Dame Julie Andrews has announced her retirement from on-screen acting, closing the curtain on a career that spanned more than eight decades.
The ninety- year- old, who featured in Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, starred in the films released in 2001 and 2004 and said she has passed up the chance to reprise the role.
“I think I’m retired, really; would be about the best description for that. I had a wonderful ride,” Julie said.
Julie revealed she rejected some offers in acting before she could officially retire but said, “Wouldn’t need Granny going there at my age.”
Julie Andrews, in her role in Mary Poppins earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress, seven Golden Globes and three Tony nominations. In 2000, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II.
She pivoted voiceover roles in the Shrek and Despicable Me franchises, as well as Netflix series Bridgerton, where she voiced for Lady Whistledown.
In 1990, she underwent vocal surgery that altered her singing voice, but she reinvented herself with remarkable resilience, embracing new opportunities, from writing children’s books with her daughter to taking on screen roles later in life.
Her portrayal of Queen Clarisse Renaldi in The Princess Diaries introduced her to Adele Lim, who directed the return to Genovia, the world created by author Meg Cabot.
She declined the role in Princess Diaries 3, explaining her decision, “It’s quite a long time now since the two Diaries were done and I’m not sure, but sometimes it’s best to leave a good thing alone,” she said.