Dame Julie Andrews to receive Grammy for lifetime achievement

Dame Julie Andrews is to be presented with a lifetime achievement gong at the next Grammy Awards, it has been announced.

The musical star, famous for classic films including Mary Poppins, the Sound of Music and My Fair Lady, as well as several Broadway shows, will be presented with the award alongside fellow singing stars Dolly Parton and punk band The Ramones.

The next Grammy Awards are set to take place on February 12th next year, 57 years after Andrews made her musical theatre debut on Broadway.

Speaking after the announcement, Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organisation behind the Grammys, said: "It is a great honour to recognise and celebrate such a distinguished and dynamic group of honourees who have been the creators of such timeless art."

Andrews' husband Blake Edwards, a noted film maker, recently died after suffering complications from pneumonia. He was 88 and the pair had been married since 1969.