Julie Andrews: Growing Up Julie Andrews was born October 1, 1935 in Walton-On-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom. (Andrews Biography) Growing up, her family was poor. Her father, Edward Wells, was a school teacher, and her mother was a piano teacher and a performer. Together her parents had very little income. Her parents worked hard and managed to live off of a meager amount of money. Her father was a good role model for Julie growing up. He was a good man and treated children with respect and care. (Andrews autobiography)
First Performance Julie began to perform at a young age. Her aunt owned Miss LeMarchand’s School, which taught regular classes in the morning, and had dancing classes in the afternoon and evening. Julie’s mother also taught classes at this school to help with their income. Although she didn’t attend this school she performed in an annual show put on by the school when she was 3 ½. This was her first performance, but not even close to the last. Julie’s stepfather, Ted Andrews, began to give her singing lessons at age 7. (Andrews autobiography) New Beginnings Julie’s mother and father didn’t stay together long. Julie was young when her mom first started going away to perform at concert parties. Eventually she was hardly ever home. Soon enough her parents were separated and her mom had found someone new, Ted Andrews. Ted was a tenor and had accompanied her mother in many performances. In 1940 her mother and Ted left to work for the ENSA, this stood for Entertainment National Service Association. It provided entertainment for British Armed Forces during World War II. Julie’s mother began her new life with Ted in London, and soon she invited Julie to come along. Moving to London was a major turning point in Julie Andrew’s life. In the large city war was more prominent and she began to realize the hardships of life. Air raid sirens often sounded, and Julie would hope for the best hiding out in the basement of the tiny house she lived in with her mother and Ted. Eventually the sirens got so bad her family had to go down to the subways for safety. She remembers everyone seemed equal down there. Everyone would help each other out, because they all had to get through the same thing. Ted would bring his guitar and they would all sing to pass the time. |
Her Career Takes Off: Julie Andrews has always been a talented singer. When she first began voice lessons her mother and Ted were surprised at how developed her voice was, so they took her to a throat specialist. It was found that nothing was wrong, only that her larynx was mature for her age. She continued to sing. Soon enough she was taken to Lilian Stiles-Allen, Ted’s voice coach. She performed for this lady and was told she was a wonderful singer. Lilian advised them to come back when she was a bit older, so she would have time to mature mentally and physically. Julie matured quickly enough she came back when she was 9 ½ and started to train seriously.
In 1943 Julie's parents' divorce was official and instantly her mother and Ted married. Julie's original name was changed from Julia Elizabeth Wells to Julie Andrews so it would flow better. She had no choice in the matter, and neither did her father. This is the name she is famous for.
Julie's Teacher Lilian Stiles-Allen was an excellent teacher and developed Julie’s talents further. During her weekly lessons Julie worked on scales, breathing exercises. She was taught how to blend several octaves into one, and learned the perfect diction she was known for. (Andrews Biography) Soon Julie Andrew's career began to take off. She began to perform for larger audiences over time and this was her rise to fame. |