Background
Child was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on January 15, 1902, to Bertha Cushing and Charles Tripler Child.
Child was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on January 15, 1902, to Bertha Cushing and Charles Tripler Child.
When he and his twin brother Charles were six months old, their father died and the twins moved with their mother to her family"s home in Boston, where Paul attended Boston Latin School.
He is best known as the husband of celebrity chef Julia Child. He took an extension course at Columbia College and later became a teacher in France, Italy, and the United States, giving instruction in various subjects including photography, English, and French. During World World War II, Child joined the Office of Strategic Services. While stationed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), he met Julia McWilliams, who also worked for the Office of Strategic Services. Child was known for his sophisticated palate.
In 1948, the United States. State Department assigned Child to be an exhibits officer with the United States Information Agency.
After five years in Paris, Child was reassigned to Marseilles, Bonn, and Oslo. In April 1955, he was summoned from Bonn to undergo interrogation in Washington, District of Columbia While there, he was questioned about his political beliefs and the political beliefs of his co-workers.
Feeling his privacy had been violated through the interrogation, Child and his wife"s oppositions to the Senate investigations were reinforced. Child retired from government service in 1961.
His prose was later celebrated in an authorized biography of Julia.
Paul Child died at a nursing home in Lexington, Massachusetts, on May 12, 1994, following a long illness. His widow died ten years later, on August 13, 2004. Paul Child was portrayed by Stanley Tucci in the 2009 comedy-drama film Julie & Julia, which was adapted in part from Julia Child"s memoir My Life in France.