Quotes from Julie Andrews

Success is terrifying. Like happiness, it is often appreciated in retrospect. It's only later that you place it in perspective. Years from now, I'll look back and say, 'God, wasn't it wonderful.'

Books make great gifts because they're everybody's favorite things.

I am told that the first comprehensible word I uttered as a child was 'home.

Growing up in England, of course you do absorb certain ways the royals wave their hands and carry themselves.

I grew up knowing only war, so for me, it was the way things were. It wasn't pleasant by any means.

I like - I actually love classical music very much.

One of our books has been made into a musical, 'The Great American Mousical,' which I directed at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut. And another, 'Simeon's Gift,' has been adapted for a symphony orchestra and five performers. I'm also a very proud member of the board of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

I always knew I had this voice, but it wasn't until I was in my 20s that I realized I had the power to do something with it.

Use your knowledge, and your heart, to stand up for those who can't stand, speak for those who can't speak, be a beacon of light for those whose lives have become dark.

I've always seen the cup as half-full.

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.

I love that President and Mrs. Obama are embracing the arts. I am so delighted.

The arts bridge cultures; they're good for the economy, and they're good for fostering empathy and decency.

A lot of films seem to go to the lowest common denominator.

Some of my own books are being developed - one as a Broadway musical.

I am very proud to be British. I'm very conscious of carrying my country with me wherever I go. I feel I need to represent it well.

Like most girls, I fantasized about being some sort of a princess.

I have been called a nun with a switchblade where my privacy is concerned. I think there's a point where one says, that's for family, that's for me.

How dare one act like a diva when you have a lot of work to do and you need to find your disciplines and so on?

A lot of my life happened in great, wonderful bursts of good fortune, and then I would race to be worthy of it.

Who would have thought that a story about a professor of phonetics would result in it being probably one of the great shows ever for musical theatre? It's a seemingly odd subject.

There's nothing like the joy of the arts, and promoting the arts early in children is going to give them such a start in life in a way.

I had a lot of learning on my feet.

I was lucky enough to be the lady that was asked to be Maria in the Sound Of Music, and that film was fortunate enough to be huge hit. The same with Mary Poppins. I got terribly lucky in that respect.