Julie Andrews: Overcoming Obstacles
Julie Andrews was not born famous. She worked her way to the top with sheer talent, hard-work, and dedication. It takes a great person to achieve so much, when given so little. She did not give up when faced with many challenges throughout her life.
Julie Andrews has gained her power through fame. She is known by many people for her beautiful voice, and perfect pitch. For children she is the symbol of childhood, she is Mary Poppins, she is Maria. She grew up like any ordinary person and pushed her way to the top. She has achieved respect and admiration from people everywhere with her raw talent.
Julie Andrews has gained her power through fame. She is known by many people for her beautiful voice, and perfect pitch. For children she is the symbol of childhood, she is Mary Poppins, she is Maria. She grew up like any ordinary person and pushed her way to the top. She has achieved respect and admiration from people everywhere with her raw talent.
Home Challenges: Julie Andrew's home life was not always the picture perfect scene that the press showed it to be. Her parents divorced at a young age and even when they were together her mother had affairs. Her father tried to continue to make things work, but eventually her mother left.
Although her stepfather helped her with her career, he also hurt it. By the time she was 14 Ted had become an alcoholic. This affected her life in every way. When they performed as a family he was often drunk, he slurred and forgot lyrics. (Andrews, autobiography) His condition became so bad only Julie and her mother would tour and perform together. Most of the income of their family made was earned through these performances, which wasn't much. Soon things began to really fall apart. He was sober for a few months, then began to drink heavily again. Her mother couldn't stop Ted, so she simply joined him. This was a time Julie and her two brothers stayed with her father for periods of time. The time they did spend at home was not a good life. Her stepfather had begun to beat her brothers when they misbehaved, especially Donald. By the time he was 6 he had been sent away to boarding school. Her stepfather abused her in a different way. He kissed her once while Julie's mother was away and she immediately told her aunt. They installed a bolt on her bedroom door so Julie would be safe from Ted, especially when he came home drunk. (Andrews, Biography) |
Income: Julie was left to perform herself and earn their income. She would travel by herself or with a chaperone to her performances. Gradually she began to make more money and had to use this money to support her family. Her parents could hardly afford the house they lived in so Julie bought 1/2 of it to lessen the taxes. Eventually she bought the entire house, this put an extreme amount of pressure on such a young girl. (Andrews, Biography)
Julie continued to support her family throughout her career. When she went to America to work on The Boyfriend she sent $150 of her salary home and lived off the other $75. This was hardly enough to make ends meet. She lived with a roommate in a tiny apartment and by the end of the week hardly had enough food left in their fridge. Vocal Chords: Throughout Julie's entire career she was over using her voice. This caused a weak singing voice through the later parts of her show. At one point her voice became so tired she had to rest it because she was not physically able to sing. Julie continuously pushed through it. (Julie Andrews, Autobiography)
In 1997 she got surgery on her vocal chords and it was performed improperly. Her vocal chords were damaged and never regained full strength. (Andrews, Biography) |