Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child

557 pages

Julia Child was a beloved American television personality from 1963 to 1985. She pioneered an entire genre of cooking shows well before the Food Network.

She was born Julia McWilliams on August 15, 1912 in Pasadena, California to a prominent land owner, John McWilliams Jr. and a college graduate mother, Caro (Weston) McWilliams. She was raised to be a debutant. She graduated from Smith College. After commencement, she was a free spirit and immature for her age. Her six feet, 2 inch frame and average looks didn’t help attract a husband. While all her friends were becoming engaged and marrying their sweet hearts, Julia struggled to find herself in the world.

During World War II she served in the Office of Strategic Services. There she met Paul Child. After a long friendship, they fell in love and married in 1946. Julia was thirty four years old and Paul was forty four.

After the War, Paul was stationed in Paris, France. Julia to occupy her time started taking cooking classes. Before long it became an obsession. She had finally found her niche. She went on to co-author a best-selling book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and the rest was iconic television history.