The extraordinary career of Dame Julie Andrews spans more than forty years. Her first film,
Mary Poppins
, was Disney's most successful film, and in 1965
The Sound of Music
rescued Twentieth Century Fox from bankruptcy. Three years later,
Star!
almost put the studio back under, and the leading lady of both films fell as spectacularly as she had risen. But Julie Andrews is nothing if not a survivor; and despite many setbacks—including the tragic loss of her singing voice in 1997 after a botched operation—she's still a performer, recently starring in
Shrek
and
The Princess Diaries
. Richard Stirling's deeply researched biography—based on many years of contact with Julie—is a frank but affectionate portrait of an enduring icon of stage and screen.