‘Where are they now?’ The lovely Karen Dotrice
Ever wondered what happened to the stars of yesteryear? We take a look at the life of the Mary Poppins star turned Upstairs, Downstairs actress
When the original Mary Poppins film came out in 1964, every little girl wanted to be Karen Dotrice. In the role of Jane Banks, she danced with Dick Van Dyke, took spoonfuls of sugar with Julie Andrews and is remembered for some of the most iconic moments in movie musical history. It was an amazing opportunity for any child, but performing was always going to be Karen’s destiny, born as she was into an acting dynasty. Her father, Roy Dotrice, played Mozart’s father in the film Amadeus while her mother, Kay, and younger sister, Yvette, appeared in Crossroads. Her older sister, Michelle, played Frank Spencer’s wife Betty in TV comedy Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em. Karen and her sisters were barely out of nappies when they joined
their father’s repertory company on the island of Guernsey where Karen was born. It was while working alongside her father and godfather, Charles Laughton, on the London stage that Karen was spotted by a casting director and given the juvenile lead in Disney’s The Three Lives Of Thomasina. It officially starred Patrick McGoohan and Susan Hampshire, but the real stars were Karen and Matthew Garber, whose chemistry was such that they were cast as siblings Jane and Michael Banks in Mary Poppins.
As you would expect, the musical was a dream to work on. Karen says: “How could you not enjoy working with Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews? The two of them are the funniest people alive. Dick would crack us up all the time, joking around. Julie was lovely and very helpful to me with my singing.”
Karen even used to address Walt Disney himself simply as Uncle Walt.
In 1967, Karen did her final Disney feature, The GnomeMobile, again opposite Matthew Garber, who sadly later died from pancreatitis, aged 21.
In the Seventies Karen starred in early episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs and had a lead role in the remake of The Thirty Nine Steps, for which she received numerous awards.
Karen refused to dive naked into a lake for the film She Fell Among Thieves and in 1982 gave up acting altogether. Today she lives in Los Angeles with her television executive husband, Ned Nalle, their daughter Bella and son Griffin. She also has a son, Garrick, from her first marriage to the actor Alex Hyde-White.
She appeared in the 2005 US series Young Blades and Mary Poppinsrelated events, but mainly she loves just making the most of life. She says:
“I feel blessed I have something for which I’m famous. All human beings want to feel important and that we’ve contributed in some way on this planet, so it’s gratifying to have been picked out from many more talented kids for an opportunity to be thought of in a nice manner by the public. I think that’s a great honour.”
‘How could you not enjoy working with Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews? The two of them are the funniest people alive’