Julie Andrews, 90, Makes Rare Public Appearance to Help Find a Cure for ‘Terrible’ Parkinson’s Disease

Julie Andrews made a rare public appearance to lend her star power in support of a good cause.

The Mary Poppins actress, 90, appeared in a pre-recorded video that played to the surprise of attendees at the World Parkinson Congress in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, May 25.

“Good evening, everyone, I’m Julie Andrews and I’m pleased to welcome you to the seventh World Parkinson’s Congress,” Andrews began the video, in which the actress wears a light blue long-sleeve shirt and sits in an armchair in front of a window.

“Your participation is invaluable as we seek to find a cure to this terrible disease,” the Sound of Music star continued. “I know well how devastating it can be.”

The Oscar winner does not personally suffer from the disease but has long been an advocate for research.

She concluded her message saying, “May we all become a beacon of light to stop it in its tracks. Count me in as a red thread. Thank you.”

The World Parkinson Congress’ Read Thread Project seeks to connect those impacted by the disease with a symbolic red thread. The idea is to highlight how a single thread on its own is not necessarily strong, but if multiple people’s threads bind together, the community can become large and strong.

While she has remained largely out of the public eye in her later years, Andrews’ voice is recognizable to fans of Netflix’s Bridgerton, where she’s provided the voice of narrator Lady Whistledown on all of the romance series’ four seasons.