A Spoonful Of Therapy

THE WAKE-UP CALL that saved Julie’s life

Dame Julie Andrews is in a reflective mood. With the upcoming release of her second memoir Home Work, the beloved star is dishing on some of the more surprising aspects of her life – and it’s not all raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

From surviving a violent and alcoholic stepfather in the slums of 1940s London, her childhood performing vaudeville with her parents, and her big break playing everyone’s favourite magical nanny Mary Poppins, right through to the trauma of losing her singing voice after a botched operation, divorce, and the death of her soulmate Blake Edwards, it’s no wonder she says therapy saved her life.

“Sadly, I separated from my lovely first husband. The marriage was over and my head was so full of clutter and garbage,” says Julie (84). “I went and got into [therapy] and it saved my life in a way. These days there’s no harm in sharing it.

“It was one of those a-ha moments, believe me. When my therapist said, ‘Good God, woman, don’t you want to be happy?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, ah, well, um…’ My mother had always said to me, ‘Don’t you dare get a swollen head. Don’t you dare think you’re the best.’ Over time, I got over that.”

It’s been an emotional time for Julie, who co-wrote the book with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton (56) from journals she kept right through her Hollywood career. The family involvement has meant a lot of laughs, tears and “endless cups of tea” between the two women.