About Julia Child

A California native and Smith graduate, Julia Child (1912–2004) worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. In 1944 she met her future husband, Paul Child, in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). After their wedding, the Childs moved to Paris, he to work as a diplomat and she to discover the language, culture, and, above all, food of France. She earned a degree from the Cordon Bleu cooking school and, with two French friends, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, produced the massive manuscript that eventually became Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the 1961 book that introduced ordinary America to classic French cuisine. A tall, gangly woman with a distinctively piercing voice, Child won a cult following two years later with her cooking show on PBS, “The French Chef.” She went on to write several books and became a nationally known personality. Her last book, My Life in France, was published two years after she died.