Julie Andrews Makes Rare Appearance at Parkinson’s Event

Julie Andrews made a rare public appearance in support of a good cause.

The Sound of Music star, 90, greeted attendees at the World Parkinson’s Congress in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, May 24, with a brief video message.

“Good evening, everyone. I’m Julie Andrews, and I’m pleased to welcome you to the 7th World Parkinson’s Congress,” Andrews, wearing a light blue sweater and a long gold chain as she sat in a white chair beside a window, told viewers.

The actress continued, “Your participation is invaluable, as we seek to find a cure to this terrible disease. I know well how devastating it can be.”

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Julie Andrews has been stealing viewers’ hearts for decades. Born ​​Julia Elizabeth Wells, the actress came from humble beginnings before scoring her big break on Broadway in September 1954, just before her 19th birthday. Andrews’ performance of Polly Browne in The Boy Friend caught the attention of both audience members and industry experts, kickstarting her […]

Referencing the organization’s Red Thread Project initiative, which aims to bring a sense of community to those who have been diagnosed or are impacted by Parkinson’s disease, Andrews concluded, “May we all become a beacon of light to stop it in its tracks. Count me in as a red thread. Thank you.”

Andrews, who is most known for starring in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, The Princess Diaries and more, has largely remained out of the spotlight in recent years. However, she has continued to work, most notably serving as the voice of Lady Whistledown in Netflix’s Bridgerton since its debut in 2020. Andrews won an Emmy Award for the role in September 2025.

Andrews has also published several books, most recently reissuing her 2010 children’s book The Great American Mousical with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, whom she shares with ex-husband Tony Walton.

“It is about theater and the passion that everybody feels for it, and the main theme is also, well, no matter how small you are, you can make a difference, which is what is mentioned at the end of the book, that something so small as a mouse could do something so monumental,” Andrews told People in October 2025. “We just had such a ball writing it.”

Many fans of Andrews are hopeful that she’ll return to the big screen in The Princess Diaries 3, which has been in active development since 2022. Andrews starred in the original Disney film as Clarisse Renaldi, Queen of Genovia, in 2001, going on to reprise her role in the 2004 sequel.

Andrews weighed in on her potential involvement in the threequel back in 2022.

“It was talked about very shortly after [the sequel] came out but it’s now how many years since then? And I’m that much older and Annie, the princess, or queen, is so much older and I’m not sure whether it would float or run,” she said at the time. “Maybe with another generation. … But in terms of us doing it, I very much doubt that now.”

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It’s been more than 20 years since The Princess Diaries hit theaters, but fans will never get tired of the Disney movie’s royal charm. Released in August 2001, Anne Hathaway made her film debut as Mia Thermopolis, a San Francisco teen who discovers she is a princess of the fictional country of Genovia. Julie Andrews […]

While Andrews doesn’t see herself in Princess Diaries 3, her costar Anne Hathaway — who played Princess Mia Thermopolis in both films — has remained adamant that the third installment is in progress and that she will return to the fictional Genovia someday.

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“We’re constantly working on it. [The Devil Wears Prada 2] cropped up unexpectedly and took over the space,” she told Entertainment Weekly in April.

Hathaway, 43, added that the “intention is to make Princess Diaries hopefully next,” but she emphasized that the movie is “not greenlit or confirmed yet.” She also shared that the team behind the franchise is “chipping away at the script.”

“If I learned anything from [Devil Wears Prada 2], it’s that expectations are very, very high, and if you’re going to do it, you have to knock it out of the park,” Hathaway concluded.