--- description: Not because she was a will-o'-the-wisp or a clown title: Behind 'The Sound of Music': Why the Real Maria Went to Live With the von Trapps image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1f5c3171875ba0a/6987809a3c1639675d451ead/trapp.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Behind _The Sound of Music_: Why the Real Maria Went to the von Trapps'  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 2, 2015 2:00 PM CUT  Family Von Trapp singing in a radioshow in London on Dec. 9, 1937 Family Von Trapp singing in a radioshow in London on Dec. 9, 1937Imagno/Austrian Archives (S)/Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Mar 2, 2015 2:00 PM CUT When the movie of _The Sound of Music_ premiered 50 years ago, on Mar. 2, 1965, the world learned the story of would-be nun Maria, whose superiors, at their wits’ end over her flightiness, sent her to work as a governess for an Austrian naval captain with seven children. But in reality, though Maria and the von Trapp family were real people, some details differed. For example, as TIME [reported](http://time.com/vault/issue/1949-07-18/page/48 "undefined") in 1949, before _The S_ _ound of Music_ was a play or a movie, her reason for going to the family was not quite like the cinematic version: --- > “” --- The story’s description of Maria is about as far from the film’s flibbertigibbet as possible. Rather, she has “the charm and will of a medieval matriarch.” Interestingly, an[ earlier TIME story](http://time.com/vault/issue/1938-12-19/page/51 "undefined") about the Trapp family, from 1938, reported on the Lotte Lehmann anecdote and the family coming to the U.S. to sing, “surpris\[ing\] many a gas-station attendant with their dirndl dresses and Lederhosen,” with no mention of the Nazis, the actual reason they ended up leaving their homeland. Their transition to living in the U.S. was not completely smooth — though Maria loved long-distance calls, she [told TIME ](http://time.com/vault/issue/1949-07-18/page/48 "undefined")that she hated that the envelopes were oblong and that people put mayonnaise on pears — but eventually they settled down in Vermont, where the family still maintains an inn. _Read next:_ [_Can Even a Cranky Guy Fall for_ ](http://time.com/3717463/sound-of-music-50-review/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined")[The Sound of Music_?_](http://time.com/3717463/sound-of-music-50-review/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### "The Sound of Music" at 50: The Hills Are Still Alive  Actress Julie Andrews as Maria von Trapp with her charges in The Sound of Music. Eliot Elisofon—LIFE  The Von Trapp Family singers warm up before a performance in New York's Town Hall. The musical "The Sound of Music" was based on their life in Austria. December 5, 1938. Bettman/Corbis  Actress Charmian Carr, who played Liesl von Trapp, in a costume test, 1965. 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection  Distant view of crew filming actress Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp with the Von Trapp children for a scene from the motion picture The Sound Of Music. Eliot Elisofon—LIFE  Christopher Plummer and Duane Chase on the set of The Sound of Music. 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection  Director Robert Wise with Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews, on set of The Sound of Music. 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection  Daniel Truhitte and Charmian Carr, 1965. 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection  Distant view of cast in The Sound of Music. Eliot Elisofon—LIFE [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3719297/real-von-trapps-maria/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3719297/real-von-trapps-maria/"},"headline":"Behind The Sound of Music: Why the Real Maria Went to the von Trapps'","datePublished":"2015-03-02T14:00:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:27.049Z","description":"Not because she was a will-o'-the-wisp or a clown","url":"https://time.com/3719297/real-von-trapps-maria/","keywords":["movies","Theater"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1f5c3171875ba0a/6987809a3c1639675d451ead/trapp.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1f5c3171875ba0a/6987809a3c1639675d451ead/trapp.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Familie von Trapp","caption":"Familie von Trapp","creditText":"Imagno/Austrian Archives (S)/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3719297/real-von-trapps-maria/","name":"Behind The Sound of Music: Why the Real Maria Went to the von Trapps'"}}]}] ```