Julia Child Net Worth

What was Julia Child’s Net Worth?

Julia Child, an American chef, author, and television personality, had a net worth of $50 million at the time of her death in 2004. She is credited with popularizing French cuisine in America through her debut cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” and went on to publish 16 more cookbooks and a memoir. Child starred on multiple television shows, including “The French Chef,” which won an Emmy. Meryl Streep portrayed her in the 2009 film “Julie & Julia.”

Julia Child’s Early Life

Julia Child was born in Pasadena, California, in 1912 to Julia Weston and John McWilliams, Jr. She had two younger siblings and attended Polytechnic School and Katherine Branson School. After graduating from high school, she earned a degree in history from Smith College in Massachusetts in 1934. Despite not learning to cook until her thirties, she later became a renowned chef.

Julia Child’s Career Highlights

After college, Julia moved to New York City and took a job as a copywriter in W. & J. Sloane’s advertising department. In 1942, she joined the Office of Strategic Services as a typist. Child was later promoted to a top-secret researcher under General William J. Donovan. Julia received the Emblem of Meritorious Civilian Service while serving as the head of the Registry of the OSS Secretariat. When too many underwater OSS explosives were being set off by sharks, Child solved the problem by experimenting with various concoctions that were sprinkled near the explosives.

After attending the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, Julia studied with master chefs such as Max Bugnard, and she joined Le Cercle des Gourmettes, a women’s cooking club. The trio began teaching cooking classes for American women in 1951, and a decade later, they published “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” followed by “Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume Two” in 1970.

After the success of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” Julia began writing magazine articles as well as a column for “The Boston Globe.” She published numerous cookbooks and appeared on several TV shows, including “The French Chef,” “Julia Child & Company,” and “Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home.” In 1981, Child co-founded the American Institute of Wine & Food to “advance the understanding, appreciation and quality of wine and food.” Three of Child’s shows were filmed in her kitchen in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in 2001, she agreed to donate the kitchen to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Julia Child’s Life and Legacy

Julia Child married Paul Cushing Child in 1946 after meeting him while he was stationed in Ceylon with the Office of Strategic Services. They moved to Paris, where Julia took cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu, and later settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After Paul’s death in 1994, Julia founded The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and Culinary Arts to continue her impact as a teacher and mentor. The Foundation now gives out the Julia Child Award and grants to nonprofit organizations.

Julia Child’s Passing and Legacy

Julia Child passed away on August 13, 2004, at 92 years old due to kidney failure. She was cremated, and her ashes were placed in an underwater mausoleum near Key Biscayne, Florida, called the Neptune Memorial Reef. Her legacy lives on, as in 2014, the U.S. Postal Service released a set of “Celebrity Chefs Forever” stamps featuring Julia, James Beard, Joyce Chen, Felipe Rojas-Lombardi, and Edna Lewis.

Awards and Honors

Julia Child was nominated for three Primetime Emmys, winning Achievements in Educational Television – Individuals for “The French Chef” in 1966. She also won two Daytime Emmys – Outstanding Service Show Host for “In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs” (1996) and “Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home” (2001) – and earned two nominations in that category for “Baking with Julia” (1997 and 1999).

In 1965, she received a Peabody Award for “The French Chef,” and she won a U.S. National Book Award for Current Interest (hardcover) for “Julia Child and More Company” in 1980. Child received the Knight of France’s Legion of Honor award in 2000 and became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2003, she was honored with the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and was posthumously inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2007. Julia also received honorary doctorates from several universities, including Harvard University, Brown University, and Johnson & Wales University.

JoltBlog