Julie Andrews, 90, has announced her retirement from onscreen acting, confirming she will not appear in The Princess Diaries 3. The decision comes after she declined to reprise her role as Queen Clarisse.
A Career Spanning Nearly 80 Years
Andrews has enjoyed a career of nearly 80 years, starring in hit films from Mary Poppins to The Sound of Music. She has amassed multiple awards, including three Emmys, two Grammys, and an Oscar.
Speaking to InStyle Magazine, Andrews described retirement as the "best description" for how she is approaching her career. She said acting had been a "wonderful ride" but felt she was now too old to appear on camera.
Turning Down The Princess Diaries 3
The actress made the statement after being asked if she would return with the rest of the cast for the third Princess Diaries film. She said film bosses had asked her "all last year if I would be keen" and that she found it difficult to refuse.
In The Princess Diaries, Andrews played Queen Clarisse, the grandmother of Anne Hathaway's Mia, a San Franciscan student who discovers she is heir to a small European throne. Hathaway, who is set to reprise her role as Queen Mia Thermopolis, previously told Entertainment Tonight she wanted Andrews to return for a third film.
"We would go to where she was and put a green screen behind her and just make it happen," Hathaway said. Though she kept details under wraps, she told SiriusXM that the filmmakers had to "start over" with their script and go in a "new direction," adding: "But we all feel really good that this is gonna be the one."
A Shift to Voice Acting
Andrews' last onscreen acting role was in 2010, when she appeared as Lily, the head fairy in Dwayne Johnson's Tooth Fairy. Since then, she has made appearances as herself on TV shows, but the majority of her work in the past 16 years has been voice acting.
She has voiced Lady Whistledown on Bridgerton since 2020 and most recently voiced Marlena in Minions: The Rise of Gru in 2022. Andrews said she is happier to continue voice acting, as she can record her lines from home. "I do it mostly to keep my brain alive," she admitted.
Recent Public Appearance for Parkinson's
Her retirement news comes a few months after she made a rare public appearance to raise awareness for Parkinson's disease. In a video launching the World Parkinson's Congress, Andrews explained she knows first-hand how "devastating" the condition can be.
In the video, shared on YouTube by the World Parkinson Coalition, she said: "Good evening, everyone, I'm Julie Andrews, and I'm pleased to welcome you to the seventh World Parkinson's Congress. Your participation is invaluable as we seek to find a cure to this terrible disease. I know well how devastating it can be."
