“I’m well aware of how devastating this can be,” Andrews said in his first public appearance in three years. “May we all be a beacon to stop it.”
WASHINGTON — A Parkinson’s disease conference in Arizona was filled with the voice of Julie Andrews this week, as the 90-year-old “Mary Poppins Returns” actress recorded a message for attendees.
“I’m Julie Andrews, and it’s my pleasure to welcome you to the 7th World Congress on Parkinson’s Disease,” the actress said, appearing on camera at the start of a research forum on Sunday.
“I’m well aware of how devastating it can be,” Andrews said of neurodegenerative diseases. “May we all be a beacon to stop it.”
A four-day gathering of medical professionals and Parkinson’s disease patients in Phoenix is set to end Wednesday.
The British actress has voiced many iconic characters over the past 25 years, including the “Shrek” and “Despicable Me” film franchises, and is instantly recognizable even if her voice isn’t visible in her poised, standard pronunciation. Mrs. Andrews also plays know-it-all gossip Lady Whistledown in Netflix’s “Bridgerton,” for which the actress won an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Voice Actor in a Character.
The honor is just the latest for Andrews.
The actress won an Academy Award in 1965 for her role as Mary Poppins, the umbrella-wielding janitor in the musical, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on New Year’s Eve 1999 to celebrate the new millennium. Andrews also won two Grammy Awards for audiobook narration and “Mary Poppins Returns” and was nominated for three Tony Awards.
Andrews’ most recent on-screen performance was in the 2010 comedy “The Tooth Fairy” opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. On television, the actress recently appeared in a 2023 tribute show to her comedy counterpart Carol Burnett and her Mary Poppins co-star Dick Van Dyke. Her last public appearance was at the premiere of Burnett’s 90 Years of Laughter + Love.
