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Julia Child

Personal Profile

Julia Child
  • Birth Name:
    Julia Carolyn McWilliams
  • Nickname:
    Juke, Jukies, Juju
  • Date of Birth:
    August 15, 1912
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Leo
  • Place of Birth:
    Pasadena, California, USA
  • Place of Death:
    Santa Barbara, California,
  • Date of Death:
    August 13, 2004
  • Height:
    6' 2"
  • Sex:
    Female
  • Hair Color:
    Brown
  • Eye Color:
    Brown
  • Nationality:
    American
  • Religion:
    Christianity
  • Education:

    Smith College

    Polytechnic School

    The Branson School, Ross, California

Family

Julia Child
  • Brother:
    John III
  • Sister:
    Dorothy D. born c
  • Spouse:
    Paul Child

Career

Julia Child

Awards

Julia Child

2001 : Daytime Emmy Award, Outstanding Service Show Host for - "Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home" (2000)

1996 : Daytime Emmy Award, Outstanding Service Show Host for - "In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs"

1996 : Emmy Award, Achievements in Educational Television - Individuals
for - "The French Chef" (1962)

1965 : Personal Award

Trivia

Julia Child
  • Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 80-83. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
  • Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, Volume 170, pages 56-60. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2008.
  • When spoofed by Dan Ackroyd on Saturday Night Live, she thought it was hilarious and kept a copy of the skit for herself.
  • She served as inspiration in creating the Muppet, the Swedish Chef.
  • During World War II, she was part of the team of people who invented shark repellent. Julia's shark repellent is still used by the U.S. Navy.
  • During WWII, she held a job with the Office of Strategic Services, a forerunner of the CIA. She started as a clerk and rose to the rank of registrar. Her position put her in control of top secret and other highly sensitive documents.
  • Was played by Dan Aykroyd on "Saturday Night Live" (1975).
  • On August 19, 2002, her kitchen was opened as an exhibit at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. The exhibit ran until February 2004 and became part of the museum's permanent collection.
  • Was a collector of rubber stamps.

Quotes

Julia Child
  • "Just like becoming an expert in wine–you learn by drinking it, the best you can afford–you learn about great food by finding the best there is, whether simply or luxurious. The you savor it, analyze it, and discuss it with your companions, and you compare it with other experiences.""
  • "Just like becoming an expert in wine–you learn by drinking it, the best you can afford–you learn about great food by finding the best there is, whether simply or luxurious. The you savor it, analyze it, and discuss it with your companions, and you compare it with other experiences."
  • "Just like becoming an in wine–you learn by drinking it, the best you can afford–you learn about great food by finding the best there is, whether simply or luxurios. The you savor it, analyze it, and discuss it with your companions, and you compare it with other experiences."
  • "Upon reflection, I decided I had three main weaknesses: I was confused (evidenced by a lack of facts, an inability to coordinate my thoughts, and an inability to verbalize my ideas); I had a lack of confidence, which cause me to back down from forcefully stated positions; and I was overly emotional at the expense of careful, 'scientific' though. I was thirty-seven years old and still discovering who I was."
  • ""'You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made,' [Chef Bugnard] said. 'Even after you eat it, it stays with you - always.'""
  • "Learn to cook--try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!"
  • "She was my first cat ever, and I thought she was marvelous. "
  • "...nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should."
  • "Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you need."
  • "Until I discovered cooking, I was never really interested in anything."
View all Quotes: Julia Child

Biography

Julia Child
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 25, 2009

julia childJulia Child was born in Pasadena, California. She was graduated from Smith College and worked for the OSS during World War II in Ceylon and China, where she met Paul Child. After they married they lived in Paris, where she studied at the Cordon Bleu and taught cooking with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, with whom she wrote the first volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961). In 1963, Boston's WGBH launched The French Chef television series, which made her a national celebrity, earning her the Peabody Award in 1965 and an Emmy in 1966. Several public television shows and numerous cookbooks followed.

In the late 1940s Julia Child began studying French cooking while living in Paris. During the 1950s she co-founded a cooking school, L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes, and with her partners began working on a cookbook. In 1961 Mastering the Art of French Cooking was published, and its success helped launch a cooking show on PBS television. Unflappable and droll, she shared her passion for food with American TV audiences for half a century. Child authored several books and won numerous awards around the world, and is often credited with having improved American culinary habits. She died in 2004.

Filmography

Julia Child

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