Julie Andrews' 3 Daughters: All About Emma, Amy and Joanna

Julie Andrews has one daughter with her first husband and adopted two daughters with her late husband

Julie Andrews is the matriarch of a large blended family.

The Sound of Music star has three daughters: Emma Walton Hamilton, 61, Amy Edwards, 50, and Joanna Edwards, 48. She welcomed her eldest daughter with her first husband, costume designer Tony Walton, and adopted her two youngest daughters with her second husband, director Blake Edwards, whom she was married to up until his death in 2010. The Hollywood icon is also a stepmom to Edwards' two kids as well as a grandmother and great-grandmother to several children.

In March 2022, Andrews' first husband, whom she remained close with over the years, died at age 87. The Mary Poppins actress and her kids leaned on each other for support while mourning the loss. "We are a huge, blended family and as we hold each other close, we take comfort knowing that he lives on, not only in his children and grandchildren, but in the memories of thousands who cherished his warmth and generosity and the glorious gifts he gave us," Andrews told PEOPLE of Walton.

Andrews' children have inspired her in several ways, and in fact, they are what motivated her to become a children's book author. She published her first book Mandy, which was originally a story she wrote for her stepdaughter Jennifer, in 1971. She has gone on to build a children's book empire and has even written several books with her eldest daughter Emma.

Keep reading to learn about Julie Andrews' children.

Emma Walton Hamilton, 61

Emma Kate Walton was born on Nov. 27, 1962, in London, England. Just a few months after Emma's birth, Andrews moved to Hollywood with then-husband Walton and her daughter to film Mary Poppins, as she detailed in her memoir Home Work.

Andrews and her eldest daughter have always had a close relationship. "We were bonded from the beginning because of, well, so many reasons," she told The Guardian. "Emma's dad, my first husband, and I separated, and that helped us. I knew it was really important for me to make Emma's childhood as normal as possible, even though it was incredibly abnormal in many ways. But the same team traveled together, we were together as much as possible."

Andrews and Emma have since become business partners, penning several children's books together and co-authoring some of Andrews' memoirs.

In 2017, the mother-daughter duo collaborated on Julie's Greenroom, a children's show on Netflix that they executive-produced and wrote together. "It's pretty special from this mum's point of view," Andrews told PEOPLE of working with her daughter. "This is a new learning curve for both of us really — writing for children in television and also the format — to know that you only got this much time and you have to get everything out of it. She's on the floor every day while I'm performing. She's holding it all together."

Andrews and Emma launched a "family-friendly storytime" podcast together in 2020 called Julie's Library: Story Time with Julie Andrews. "When I became a parent, I passed the love of reading on to my children," Andrews said in a statement at the time. "My daughter and I have co-authored over 30 books for children and young adults, and our shared passion for the power of storytelling, literacy and the arts remains fervent."

As for her personal life, Emma married her husband Stephen Hamilton in 1991 and the two share children Hope Hamilton and Sam Hamilton. Hope has followed in her grandmother's footsteps as an actress. In 2021, she made her professional stage debut in Bay Street Theatre's production of Camelot, which was a very full circle moment as her grandmother originated the role of Queen Guenevere in the 1960 Broadway premiere of the play.

Amy Leigh Edwards, 50

Amy Leigh Edwards was born in Vietnam and adopted by Andrews and her second husband in 1974 when she was 2 months old.

Andrews told PEOPLE in 1977 that she and the Pink Panther director "wanted a child and weren't being successful," so they turned to international adoption in 1974, amidst the Vietnam War.

Amy and her younger sister, Joanna, traveled the world with their famous parents when they were kids, but their permanent home was in Gstaad, Switzerland. "It's just a village, really," Andrews described to PEOPLE, "with duckies, piggies and horses."

Since adopting the girls, Andrews has become an advocate for children's and orphans' rights in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Amy is very private and not much is known about her personal life or career.

Joanna Lynne Edwards, 48

Andrews and Edwards adopted Joanna Lynne Edwards from Vietnam in 1975, a year after they brought home Amy.

"Amy came into our lives and it was wonderful. Then Saigon began to fall and within three months, we had another one," Andrews once told The Australian Women's Weekly, per Now to Love.

Amy and Joanna have both chosen to stay out of the spotlight, and Andrews rarely discusses them. The Princess Diaries star has been candid about what her children have taught her, though.

"We as mothers learn from our kids," she once told PEOPLE. "We teach them to be patient and to put their fears aside and trust they will survive. They teach us to look at the small things and appreciate them."

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Read the original article on People.