ANDREWS, JULIE – SCREEN ACTORS GUILD LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Julie Andrews, who for more than a half-century has been a beloved and
much-honoured stage, film, television and recording star, as well as a
celebrated author and dedicated goodwill ambassador, will receive the Screen
Actors Guild Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian
accomplishment. Andrews will be presented the Award, given annually to an actor
who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” at the 13th Annual
Screen Actors Guild Awards, on Sunday, January 28, 2007.
In making the announcement, Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg said,
“Julie Andrews is a woman of great generosity, creativity, courage, elegance and
wit. She embodies and transcends the memorable roles she has created. Julie has
been a positive presence in my life and continues to inspire multiple
generations. I believe it is exceptionally significant to be recognized by
people who do the same work you do. Julie seems genuinely touched and thrilled
to be receiving an award from her fellow actors. I have assured her the honour
is ours.”
"a Broadway legend"
Julie Andrews was already a Broadway legend when she made her feature film
debut in 1964 with Mary Poppins. Her iconic performance in the title role of the
magical nanny brought her an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award.
The following year, she earned a second Oscar nomination and won another Golden
Globe for her unforgettable portrayal of Maria Von Trapp in “The Sound of
Music.” She received her third Academy Award nomination and won another Golden
Globe for her “dual” role in Victor/Victoria (1982).
Today’s young film audiences may be more familiar with Andrews as a queen trying
to train her teenaged granddaughter to be a princess in The Princess Diaries,
and its sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement. Andrews also
voiced the character of Queen Lillian in the summer 2004 blockbuster hit Shrek
2, and she is currently reprising her role in Shrek 3, due out in the summer of
2007.
Andrews’ other motion picture credits include The Americanization of Emily,
Hawaii, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Star! Darling Lili, Torn Curtain and 10, to
name only a few.
Julie Andrews was born and raised in England, where she first came to fame as a
young musical performer on stage and on radio. She was still in her teens when
she made her way across the Atlantic and to Broadway, where she made her debut
in 1953 in the musical The Boy Friend. She went on to create the role of Eliza
Doolittle in Lerner and Loewe’s Broadway musical My Fair Lady in 1956, which
became an instant classic and the longest-running musical of its day. Andrews
won a New York Drama Critics Award and garnered a Tony nomination for her
performance. She received another Tony nomination in 1961 when she originated
the role of Queen Guinevere in the Lerner and Loewe musical Camelot. Thirty-five
years later, Ms. Andrews returned to Broadway to star in the 1996 stage
adaptation of Victor/Victoria. Her career came full circle last year when she
directed a revival of The Boy Friend, which toured throughout North America.
Andrews has also been honoured for her work on television, beginning in 1957
with her Emmy-nominated performance in the title role of Rodgers and
Hammerstein’s musical Cinderella. She later won an Emmy for her own musical
variety series, The Julie Andrews Hour, and also earned Emmy nominations for
Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center, with her close friend Carol Burnett; her
appearance on The Andy Williams Show; and her performance in the special Sounds
of Christmas. Andrews’ more recent television work includes Eloise at the Plaza
and her Emmy-nominated performance in Eloise at Christmastime. She also
re-teamed for the third time with James Garner in the telefilm One Special
Night, starred opposite Christopher Plummer in the CBS live production of On
Golden Pond and hosted the Emmy-winning PBS series: Broadway: The American
Musical.
Already an accomplished best selling author (The Last of The Really Great
Whangdoodles, Mandy, Little Bo, Dumpy the Dump Truck), Andrews has joined
talents with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, to pursue the publishing of
books committed to stimulating a sense of wonder in children and young readers.
The Julie Andrews Collection, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, was
launched in October 2003 and has released 22 books to date. The Collection
includes newly discovered authors and re-purposing books out of print. The Dumpy
the Dump Truck franchise is currently being readied (with the Sesame Workshop)
as a television series for PBS, with an initial launch in 2007. Andrews and
Hamilton’s most recent novel, The Great American Mousical, was released earlier
this year to superb reviews and within one week became #7 on the New York Times
bestseller list for children’s books. This whimsical tribute to Broadway is
serving as inspiration for a newly built revival of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade of the Parade’s historic Storybook float, which will carry Andrews and
Hamilton in this year’s 80th Annual parade on November 23, 2006.
"exemplary achievements in the performing arts'"
Andrews received her honours as a Dame of the British Empire by Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II on New Year’s Eve 1999 for Lifetime Achievements in the Arts
and Humanities. For her exemplary achievements in the performing arts and
American culture, she was named a 2001 Kennedy Center Honoree.
As a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
for 15 years, Andrews travelled as an advocate for women’s human rights and
economic security. With her husband, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Blake
Edwards, she is a founding board member of Operation U.S.A., which has provided
privately funded worldwide relief and development assistance since its inception
in 1979.
Andrews and Edwards, who have been married for nearly 37 years, have five
children and seven grandchildren.
Published October 5, 2006
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