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Julie Andrews
Julie An Intimate Biography
Hardcover
First published March 8, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
January 11, 2017
I can't believe it's taken me so long to read this! My late aunt bought this for my birthday probably over ten years ago because I've always adored Julie Andrews since I was a little girl watching her in Mary Poppins. The book was riveting from start to finish. Highly recommend
July 12, 2015
How do you solve a problem like Julie? You don't because she does not pose much of a problem to most. This bio is well written and follows Julie Andrews long and distinguished career on and off stage. The author is true to form on labeling it an intimate biography as he clearly is a fan and there wasn'tmmuch dirt dished up here. But then it is Julie Andrews and it would be difficult finding much dirt as she is quite careful about not showing any. And because of this we are never quite sure we know who this woman really is. Some glimpses though, her difficult childhood, her rather bizarre first marriage, and the slings and arrows along with the accolades she accumulated. The challenge in Julie's career came early as she had such unprecedented success with "My Fair Lady", "Mary Poppins", and "The Sound of Music." The voice was never the issue for her, none like it really, it was the type casting as the well scrubbed nanny. After these came attempt after attempt to make her into the sexy Julie which just did not work with the popularity in the public view. Many flops and yawners made up this body of work some with the collaboration of her new husband, Blake Edwards. Not until "Victor, Victoria" did she see some success, but a real stretch in believability. Her accomplishments in her musical career however have never been in question as she is pretty much one of a kind. The unfortunate outcome of her throat surgery is truly sad but it is also hard to imagine that a period of decline would have still ensued anyway.
October 6, 2008
Although I actually love Julie Andrews this book was just OK. It was easy to put down. I think the author was trying a little too hard to be thorough and at times it read like a disjointed filmography rather than a biography. I definitely enjoyed the personal nature of her autobiography 'Home' a lot more!
September 11, 2008
Too hard to read. The author is very choppy and I couldn't follow him very well. Jumped around a lot.
February 2, 2009
Julie Andrews: An Intimate Biography is a wholesome book about an actress, singer, director and writer. From her beginnings in vaudeville as a young prodigy to her recent roles in Shreck the Third and The Princess Diaries 2, Julie Andrews still has leading star quality. Her performing career has spanned over five decades. She has been married to screenwriter and director Blake Edwards for thirty-five years. This biography includes a filmography and descriptions of the children's books she has written with her daughter, Emma. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Julie Andrews' accomplishments and seeing her photographs. I would recommend this book.
December 9, 2009
It has never been a favorite of mine to read about movie stars or sports stars -- 99.9% of them are living in fantasy land. However, Julie Andrews has always been one of the very few stars whom I like. And now I am intimately familiar with the events of Dame Julie's life. Even so, she remains a mysterious, seemingly aloof British icon (American, too). Words like dignity and poise are just not associated with people of her profession anymore. Granted, she is not without her Hollywood faults: cosmetic surgery, suing people for tons of money, inevitable drama fueled by critics and blood thirsty media. But she will always remain an honest role model, I think.
March 25, 2015
Julie Andrews is one of my all times favorites. Reading her life story was so interesting. I did get bogged down in some of the detail and in the going back and forth in time. There was a lot of name dropping; but the names were all part of her story. Julie has packed so much into her 80 years and has brought so many people joy. Her talent and life has touched mine and I'm grateful.
February 16, 2018
I skimmed a lot of this. After reading her beautiful autobiography, this fell flat for me. There was a lot of Hollywood history and not enough about Julie herself. It kind of read like a filmography with some quotes from Julie mixed in.
June 8, 2009
Got bored with it. Hopefully Julie Andrews will write the rest of her own story someday.
May 14, 2026
I read in a biography of Barbra Streisand that Barbra was more talented than Julie Andrews. This wounded me to the quick, because I had always thought of Julie Andrews as the more talented of the two. What better way to settle the issue, I thought, than to read a biography of Julie Andrews?
The first thing that struck me about this biography was the stunning picture of Julie Andrews on the cover, especially her beautiful eyes. I had never particularly thought of Julie Andrews as a beauty, but she certainly is in this photo. I also never thought of Julie Andrews as sexy (maybe her nice girl reputation?) but she certainly is in her off-set picture with a motorcycle during the making of *Star!* The book makes the point repeatedly that Julie Andrews's arms and legs are too spindly for her to be a beauty or a sex object. In this she compares about the same to Barbra Streisand, who similarly was not generally considered sexy or beautiful.
