About Julia Child 

Country of Birth

United States

Industry

Culinary arts

Top achievements

Julia Child is an American television personality, cooking expert and author. She is known for promoting traditional French cuisine in America with her television program, The French Chef, and her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. 

 

Early life and education

Julia Child was born in Pasadena, California, in 1912 and had a privileged life with an upper-middle-class family. She attended Smith College and graduated with a vague aspiration of becoming an author. She also aspired to go on great adventures.

After graduating from Smith College in 1934 with a B.A. degree, Julia occasionally worked in advertising. During WWII, she found the adventure she yearned for when she began working with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS,) which eventually became the CIA. Her work took Julia around the world and eventually led to her meeting her future husband, Paul Cushing Child.

After the war, she stayed in Paris for six years. For six months, Julia attended the Cordon Bleu cooking school and studied with Max Bugnard, a master chef.

Career

In 1951, Julia joined forces with two French friends, Louisette Bertholie and Simone Beck, and launched L’École des Trois Gourmandes (The School of the Three Gourmands.) In later years, Julia wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a best-selling cookbook praised for being clear and comprehensive. She also wrote “The Way to Cook” and released a home video series. 

This led to other series, also accompanied by books. During the 1970s and 1980s, Julia starred in several television programs, including Julia Child and Company, Julia Child and More Company, and Dinner at Julia’s. By 1980, Julia had a regular slot on ABC’s Good Morning America. The following year, she launched the American Institute of Wine and Food. 

In the late 1980s, Julia’s successes continued with a book and instructional video series called The Way to Cook. As part of her television series, Julia transformed her home kitchen into a TV set with all the appropriate lighting and cameras for every angle needed. This backdrop hosted nearly all of Julia’s programs in the 1990s.

Recognition

In 1964, Julia Child received a Peabody Award; in 1964, she won an Emmy Award for her television work. In 1980, she won a National Book Award for her book Julia Child and More Company. 

In 1992, on her 80th birthday, Julia Child was honored with three massive parties in New York, Los Angeles, and Boston. The theme was to celebrate Julia’s contribution to American food and cooking. The following year, Harvard University granted Julia an honorary doctorate. 

In 2000, Julia was appointed to the French Legion of Honor, and later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003.

Additional facts

• In 1995, Julia launched the Julia Child Foundation of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, a charity that provides grants to further her life’s work.
• Julia Child’s husband designed her kitchen, which became the setting for three of her TV shows. It is now on display in Washington D.C. at the National Museum of American History.