Julie Andrews resurfaced for her first public appearance in three years at the seventh annual World Parkinson’s Congress conference over the weekend.
The 90-year-old Oscar winner appeared in a video message where she introduced herself and welcomed attendees to this year’s event.
“Your participation is invaluable as we seek to find a cure to this terrible disease,” Andrews said.
The “Sound of Music” star noted she knows “how devastating” Parkinson’s disease can be.
“May we all become a beacon of light to stop it in its track,” she optimistically added. “Count me in as a red thread. Thank you.”
Andrews filmed her video message while sitting on a couch in front of a window.
She wore a gray crewneck sweatshirt over a white turtleneck, along with a long gold necklace and matching earrings.
Andrews made her last in-person public appearance in March 2023 at the taping of her pal Carol Burnett’s TV special, “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love,” which aired on NBC the following month.
The pair posed for pictures together at the star-studded event. Andrews wore a navy jacket covered in black-and-white beads and sequins, while Burnett, now 93, rocked a pink blazer over a white shirt.
Andrews has been friends with Burnett for over 60 years and even chose the “Annie” actress to be her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton’s godmother.
“From day one, we both seem to know and understand where each one of us is coming from,” Andrews told People in 2023 while discussing her bond with Burnett.
Andrews added, “Although we come from different countries, we recognized in each other things that were of mutual understanding. We both had tough beginnings and we both kind of bonded [for] that reason. It was instant the day we met.”
In May 2024, Andrews and Hamilton, 63, appeared on “CBS News Sunday Morning” together to promote their children’s audiobook, “Waiting in the Wings.”
During the pre-taped interview, Andrews opened up about how the project helped her cope with losing her singing voice from a 1997 throat surgery.
“One day I was bemoaning my fate and missing very much the fact that I couldn’t sing because the surgery went awry and took away my ability to do what I love to do, and Emma said, ‘No, mom, you’ve just found another way of sharing your voice,” Andrews shared.
The “Mary Poppins” star added, “It hit me so hard what she said, and I’ve never really bemoaned it since.”
