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Julie Andrews Taught Me the Secret to Having a Successful Career

Photo credit: Courtesy of Netflix
Photo credit: Courtesy of Netflix

From Town & Country

Let's start at the very beginning (I hear it's a very good place to start). I've loved Dame Julie Andrews for just about as long as I can remember. At six years old, my favorite movie was Mary Poppins, and when Halloween rolled around, dressing up as the practically perfect nanny was a must. My mom was strictly in the homemade costume camp, and so we scoured stores to find the perfect hat, tie, and umbrella (complete with bird handle, of course).

The Sound of Music, too, was a staple in Hallemann household. For some reason (maybe the nuns?) we watched it every Easter, and the fact that its length required not just one, but two VHS tapes never ceased to astonish.

Almost like a distant relative (one with an angelic soprano range), Andrews was an integral part of my childhood, so when an email arrived in my inbox inviting me to interview the icon, I could hardly believe it. She was headed to New York to promote the March debut of her new Netflix children's series Julie's Greenroom, but honestly, she could have been shilling socks and I would have still jumped at the chance to meet her.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Netflix
Photo credit: Courtesy of Netflix

Soon, the panic started to sink in. What do you ask the woman who literally sang the soundtrack of your youth?

I brainstormed a series of questions and then, in the middle of a storm with snow blowing sideways, I trekked to the New York Edition hotel to meet a living legend.

For those who've never experienced a roundtable interview, allow me to paint you a picture. Multiple journalists (in this case 11 or so women) jockey for the interviewee's attention, and should time run short before your turn, you're essentially out of luck.

As the group assembled in a hotel room overlooking Madison Square Park, we were silent, waiting for the guest of honor, but the fan-girl energy was palpable. We could hear her in the hallway-that immediately recognizable laugh-and then, finally, she entered the room.

Wearing a slim black ensemble and statement earrings, Andrews is strikingly beautiful. She looks decades younger than her 81 years and has the bluest eyes I'd ever seen in person. If she's had plastic surgery, well, it's obviously working for her.

Her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, co-creator of the Netflix series, broke the silence: "Wow, a room full of power women!"

We all laughed nervously, then went around the table to introduce ourselves and our outlets. Andrews, in all her loveliness, managed to make me swell with pride before the interview even began.

"Wow, Town & Country, very elegant!" she said, as I dropped my publication's title. The Queen of Genovia herself just told me that my place of employment was elegant? I could have died right then and there.

The expression "never meet your heroes" should come with a caveat. Never meet your heroes... that is, unless your hero is Julie Andrews. She was charming and gracious-always sharing the spotlight with her daughter-and the definition of a consummate professional.

On the new series, she'll star alongside a handful of "young children" (in actuality, they're Jim Henson-created muppets) who set out to create their own musical. Andrews and Hamilton hope Julie's Greenroom will bring a renewed awareness to the importance of educating young children about the performing arts.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Netflix
Photo credit: Courtesy of Netflix

"One of the reasons we wanted to do this show is because we really worry that the arts budgets are the first to be cut in schools these days," said Hamilton, referring to the current political climate. Andrews nodded in agreement. "If you're not educated to enjoy the arts, if you're not taken to a concert, or you don't hear something beautiful, you don't know what you're missing," she said.

Before long, it was my turn to chime in. I had questions in my notebook about the show and its guest stars-the likes of Alec Baldwin and Carol Burnett-and whether or not Andrews still struggles with her singing voice, which was permanently damaged during surgery. But when I jumped into the conversation, I couldn't help but ask the thing I wanted to know the most:

"Do you have any advice for young women?"

Without hesitation, Andrews dove right in.

"When I've least expected it, an enormous opportunity or stroke of luck has crossed right under my nose," she said. "So I tell everybody, if you're passionate about what you do and you love it, do it. But do your homework. Because you'll never know when the opportunity is going to happen."

She continued, "You just don't know in life. Life knocks you about and pushes you over boundaries. But be ready. Do your homework, that's all I can say."

And then in a blink, the interview was abruptly brought to a halt by our timekeeper.

"You asked fabulous questions," Andrews said to the group, as she was shuffled into the next room for another round of interviews.

Heading back out into the snow, I was almost in shock. My mind kept replaying the conversation, still in disbelief that Julie Andrews and I had been in the same room, much less that she had given me career advice. But I had to limit my daze to the blustery walk home.

After all, I had homework to do.

Julie's Greenroom premieres on Netflix on March 17.

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