awards for arts achievement

Dame Julie Andrews has been a much-honored star of stage, screen, and television for more than half a century. Her film debut in 1964's Mary Poppins earned her an Academy Award. She received a second Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, and a third for her "dual" role in Victor/Victoria. Dame Julie also received a BAFTA nomination for her title role in The Americanization of Emily in 1964. Today's young audiences may be more familiar with her work in the hit films The Princess Diaries and its sequel, and from providing the narration for last year's hit Disney musical Enchanted. 

Dame Julie was born and raised in England, where she first came to fame as a young musical performer on stage and radio. On Broadway, she created the role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady for which she won a New York Drama Critics Award and garnered a Tony Award nomination. She received another Tony nomination for the role of Guinevere in Camelot. Thirty-five years later, Dame Julie returned to Broadway in the 1996 stage adaptation of Victor/Victoria.

She has also been honored for her work in television, beginning in 1957 with her Emmy-nominated performance in the title role of Rodger sand Hammerstein's Cinderella. She later won an Emmy Award for The Julie Andrews Hour and earned an Emmy nomination for Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center, with her close friend Carol Burnett.

With her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, she has written and published books committed to stimulating a sense of wonder in children and young readers, and her imprint has released more than 24 books to date. From 1992 to 2006, she was honored as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), which provides financial and technical support for low-income women in developing countries.

Dame Julie received her honors as a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999. She was also a 2001 Kennedy Center honoree. Her long awaited autobiography, Home: A Memoir of my Early Years, was released earlier this year.