40 Celebrities We Need To Keep Safe From 2016

Dame Julie Andrews in Sydney for a press conference to promote My Fair Lady which she will direct in August 2016 on November 10, 2015 in Sydney, Australia.

22. Julie Andrews

I always sound weird when I say “I met Julie Andrews” because when I say I’m a writer people assume I meet celebrities daily; that’s far from the case. But, yes, I did meet Julie Andrews once while I covered the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival. The Sound of Music was the opening night film and Mary Poppins, Maria herself was in attendance. Julie Andrews actually walked right by me to do an interview with the local news station standing to my left. It was sheer happenstance that the reporter, taking pity on me standing there with my little camera phone, asked if I wanted to give Julie Andrews a question.

Now, I’m by no means a professional interviewer, but I’ve mastered the ability to treat celebrities like average Joes. Not so with Julie Andrews. The fact that I call her “Julie Andrews” is a testament to her greatness. I stammered out a question, trying my hardest not to burst into tears and scream “Mary Poppins” (and I’m a grown woman!). She graciously answered me, smiled and that was it. To quote Angelica Schuyler “the conversation lasted two minutes, maybe three minutes” – actually, it was less than that – but I was forever changed.

I give you this long-winded story to show how Andrews shaped all of us. Whether you saw her winging on the breeze in Mary Poppins or dancing on a hilltop in The Sound of Music (or dressing up as a man in Victor/Victoria), Andrews represents all that’s good about being a lady. She’s embodiment of the perfect mother and grandmother; she’s our mother and grandmother. To lose her would be to acknowledge that our parents are mortal, and who wants to think of that? Julie Andrews almost made me cry on a red carpet…and it was awesome!

-Kristen

Next: Hayao Miyazaki