Julia Child: Food TV and Cookbook Facts

Born: August 15, 1912
Died: August 13, 2004
Known for: Cooking television and books

A sourced evergreen guide to Julia Child, with facts, context and reference links.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team•Updated June 5, 2026•4 min read•✓ Fact-checked

Julia Child reference image — Lynn Gilbert via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for having brought French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which premiered in 1963.

== Early life == Child was born Julia Carolyn McWilliams on August 15, 1912, in Pasadena, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Her father was John McWilliams Jr. (1880–1962), a Princeton University graduate and prominent land manager, and her mother was Julia Carolyn ("Caro") Weston (1877–1937), a paper-company heiress and daughter of Byron Curtis Weston, a lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. She was the eldest of three, followed by a brother, John McWilliams III, and a sister, Dorothy Cousins. Child attended Polytechnic School and Westridge School from 4th grade to 9th grade in Pasadena, California. In high school, she was sent to the Katherine Branson School in Ross, California, which was at the time a boarding school. As a youth, she played tennis, golf, and basketball. Child also played sports while attending...