One indication of the way Barbra Streisand dominated the industry was the number of times Barbra was mentioned in this biography, far more than Julie Andrews was mentioned in the Barbra Streisand biography I read. Julie Andrews was directly compared to Barbra Streisand in contrasting the two 1968 films *Funny Girl* which was wildly successful to *Star!*, which flopped. After her next film, *Darling Lili*, also flopped, Stirling declared "Julie Andrews was now officially box office poison."
One of the reasons I read this book was to see if Julie Andrews was as awful a person as Barbra Streisand. My friend Adrienne included a note with the Streisand biography that we both read that says: "This is an awful, AWFUL (rich) woman!" I think Adrienne is right. One orchestra member once said of Streisand: "I have played for some of the finest opera singers in the world but I have never come across anything so reminiscent of a prima donna."
Based on this biography Julie Andrews could never be called a prima donna. She is quoted as saying, "Because I am Blake's wife, I try very hard not to pull rank." And that seems to be the case. Julie also turned down a Tony award nomination, something I can’t imagine Barbra ever doing. Although one thing I found it hard to wrap my head around, is that Julie Andrews had (maybe still has) a foul mouth. "She swears like a Marine," one fellow entertainer said. Later on in the book another says, "Hearing Julie Andrews swear for the first time always causes a sensation."
Another comparison I made between Julie Andrews and Barbra Streisand was as songwriters. I did not know Julie Andrews was a songwriter until I looked it up. This book mentions two songs that Julie wrote: "Time is my Friend" and "When you were a tadpole and I was a fish." Then again, I didn’t know Barbra Streisand was a songwriter until I read it in the biography of her. She wrote "Evergreen"? I never knew! The again, my wife is the one who keeps up on pop culture, not me. Although Barbra Streisand won several awards for "Evergreen", Julie Andrews never won an award for songwriting. That doesn’t keep me from not particularly caring for "Evergreen". I like "Time is my Friend" better, although it is clear why it never won an award. "When you were a tadpole and I was a fish" was a song Julie Andrews sang to Kermit the frog on Sesame Street. It’s not going to win any awards either, but it is cute.
Going along with Julie Andrews children's song, is the fact that she wrote over 30 children's books. This is one of the many facts I didn’t know until I read this book. I promptly reserved several from my local library.
One of the annoying things about the Barbra Streisand biography was the way they were always playing her up; for example calling her the greatest contemporary entertainer. So I had my concerns when the Julie Andrews biography started with statements like "*Sound of Music* made her the most famous woman in the world," and quoting Moss Hart, "there can never be another career like hers," and "*Sound of Music* is the biggest hit of all time." But these all are early in the book, and after these the over-the-top laudatory statements all but disappeared to be replaced by more moderated statements, for example, "Victor/Victoria proved the star's name was still box office gold."
I have to reluctantly admit that Barbra Streisand was a bigger star than Julie Andrews. This is clear to me from the fact that I recognized nearly all movie titles that Barbra was in but only about half of the movies Julie was in. Plus I found that Barbra Streisand won many more awards than Julie Andrews (but Barbra Streisand was never named Dame Commander of the British Empire!) I hate to say it but I think some of this has to do with Julie Andrews' marriage to movie director Blake Edwards, whose work suffers by comparison to Barbra Streisand's. But I suspect Julie Andrews led a happier life than Barbra, who’s always seemed to be dissatisfied with her work. And I *still* think Julie Andrews is more talented than Barbara Streisand.
The first thing that struck me about this biography was the stunning picture of Julie Andrews on the cover, especially her beautiful eyes. I had never particularly thought of Julie Andrews as a beauty, but she certainly is in this photo. I also never thought of Julie Andrews as sexy (maybe her nice girl reputation?) but she certainly is in her off-set picture with a motorcycle during the making of *Star!* The book makes the point repeatedly that Julie Andrews's arms and legs are too spindly for her to be a beauty or a sex object. In this she compares about the same to Barbra Streisand, who similarly was not generally considered sexy or beautiful.
One indication of the way Barbra Streisand dominated the industry was the number of times Barbra was mentioned in this biography, far more than Julie Andrews was mentioned in the Barbra Streisand biography I read. Julie Andrews was directly compared to Barbra Streisand in contrasting the two 1968 films *Funny Girl* which was wildly successful to *Star!*, which flopped. After her next film, *Darling Lili*, also flopped, Stirling declared "Julie Andrews was now officially box office poison."
One of the reasons I read this book was to see if Julie Andrews was as awful a person as Barbra Streisand. My friend Adrienne included a note with the Streisand biography that we both read that says: "This is an awful, AWFUL (rich) woman!" I think Adrienne is right. One orchestra member once said of Streisand: "I have played for some of the finest opera singers in the world but I have never come across anything so reminiscent of a prima donna."
