Julie Andrews made her first public appearance in nearly three years at age 90, appearing in a pre-recorded video message for the 7th World Parkinson’s Congress in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 24–25, 2026. Sitting in an armchair wearing a pale blue shirt, she addressed the audience as a longtime supporter of Parkinson’s research. She does not have the disease herself, but the video marked her first major public sighting since March 2023, when she appeared at the Carol Burnett 90 Years of Laughter special. The return after three years of silence prompted an outpouring of emotion from fans.
Her absence had understandably caused concern. Andrews was one of the most recognizable voices in entertainment history, celebrated for a natural four-octave singing range that powered classics like “Do-Re-Mi,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” and “My Favorite Things. ” But that voice was permanently silenced in 1997. While in the middle of her Broadway run of Victor/Victoria in June of that year, she developed vocal trouble.
Doctors found a benign lesion on her vocal cords and performed what was supposed to be a routine procedure to remove it. The surgery went disastrously wrong, permanently damaging her vocal cords and leaving her in pain just to speak. Her four-octave range was reduced to roughly one octave, and restoration was never possible. Surgeon Steven Zeitels later removed scar tissue and improved her speaking voice, but the singing career was over.
In 1999, Andrews filed a malpractice lawsuit against the hospital. The case was settled privately in 2000, and the terms were never made public. She never publicly spoke of hating the hospital or the doctors involved. Reflecting on the loss, she later said she missed singing with a big orchestra, calling it one of the most inspiring experiences, but she quietly moved forward.
Her personal life carried its own deep losses. In 1969, she married director Blake Edwards, whose films include Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Pink Panther series. The marriage was both personal and creative, and it lasted 41 years. When Edwards died of complications from pneumonia on December 15, 2010, Andrews became a widow at 74.
She largely stepped back from mainstream film work after that, and public appearances grew increasingly rare. Her first husband, costume designer Tony Walton, the father of her daughter Emma, died in March 2022. The two had remained close after their divorce. Both husbands, central figures in her life and career, were gone.
Andrews has also been open about a difficult childhood. In her 2008 memoir Home, she revealed she was born from an affair and did not learn her real father’s identity until she was a teenager. Her mother eventually married entertainer Ted Andrews, a heavy drinker who also struggled with alcoholism alongside her mother. Andrews wrote that her stepfather made deeply uncomfortable advances toward her as a child, behavior that worsened with his drinking.
Yet it was also Ted Andrews who first noticed her extraordinary voice and gave her singing lessons. The person who caused so much harm was also the one who unlocked her gift. She grew up in London during World War II, in wartime poverty and a broken home. By age 12, she was working professionally to help support her family, and at 13 she performed for King George VI while already serving as the family’s breadwinner.
Today, Andrews lives quietly, choosing to stay out of the spotlight. She spends much of her time in the Hamptons on Long Island. She has three daughters: Emma, from her marriage to Walton, and Amy and Joanna, adopted during her marriage to Edwards. Family life has become central; she has nine grandchildren and is also a great-grandmother.
Writing has become the focus of her later life. After losing her singing voice, she turned to books, collaborating with her daughter Emma on roughly 30 children’s books over 25 years. In October 2025, the two re-released their 2010 book The Great American Musical, this time featuring new illustrations created by Tony Walton before his death. It stands as one of the last works of his life.
Her voice has still remained present for audiences. Since 2020, Andrews has narrated every episode of Netflix’s Bridgerton as the sharp-tongued Lady Whistledown. In 2025, at age 89, she won an Emmy for the role. As for the long-rumored Princess Diaries 3, it is officially in development at Disney.
Anne Hathaway confirmed the project in October 2024, with Adele Lim attached to direct. But Andrews has cast doubt on her return as Queen Clarice, pointing to how many years have passed since the original films. Hathaway has said she would gladly work around Andrews’s schedule, even suggesting a green screen would be enough, but the door remains open without any confirmation. At 90, Andrews has acknowledged publicly that her wholesome Mary Poppins image is not the full picture of who she is.
She has described herself as tougher, messier, and more human than the polished image suggests. She survived a hard childhood, lost her singing voice and found a new creative voice in writing, and lost her husband of more than four decades while continuing to create. Her current life revolves around her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and her books. Her recent armchair video, which moved fans to tears, was not a farewell.
It was simply the latest chapter in a career and life that has kept going.