press and social engagements—hadn’t even hit 30 when Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music enchanted a nation.

Those two movies, released within seven months of each other as a cheerful, charming countenance to the vigour and fervour of the emerging Swinging Sixties, weren’t the first taste of success Julie had experienced. Raised in Waltonon-Thames in Surrey, her parents separated when she was young, and while the relationship with her father was strong, it was her mother’s desire to perform that ultimately influenced the performer.

Having endured a level of poverty and hardship with mother Barbara and new partner Ted Andrews, the UK’s emergence out of wartime saw a huge demand for the entertainment doyennes who had so greatly livened the spirits of troops. And by 1954, having already performed on the West End stage and at the London Palladium, she found herself leaving UK shores for a stint on Broadway.

“The speed with which opportunities came along was really very reflective of how the country was getting back on its feet after the war,” she begins. “I’ve always considered myself very fortunate to have been the age I was, at a time when people were thrilled to be free again, desperate to be entertained and intent on moving forward without fear of what war brought about.”

Esta historia es de la edición June 2020 de Reader's Digest UK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición June 2020 de Reader's Digest UK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE READER'S DIGEST UKVer todo
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Reader's Digest UK

EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME

Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
May Fiction
Reader's Digest UK

May Fiction

An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month

time-read
1 min  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Wine Not
Reader's Digest UK

Wine Not

In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Train Booking Hacks
Reader's Digest UK

Train Booking Hacks

With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices

time-read
4 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Reader's Digest UK

JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again

time-read
8 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
My Britain: Cheltenham
Reader's Digest UK

My Britain: Cheltenham

A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!

time-read
6 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Reader's Digest UK

GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB

Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.

time-read
6 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
Reader's Digest UK

Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant

After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Reader's Digest UK

Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World

Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Stand Tall, Ladies
Reader's Digest UK

Stand Tall, Ladies

Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024