Based on this biography Julie Andrews could never be called a prima donna. She is quoted as saying, "Because I am Blake's wife, I try very hard not to pull rank." And that seems to be the case. Julie also turned down a Tony award nomination, something I can’t imagine Barbra ever doing. Although one thing I found it hard to wrap my head around, is that Julie Andrews had (maybe still has) a foul mouth. "She swears like a Marine," one fellow entertainer said. Later on in the book another says, "Hearing Julie Andrews swear for the first time always causes a sensation."
Another comparison I made between Julie Andrews and Barbra Streisand was as songwriters. I did not know Julie Andrews was a songwriter until I looked it up. This book mentions two songs that Julie wrote: "Time is my Friend" and "When you were a tadpole and I was a fish." Then again, I didn’t know Barbra Streisand was a songwriter until I read it in the biography of her. She wrote "Evergreen"? I never knew! The again, my wife is the one who keeps up on pop culture, not me. Although Barbra Streisand won several awards for "Evergreen", Julie Andrews never won an award for songwriting. That doesn’t keep me from not particularly caring for "Evergreen". I like "Time is my Friend" better, although it is clear why it never won an award. "When you were a tadpole and I was a fish" was a song Julie Andrews sang to Kermit the frog on Sesame Street. It’s not going to win any awards either, but it is cute.
Going along with Julie Andrews children's song, is the fact that she wrote over 30 children's books. This is one of the many facts I didn’t know until I read this book. I promptly reserved several from my local library.
One of the annoying things about the Barbra Streisand biography was the way they were always playing her up; for example calling her the greatest contemporary entertainer. So I had my concerns when the Julie Andrews biography started with statements like "*Sound of Music* made her the most famous woman in the world," and quoting Moss Hart, "there can never be another career like hers," and "*Sound of Music* is the biggest hit of all time." But these all are early in the book, and after these the over-the-top laudatory statements all but disappeared to be replaced by more moderated statements, for example, "Victor/Victoria proved the star's name was still box office gold."
I have to reluctantly admit that Barbra Streisand was a bigger star than Julie Andrews. This is clear to me from the fact that I recognized nearly all movie titles that Barbra was in but only about half of the movies Julie was in. Plus I found that Barbra Streisand won many more awards than Julie Andrews (but Barbra Streisand was never named Dame Commander of the British Empire!) I hate to say it but I think some of this has to do with Julie Andrews' marriage to movie director Blake Edwards, whose work suffers by comparison to Barbra Streisand's. But I suspect Julie Andrews led a happier life than Barbra, who’s always seemed to be dissatisfied with her work. And I *still* think Julie Andrews is more talented than Barbara Streisand.
May 1, 2022
Julie Andrews is an international treasure. Her two smash hits, Mary Poppins (1964), and The Sound of Music (1965), propelled her to instant Hollywood stardom, reaching a lofty peak of fame and fortune.
But, as America and the world entered the latter end of the 1960’s, a turbulent time to be sure, musicals, Julie’s forte, became poison at the box office. Julie Andrews then had a continuous series of disappointing films that caused her to fall off the peak of success, and even worse, her career was considered over in Hollywood.
Julie still had that marvelous, perfectly tuned, 4 octave voice, but no suitable big-screen material materialized. For a time, she tried television, but her Julie Andrews Show was cancelled after only one season. After her cancelled TV show, Julie had several successful tv specials, several which featured her close friend, Carol Burnett.
Divorced from her first husband, Julie married writer and director Blake Edwards, of Pink Panther fame. Edwards wrote screenplays for Julie, but nothing he wrote appealed to the public like The Sound of Music. They finally achieved success with Victor/Victoria in 1982, where Julie played a transgendered singer. Her success was short-lived however, and it was not until 2001, with The Princess Diaries, that Julie re-emerged in a Hollywood classic. By then, Julie had lost her singing voice after a failed throat surgery to remove a cyst (1997). Julie sued the surgeon and hospital and received a 20 million pound settlement. The loss of her voice was an immense tragedy for her, as she loved to sing more than anything.
Never defeated, plucky Julie wrote a successful series of children’s books with her grown daughter, Emma. She also had voice roles in Shrek and Despicable Me.
An extremely private person, Julie carefully guarded her family and her private life from the prying eyes of the media hounds.
Robert Wise, Director of The Sound of Music, gave perhaps the greatest compliment of all the superlatives made about Julie. He said, “What you saw in the personality of Maria in The Sound of Music, is essentially who Julie is in real life.
Julie Andrews is a living legend. I am fortunate indeed to have witnessed her triumphs in film, and blessed by her perfect singing vocals.
