Julie Andrews, the young 24 year old actress playing the part of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Dame Julia Elizabeth "Julie" Andrews, DBE (n�e Wells; born 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, author, theatre director and dancer.[ Andrews, a child actress and singer, appeared on the West End in 1948 and made her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend (1954). She rose to prominence starring in Broadway musicals such as My Fair Lady (1956), playing Eliza Doolittle, and Camelot (1960), playing Queen Guinevere. In 1957, Andrews starred in the premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein's written-for-television musical Cinderella, a live network broadcast seen by over 100 million viewers. My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a lady. The original Broadway, London and film versions all starred Rex Harrison. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a notable critical and popular success. It set a record for the longest run of any show on Broadway up to that time. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals. My Fair Lady has frequently been called "the perfect musical. No�l Coward was the first to be offered the role of Henry Higgins, but turned it down, suggesting the producers cast Rex Harrison instead. After much deliberation, Harrison agreed to accept the part. Mary Martin was an early choice for the role of Eliza Doolittle, but declined the role.[9] Young actress Julie Andrews was "discovered" and cast as Eliza after the show's creative team went to see her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend. Moss Hart agreed to direct after hearing only two songs. The music was arranged by Trude Rittman and Gino Smart, and orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett, supported by Philip J. Lang