Julie Andrews made a rare public appearance to support a cause.
The Sound of Music star, 90, greeted attendees at the World Parkinson’s Disease Congress in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, May 24, with a short video message.
“Good evening, everyone. I’m Julie Andrews and welcome to the 7th World Congress on Parkinson’s Disease,” Ms. Andrews, wearing a light blue sweater and a long gold chain, told viewers as she sat in a white chair by the window.
“Your participation is invaluable as we try to find a cure for this terrible disease. I know all too well how devastating it can be,” the actress continued.
Julie Andrews has been stealing the hearts of viewers for decades. Born Julia Elizabeth Wells, the actress came from a poor family before breaking out on Broadway in September 1954, just before her 19th birthday. Andrews’ performance as Polly Brown in The Boyfriend caught the attention of both audiences and industry professionals and launched her career (…)
“May we all be a beacon of light to halt its progression. Count me as a red thread. Thank you,” Andrews concluded, referring to the organization’s Red Thread Project, which aims to bring a sense of community to those diagnosed with or affected by Parkinson’s disease.
Andrews is best known for her starring roles in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and The Princess Diaries, but has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years. However, she continued to work, most notably as the voice of Lady Whistledown in the 2020 Netflix drama Bridgerton. Andrews won an Emmy Award in September 2025 for this role.
Andrews has also published several books, most recently republishing the children’s book The Great American Musical, which she published in 2010 with Emma Walton Hamilton, her daughter with ex-husband Tony Walton.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3sSbphI44o
“This book is about theater and the passion that everyone feels for it, and the main theme is that you can make a difference, no matter how small. That’s what the book mentions at the end, that something as small as a mouse can do something so monumental,” Andrews told People magazine in October 2025.
Many of Andrews’ fans are hoping to see her return to the big screen in The Princess Diaries 3, which has been in intensive development since 2022. Andrews starred as Queen Clarice Renaldi of Genovia in the original Disney film in 2001, and will reprise her role in the 2004 sequel.
Andrews has considered the possibility of participating in a threequel in 2022.
“[The sequel]was talked about as soon as it came out, but how many years has it been? And I’m that old, and Annie, the princess, the queen, is a lot older, so I don’t know if it’s going to take off or if it’s going to run away,” she said at the time. “Maybe another generation will too. … But from the perspective of us doing it, I highly doubt that now.”
It’s been more than 20 years since The Princess Diaries was released in theaters, but fans never tire of the royal glamor of Disney movies. The film, released in August 2001, marked Anne Hathaway’s film debut as Mia Thermopolis, a San Francisco teenager who discovers she is the princess of the fictional country of Genovia. Julie Andrews (…)
Although Andrews has not cast herself in The Princess Diaries 3, her co-star Anne Hathaway, who played Princess Mia Thermopolis in both films, remains adamant that a third film is in the works and that she will return to the fictional Genovia at some point.
“We’re always working on it.[The Devil Wears Prada 2]showed up unexpectedly and took over that space,” she told Entertainment Weekly in April.
Hathaway, 43, added, “Next time I would like to make ‘The Princess Diaries,'” but stressed that the film “hasn’t been greenlit or confirmed yet.” She also said that the series’ production team is “working on the script bit by bit.”
“If there’s anything we learned from[The Devil Wears Prada 2]it’s that expectations are very, very high and if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to knock it out of the park,” Hathaway concluded.
