Julie Andrews' Best Movie And TV Roles Of All Time

Now, this is how you announce yourself to the world: Julie Andrews' first-ever feature film role came as the titular nanny in the 1964 Disney classic "Mary Poppins." Andrews had been in a few TV movies including "Cinderella" and "The Gentle Flame" and had a promising career on Broadway before being discovered by Disney. In the film, two parents are in the process of hiring a nanny for their troublemaking children, and they choose Mary Poppins (Andrews), a majestic figure who spreads an irrepressible joy (all with a nice dash of deadpan).

Andrews' portrayal of Mary Poppins is divine. As Josh Spiegel for /Film explains, "Julie Andrews wasn't just playing a practically perfect character; everything about her performance suggested unqualified perfection." She is so effortlessly charming and joyful that you can't help but be completely swept up the moment she starts speaking.

Then there are the songs, which Andrews sings perfectly, exuding exceptional range. Her musicality never gets in the way of her performance and, in fact, only enhances it. Whether she's performing "Spoonful of Sugar" or "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," there's simply no taking your eyes off of Andrews. It's no wonder the role earned her very first Academy Award nomination and win for the unforgettable performance that would solidify her loveable star image forever.

Andrews' next role was a bit of a surprise, as she would change things up by working with the master of suspense himself, Alfred Hitchock, in 1966's "Torn Curtain." Andrews stars as Sarah Sherman, the assistant and fiancée of Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman), an American physicist traveling to a conference in Copenhagen. Once there, Armstrong tells Sherman he has to go to Stockholm, but she discovers he is actually headed to East Berlin to defect, and bravely decides to follow him. As the film takes place during the high tensions of the Cold War, this is no small thing: If she stays with him, she may never be able to go home or see her family ever again.

While "Torn Curtain" is considered one of Hitchcock's lesser films, and the chemistry between Newman and Andrews is somewhat lacking, Andrews still delivers an excellent performance. It's an important reminder that Andrews can do a lot more than sing and dance, and her prickly portrayal of a woman in crisis who refuses to back down from an impossible situation is hugely memorable.

While Andrews was a massive box office star in the 1960s, her streak of financial successes came to a screeching halt with 1968's "Star!" The film had a huge $14 million budget but just made $4 million at the box office, a disappointment by any definition. In the book "The Fox That Got Away: The Last Days of the Zanuck Dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox," Stephen Silverman notes that "Star!" lost the studio an estimated $15 million.

Despite its commercial failure, Andrews shines bright in the film. The 175-minute musical biopic features Andrews as British performer Gertrude Lawrence, best known for her stage roles in London and New York. Andrews showcases a remarkable range in a film that spans multiple decades. When she's with her daughter (Jenny Agutter), she is poignant, while moments with her various love interests are far more comedic. "Star!" is a delightful gem, with great music, choreography, and costuming, all anchored by a standout turn from Julie Andrews. Her shining moment comes in the long musical number "The Saga of Jenny," which Andrews performs with stunning brilliance.

Once again working with her husband, writer-director Blake Edwards, "S.O.B." is a black comedy that offers a scathing critique of the Hollywood filmmaking process. Andrews stars in the film alongside an outstanding ensemble cast that includes Richard Mulligan, Shelley Winters, Robert Webber, Robert Preston, Larry Hagman, and William Holden.

Andrews plays Sally Miles, the wife of Felix Farmer (Mulligan), a hugely successful film producer. When Farmer finally makes a box office flop, it causes him to lose his grip on reality. Miles is a superstar in her own right, with a pristine image in Hollywood, and an Oscar to her name. Her husband convinces her to star in a bold new film in order to save his reputation – a soft-core pornographic musical that requires Miles to appear topless, threatening to derail her squeaky clean image.

"S.O.B" shocked audiences as Julie Andrews does, in fact, appear topless in the film (or rather, the film within the film). It clearly has autobiographical elements for the real-life Edwards and Andrews, who is, of course, an Oscar-winning actress with a wholesome image. Andrews is brilliant in a role that challenges all preconceived notions of the actress — watching her on drugs giggling while saying "I'm gonna show my boobies" is a truly surreal experience.

Continuing her work with beloved husband Blake Edwards, Andrews shines in a difficult dramatic role in 1986's "That's Life!" Over the years, she starred in a considerable number of films playing the frustrated partner of a struggling man, as we see in "10" and "S.O.B." Here, she plays Gillian Fairchild, a famous singer and the matriarch of the Fairchild family preparing to celebrate the 60th birthday of her husband Harvey (Jack Lemmon).

The film is deeply intimate, and even features Julie and Blake's own children, Jennifer Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton, in small roles. Perhaps that's why Andrews delivers such a memorable performance. As her husband has an existential crisis over turning 60, Gillian is dealing with something far more serious: a potential cancer diagnosis. She keeps the information a secret, so as to not derail the birthday celebrations, but you can feel the worry and concern underneath Gillian's cheery persona.

Julie Andrews stopped acting for a long time during the 1990s. In 1997, she had surgery on her vocal cords, but there were complications, resulting in the loss of her four-octave singing range. Andrews came back with a bang in 2001, however, with "The Princess Diaries," a film that recalls the immense charm of her earliest films, "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music."

In Garry Marshall's "The Princess Diaries," Andrews plays Clarice, queen of the fictional European country of Genovia, and Mia's (Anne Hathaway) estranged grandmother. She imparts great wisdom to Mia, teaching her how to be a princess to prepare her for the decision of whether to accept her royal Genovian birthright. Andrews also reprises her role in "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," which takes place five years after the events of the first film: Mia returns to Genovia after graduation from Princeton, and prepares to begin her reign as Queen after Clarice.

One of Julie Andrews' most exciting roles is one where you never even see the actress — she provides the delicious narration at the core of one of Netflix's biggest shows, Shonda Rhimes' "Bridgerton." Andrews voices the mysterious Lady Whistledown, who continuously shakes up London's elite with a newsletter rife with scandalous accusations. She proves yet again that she's not just a great physical actress, but that her voice can do extraordinary things: She positively devours each and every word, creating an air of drama and suspense that allows "Bridgerton" to thrive.

The show is a huge hit, once again showcasing Andrews' undeniable success rate: "Bridgerton" was watched for approximately 625 million hours in its first 28 days. All we can really hope for is that Andrews returns as the narrator in the show's upcoming second season, so that we can continue to hear her throw Victorian shade like no one's business.