This book tells the story of Julie’s long career and personal life in a very enjoyable and readable volume. I gave it four stars (instead of five) because like so many biographies, it goes into extraneous details that often do nothing to enrich or advance the central narrative. Still, 4-stars is high praise.
James Koenig.
But, as America and the world entered the latter end of the 1960’s, a turbulent time to be sure, musicals, Julie’s forte, became poison at the box office. Julie Andrews then had a continuous series of disappointing films that caused her to fall off the peak of success, and even worse, her career was considered over in Hollywood.
Julie still had that marvelous, perfectly tuned, 4 octave voice, but no suitable big-screen material materialized. For a time, she tried television, but her Julie Andrews Show was cancelled after only one season. After her cancelled TV show, Julie had several successful tv specials, several which featured her close friend, Carol Burnett.
Divorced from her first husband, Julie married writer and director Blake Edwards, of Pink Panther fame. Edwards wrote screenplays for Julie, but nothing he wrote appealed to the public like The Sound of Music. They finally achieved success with Victor/Victoria in 1982, where Julie played a transgendered singer. Her success was short-lived however, and it was not until 2001, with The Princess Diaries, that Julie re-emerged in a Hollywood classic. By then, Julie had lost her singing voice after a failed throat surgery to remove a cyst (1997). Julie sued the surgeon and hospital and received a 20 million pound settlement. The loss of her voice was an immense tragedy for her, as she loved to sing more than anything.
Never defeated, plucky Julie wrote a successful series of children’s books with her grown daughter, Emma. She also had voice roles in Shrek and Despicable Me.
An extremely private person, Julie carefully guarded her family and her private life from the prying eyes of the media hounds.
Robert Wise, Director of The Sound of Music, gave perhaps the greatest compliment of all the superlatives made about Julie. He said, “What you saw in the personality of Maria in The Sound of Music, is essentially who Julie is in real life.
Julie Andrews is a living legend. I am fortunate indeed to have witnessed her triumphs in film, and blessed by her perfect singing vocals.
This book tells the story of Julie’s long career and personal life in a very enjoyable and readable volume. I gave it four stars (instead of five) because like so many biographies, it goes into extraneous details that often do nothing to enrich or advance the central narrative. Still, 4-stars is high praise.
James Koenig.
January 16, 2026
More like a 1.25 but I it would probably be a 1 if I had to choose.
I have mixed reviews on this book. I also did want to DNF this book 100 pages in but I couldn’t because it’s a school project.
Some parts of the book were good while other parts were written poorly. Many times I did have to reread sentences because some of them were said in a way where it didn’t make sense to me.
I didn’t like how the book would skip a couple of years then go back a couple. It just confused me on the timeline of the book.
I also found it weird how around 8-12 people died that she knew in this biography but they only got 3 sentences max about them?? Her father died and all the author did was tell us when, where, and how he died. I wish he got into how he impacted her life, and how she dealt with her grief because he played an important role in the beginning of her career.
The author also did this with her grandchildren. On one paragraph we would be on her film that she’s starring in then the next her daughter gave birth to a girl when he never mentioned her daughter being pregnant in the first place? If I remember correctly she had 7 grandchildren, and they were only mentioned once closer to the end of the book.
I also feel like all the author talked about was her accomplishments. He did have the challenges that she’s been through but I would’ve liked it to be more detailed and not just go right back to her successes.
Some good things are that I did like how he included pictures of her, some parts of the book were easy to read and there are tons of information I learned about her.
I have mixed reviews on this book. I also did want to DNF this book 100 pages in but I couldn’t because it’s a school project.
Some parts of the book were good while other parts were written poorly. Many times I did have to reread sentences because some of them were said in a way where it didn’t make sense to me.
I didn’t like how the book would skip a couple of years then go back a couple. It just confused me on the timeline of the book.
I also found it weird how around 8-12 people died that she knew in this biography but they only got 3 sentences max about them?? Her father died and all the author did was tell us when, where, and how he died. I wish he got into how he impacted her life, and how she dealt with her grief because he played an important role in the beginning of her career.
The author also did this with her grandchildren. On one paragraph we would be on her film that she’s starring in then the next her daughter gave birth to a girl when he never mentioned her daughter being pregnant in the first place? If I remember correctly she had 7 grandchildren, and they were only mentioned once closer to the end of the book.
I also feel like all the author talked about was her accomplishments. He did have the challenges that she’s been through but I would’ve liked it to be more detailed and not just go right back to her successes.
