Lesser known facts about Julia Child, her height, age, husband and children

Julia Child is known to many as just a chef who brought French cuisine to American food lovers through her TV show. She is, however, much more than that. Among many other things that many people don’t know, Julia is also an author.

Beyond his professional and personal life, here are the lesser-known facts about the chef.

Julia Child Biography (Age)

Chef was born Julia Carolyn McWilliams on August 15, 1912 in Pasadena, California. Her wealthy parents, Julia Carolyn Weston and John McWilliams, raised her with a brother and sister. Her maternal grandfather, Byron Curtis Weston, served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1880 to 1883.

For her education, she went to Katherine Branson School and then Smith College, where she majored in history. Although it was as a chef that she would become known and respected, Julia was a sports enthusiast when she was at school. She practiced basketball, tennis and athletics although she did not excel enough to make a career out of it.

To say that she started cooking when she was a little kid would be very far from the truth. In fact, she didn’t start cooking until much later in her life when she met Paul Cushing Child, the man who would later become her husband. Before that, her family had a cook who looked after what she ate, so they had no reason to learn how to do it. Or so she believed.

Her first job was at an advertising agency before she was fired for insubordination. During World War II, she wanted to join the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) or the US Navy’s WAVES but, due to her height being too high, she joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).

At the end of the war, she went to the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school before training with Max Bugnard and a few others. Before too long, she had her own show, The French Chef in 1963. She would go on to write several cookbooks as well as journals.

Child has also hosted other television shows, including Cooking with the Chefs, Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home, and Baking with Julia. These and his books have earned him several awards, including multiple Daytime Emmy Awards, US National Book Awards, and a Peabody Award.

Julia Child died on August 12, 2004 in Montecito, California after kidney failure. She was 91 at the time.

husband and children

Julia Child has spent a very large part of her life with her husband, Paul Cushing Child. The two men met during World War II when they both served in the OSS. They married in 1946 and remained together until Paul died on May 12, 1994, at the age of 92.

Unfortunately, due to fertility issues, the couple had no children. According to the chef, if she had had a child, she would have devoted her life to them.

Her size

As stated above, Julia Child was a basketball player when she was in school. It is interesting to know that she was not able to play in the school because of her talent, but for her height which was 6 feet 2 inches. This placed her the tallest among her teammates but not necessarily the best player.

Lesser known facts about the chef

1. Contrary to everything that has been said about red meat and gin, Child attributes his long life to the consumption of red meat and gin.

2. With her induction into the Culinary Institute Hall of Fame in 1993, she became the first woman to be so honored.

3. She wouldn’t have had a career if she had been able to conceive and have children.

4. In 2003, President George W. Bush awarded the child the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to civilians in the country. She received the award for strengthening American culture and teaching the country how to cook.

5. Her first date with the man who later became her husband was after a French meal in Paris. This may explain his love for French cuisine.

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