‘Julie & Julia’ Food Writer Dies at 49 – Hollywood Life

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Julie Powella best-selling author whose efforts to cook every recipe Julia Kindsay Master the art of French cooking inspired the 2009 film Julie and Julia, died on 26 October 2022, per The New York Times. her husband, Eric Powell, confirmed that she died of cardiac arrest at their home in New York. She was 49.

“We mourn her loss along with her husband Eric and her family,” Judy Clainthe editor-in-chief of Little, Brown and Co., — the company that gave Julie her first book deal — said in a statement NBC News. “We send our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved Julie, either personally or through the deep bonds she forged with readers of her memoirs. She was a brilliant writer and a daring, original person and she will not be forgotten.”

Julie blogged about her experience recreating Julia’s recipes Salon in her own section called the “Julie/Julia Project”. She originally started the blog as a way to add some joy to her life as she grew tired of her mundane temp job in New York, but it quickly grew into so much more. The blog grew a loyal following, and Julie had enough of a platform to publish her first book, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Small Apartment Kitchenin 2005. Read on to learn more about the author and amateur chef here.

Julie Powell published a second book in 2009

After the success of her first book, Julie got a deal for a sequel. Entitled, Splitting: A Tale of Marriage, Flesh and Obsession, the 2009 memoir, describes how she left town after her marriage was “challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair” and “buried herself in the details of food,” according to its Amazon description. While her writing received critical acclaim, it did not sell as well as her debut book.

It’s somewhat ironic that Julie eventually became a non-fiction writer, as she graduated from Amherst College in 1995 with bachelor’s degrees in theater and fiction writing, according to Variety.

Julie had no formal culinary training

Julie taught herself to cook and received no formal training. “I wrote about it all, my mistakes and my minor victories,” she wrote in Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Small Apartment Kitchen, per Salon. “People — some friends, some strangers, even my Aunt Sukie from Waxahachie — wrote on the blog to root me on.”

Remember how impressive Julie and her success were, Salon senior author Mary Elizabeth Williams raves, “She truly made her own lane.”

Julia Childs Taught Julie Powell About ‘Joy’

Julie was clearly a huge fan of Julia Childs, who she wrote about in her memoir. “Julia taught me what it takes to find your way in the world. It’s not what I thought it was,” she wrote, according to CNN. “I thought it was all about — I don’t know, confidence or will or luck. These are all some good things to have, no doubt. But there is something else, something from which these things grow. It’s joy.”

Julia Childs was critical of Julie Powell

People are usually happy to hear that they have inspired someone in some way. However, Julia Childs, who died in 2004 before Julie’s memoir was published, was quite critical of Julie’s blog and her attempts to replicate her dishes. “Well, she just doesn’t look very serious, does she?” asked his food writer and columnist Russ Parsons after sending her some links to Julie’s blog, according to his 2009 interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“I worked very hard on that book. I tested and retested those recipes for eight years so that everyone could cook them. And many, many people have. I don’t understand how she could have problems with them,” Julia continued, according to Russ’ recollection. “She just mustn’t be much of a cook.” Harsh critic!

Julia Powell had no children

Julie Powell, who was born on April 20, 1973 in Austin, Texas, had no children. When she died, she was survived by her parents, John and Kayher husband and her brother, Jordan.