Julia Child

Chef / TV Personality

Name at birth: Julia McWilliams

In the late 1940s Julia Child began studying French cooking while living in Paris. During the 1950s she co-founded a cooking school, L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes, and with her partners began working on a cookbook. In 1961 Mastering the Art of French Cooking was published, and its success helped launch a cooking show on PBS television. Unflappable and droll, she shared her passion for food with American TV audiences for half a century. Child authored several books and won numerous awards around the world, and is often credited with having improved American culinary habits.

Extra credit: During World War II she worked for the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency. She was stationed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and China.

Other food-related celebs include Luther Burbank, Martha Stewart and Betty Crocker... Other public television stars include Fred Rogers, Ken Burns and Jacques Cousteau.