Who Was Julia Child?

Born in California in 1912, Julia Child enlisted in the Army and met her future husband, Paul, during World War II. She discovered her love of French food while stationed in Paris and enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu cooking school after her service. Child knew that Americans would love French food as much as she did, so she wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 1961. The book was a success and the public wanted more. America fell in love with Julia Child. Her TV show, The French Chef, premiered in 1963 and brought the bubbling and lovable chef into millions of homes. Find out more about this beloved chef, author, and TV personality in Who Was Julia Child?Geoff Edgers is a reporter at The Washington Post and author of Who Were The Beatles? and Who Is Stan Lee?

Carlene Hempel is a lecturer at Northeastern University's School  of Journalism.

One night in 1962, people watching Channel 2 in Boston saw something unexpected. There, standing over a frying pan, was a woman tall enough to play professional basketball. She wore an apron and spoke in a fluttering, high-pitched voice. She was excited.

Julia Child was cooking an omelet.

That’s a fancy way of making scrambled eggs that are served folded in half.

The show’s producers were not expecting Julia to be a big hit. Back then, the most popular shows were westerns, cartoons, and comedies. There certainly weren’t many people cooking on television.