Some good things are that I did like how he included pictures of her, some parts of the book were easy to read and there are tons of information I learned about her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2022
I really wanted to enjoy this book. I grew up loving Julie Andrews and was so sad when she couldn't sing anymore. I loved singing along with her in Mary Poppins and the Sound of Music. These movies still remain some of my favorite movies. However, I think the author didn't want to miss a single detail and put a bit too much into this book. There is such a thing as too much information! I love how the bookends of her career have been family-friendly movies. Others have mentioned her autobiography is much better. I may read that much later. I need a break from Julie Andrews for now.
January 7, 2023
Julie Andrews is an extraordinary woman that had the privilege of becoming the world´s most admired and loved nun “Sor Maria” in the sound of music and it has given her a one in a life time opportunity to be remembered for generations to come. Her life was not an easy one. The author did a great job in putting in writing how not all that we see is the truth and that there are a lot of falls and rise in the life of any person. Julie Andrews is no exception. A great read to learn more from a great woman. SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICESPIALIDOCIOUS !!!!!
March 27, 2019
The writing style is kind of all over the place, but the subject of the book is more than interesting to keep me engaged. After reading "Home A Memoir of My Early Years" this book only adds a perspective about some periods on Julie's personal life and career. An incredible talented woman with a superb career and one of the most wonderful voices. Nice reading. But not as good as Julie's herself telling her story.
March 9, 2024
Not as much about the person, but more about theater life/experiences. Sometimes confusing with references to other plays, shows, movies, etc. Confusing connections made between other networks, directors, actors & actresses. Hard to get through & didn't hold my interest; skimmed through several sections.
August 11, 2017
One of my favourite actresses of all time. Loved getting to know her background. A lot of the things in her life came to me as a surprise, and definitely gave me more insight on what her life was like.
March 24, 2019
I loved, loved, loved this book!! It’s beautifully told & full of personal details. Julie is a remarkable woman!
June 11, 2019
Abandoned on page 185 of 258. Dull and gives no real impression of Julie Andrews.
January 7, 2020
Being the theater geek that I am, I throughly enjoyed this biography. I remember seeing her in My Fair Lady on Broadway as a young teen.
May 3, 2021
I miss your singing voice, but I love you anyways!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2021
I felt this book lacked the very intimacy it’s title set forth as a guarantee. In my opinion, it read more like a film and cinema documentary than a biography.
July 29, 2021
Read this while COVID-stuck in Vermont last year. It took me to quite a different world, and I ended up with more appreciation for Julie Andrews.
January 4, 2023
Well this is my first book of 2023! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the life of Julie Andrews!
July 9, 2023
It was a little wordy, but a good read.
February 14, 2026
Wonderful
A biologphy about Julie Andrews. Such an interesting life. It was a close look at a legend. I really liked this book!
A biologphy about Julie Andrews. Such an interesting life. It was a close look at a legend. I really liked this book!
May 19, 2026
Was not aware of everything that happened in her life or all the works she was in. Informative. Kinda sluggish at points.
May 10, 2008
I watched Rachel Ray today and it looks like Julie wrote her own autobiography titled "Home", but I haven't checked anything out about it yet.
I think that I am going to try the autobiography that Julie Andrews did herself. I tried this one and got about half way through. I was fascinated by the story itself, but not by the story telling. The writer's style is too choppy and vague for me. It doesn't flow well and there are odd quotes and bits of information thrown in at weird points. I couldn't renew it and had to return it. I don't know if I will check it out again to finish it or not?
I think that I am going to try the autobiography that Julie Andrews did herself. I tried this one and got about half way through. I was fascinated by the story itself, but not by the story telling. The writer's style is too choppy and vague for me. It doesn't flow well and there are odd quotes and bits of information thrown in at weird points. I couldn't renew it and had to return it. I don't know if I will check it out again to finish it or not?
May 4, 2010
I thought this was a very interesting read. Julie Andrews, despite success, has led a life riddled with personal issues - I wouldn't give you 2 cents for her mother, who she never, ever faulted. Her 2nd and current husband appears beset with emotional and anger issues, much like her step-father. It's a shame she couldn't break herself of those kinds of people in her life - I truly think she would have been a happier person throughout her career & life. I was surprised to read about her adoption of the two Korean girls and all of the charity work that she was involved in.
August 29, 2012
I so enjoyed this book though it only went to 2007. I had no idea of the ups and downs of her career and the sacrifices she made as a mother to make it all happen. The loss of her voice is such a tragedy but as the British do she "Kept Calm and Carried On.". At 60, I was so identifying with her inevitable slowing down and health problems as while reading this as I, at age 60, was reading this confined to bed rest with health issues of my own. But she reinvented herself in so many ways. She's a remarkable and inspiring woman. But I do need an update!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews