Julie Andrews has confirmed she will not reprise her role as Queen Clarisse in The Princess Diaries 3, saying she believes she is now “retired” from screen acting. The 90-year-old star of The Sound of Music addressed the long-awaited sequel in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that the film’s creative team had approached her repeatedly about returning to the Disney franchise.
Andrews, who played Queen Clarisse Renaldi opposite Anne Hathaway in the original 2001 film and its 2004 sequel, said turning down the opportunity was difficult. “They asked me all last year if I would be keen to do it,” she told the outlet. “It was very very hard to say ‘no’.”
Ultimately, however, the actress felt the third instalment could continue without her character. “I thought I had a wonderful ride,” she said, adding that she believed the new film “would flourish very well” without her returning as Granny at her age.
Retirement doesn’t mean stopping creative work
While the decision marks the end of Andrews’ involvement in the Princess Diaries films, she has made clear that retirement does not mean stepping away from creative work altogether. She continues to write books, work on podcasts and record voiceovers, giving her plenty to occupy her beyond traditional on-screen roles.
Andrews has also embraced a quieter lifestyle in recent years, telling Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Wiser Than Me podcast in 2024 that she feels considerably younger than her age. “I probably feel like in my 50s, honest to God,” she said at the time. “As long as the brain holds out, I’m doing okay.”
Decades-long career and legacy
Her decision comes after more than eight decades in showbusiness, during which she became one of Hollywood’s most recognisable stars. Andrews made her film debut as Mary Poppins in the 1964 Disney classic, earning the Academy Award for Best Actress for the performance. A year later, she starred as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music, earning another Oscar nomination.
Her subsequent credits have included Thoroughly Modern Millie, Darling Lili and Victor/Victoria, while her return to Disney in The Princess Diaries introduced her to a new generation of fans. As Queen Clarisse, Andrews played the grandmother of Anne Hathaway’s Mia Thermopolis, a teenager who discovers she is heir to the fictional European kingdom of Genovia. She returned for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement in 2004, but will now sit out the forthcoming third film.
Continued work in television and voice roles
Andrews has nevertheless continued to work in television, most recently lending her distinctive voice to Lady Whistledown in Netflix’s Bridgerton. The role has allowed her to remain part of a major television hit without requiring her to appear on screen. In 2022, she explained that she had never actually met the rest of the Bridgerton cast in person because she records her dialogue separately. “I do all my recording far, far away from them,” she said.
Her work has continued to receive recognition, with Andrews winning Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance at the 2025 Creative Arts Emmys. Although she is stepping back from screen roles, she has suggested there is still plenty she hopes to do. “I’ve got a million thoughts and ideas and hope that I can keep going for a great deal longer,” she said.
