View full sizeJulia Child praised local strawberries at a reception held during her visit to Portland when she was the keynote speaker for the Newspaper Food Editors and Writers Association conference.Julia Child timeline
Aug. 15, 1912:
Born Julia Carolyn McWilliams in Pasadena, Calif., to a prominent, wealthy family. Julia grows to be 6 feet, 2 inches, and is very active in sports.
1934:
Graduates from Smith College with a bachelor's degree in English. For the next few years she works as a writer and copywriter, and at one point is fired for "gross insubordination."
1941:
After learning she is too tall for the Women's Army Corps, Julia joins the Office of Strategic Services. She starts as a typist, but is quickly promoted.
1944:
OSS posts her to Ceylon (Sri Lanka). While there, she meets and marries fellow OSS employee Paul Cushing Child. They never have children, but are married until Paul's death in 1994.
1948:
The couple move to Paris for Paul's new assignment with the U.S. Information Agency. Julia attends famed Cordon Bleu cooking school and studies with master chefs.
1951:
Julia and two friends from her women's cooking club (Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) open an informal cooking school for American women called L'école des Trois Gourmandes, "The School of the Three Food Lovers."
1961:
After many rewrites and setbacks, the three women finally publish "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" with Alfred A. Knopf. The massive book quickly becomes a best-seller.
1962:
Julia appears on a book review TV show and demonstrates how to cook an omelet. Viewers love her and the next year "The French Chef" debuts on WGBH, the educational television station in Boston, and runs for 10 years.
Julia stars in several TV shows and publishes many books, including what many consider her best, "The Way to Cook." She wins or is nominated for several Emmy Awards and wins a Peabody and a National Book Award.
Success -- and her cheery personality and breathy voice -- also make her a target of parody on "Saturday Night Live," "The Cosby Show" and Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion."
2000:
Wins the French Legion of Honor.
2002:
Julia inspires Julie Powell's cooking blog called "The Julie/Julia Project," which later becomes a book and a major film starring Meryl Streep.
2003:
Wins the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Aug. 13, 2004:
Dies at her home in Santa Barbara, Calif.
-- Compiled by