Julie Powell: 5 Things To Know About The ‘Julie & Julia’ Food Writer Dead At 49

Julie Powell, a bestselling writer whose efforts to navigator each look successful Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking inspired the 2009 movie Julie & Julia, died connected Oct. 26, 2022, per The New York Times. Her husband, Eric Powell, confirmed that she died due to cardiac apprehension astatine their location successful New York. She was 49.

“We mourn her nonaccomplishment with her hubby Eric and her family,” Judy Clain, the editor-in-chief of Little, Brown and Co., — the institution that gave Julie her archetypal publication woody — said successful a connection to NBC News. “We are sending our deepest condolences to each who knew and loved Julie, whether personally oregon done the heavy connections she forged with readers of her memoirs. She was a superb writer and a daring, archetypal idiosyncratic and she volition not beryllium forgotten.”

Julie Powell died astatine the property of 49 successful Oct. 2022 (Photo: Henry Lamb/BEI/Shutterstock)

Julie blogged astir her acquisition recreating Julia’s recipes connected Salon successful her ain conception called the “Julie/Julia Project”. She primitively started the blog arsenic a mode to adhd immoderate joyousness to her beingness arsenic she grew bushed of her mundane temp occupation successful New York City, but it rapidly grew into truthful overmuch more. The blog grew a loyal viewership, and Julie had capable of a level to people her archetypal book, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, successful 2005. Read connected to larn much astir the writer and amateur cook here.

Julie Powell Published A Second Book In 2009

Following the occurrence of her archetypal book, Julie landed a woody for a follow-up. Titled, Cleaving: a Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession, the 2009 memoir details however she near municipality aft her matrimony was “challenged by an insane, irresistible emotion affair” and “buries herself successful the details of food”, per its Amazon description. While her penning received captious praise, it did not merchantability arsenic good arsenic her debut book.

It’s a spot ironic that Julie ended up being a non-fiction writer, arsenic she graduated from Amherst College successful 1995 with bachelor’s degrees successful theatre and fabrication writing, according to Variety.

Julie Had No Formal Culinary Training

Julie taught herself however to navigator and received nary ceremonial training. “I’d written astir each of it, my mistakes and my insignificant triumphs,” she wrote successful Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, per Salon. “People — a mates of friends, a mates of strangers, adjacent my aunt Sukie from Waxahachie — had written successful to the blog to basal maine on.”

Recalling however awesome Julie and her occurrence were, Salon elder writer Mary Elizabeth Williams raved, “She genuinely made her ain lane.”

Julie Powell’s beingness inspired the 2009 movie ‘Julie & Julia’ (Photo: Henny Ray Abrams/AP/Shutterstock)

Julia Childs Taught Julie Powell About ‘Joy’

Julie was intelligibly a immense instrumentality of Julia Childs, which she wrote astir successful her memoir. “Julia taught maine what it takes to find your mode successful the world. It’s not what I thought it was,” she penned, per CNN. “I thought it was each astir — I don’t know, assurance oregon volition oregon luck. Those are each immoderate bully things to have, nary question. But there’s thing else, thing that these things turn retired of. It’s joy.”

Julia Childs Was Critical Of Julie Powell

People are usually pleased to perceive that they person inspired idiosyncratic successful immoderate way. However, Julia Childs, who died successful 2004 earlier Julie’s memoir was published, was rather captious of Julie’s blog and her efforts to replicate her dishes. “Well, she conscionable doesn’t look precise serious, does she?” she asked nutrient writer and columnist Russ Parsons aft helium sent her immoderate links to Julie’s blog, per his 2009 interrogation with the Los Angeles Times.

“I worked precise hard connected that book. I tested and retested those recipes for 8 years truthful that everybody could navigator them. And many, galore radical have. I don’t recognize however she could person problems with them,” Julia continued, according to Russ’ recollection. “She conscionable indispensable not beryllium overmuch of a cook.” Harsh critic!

Julia Powell Had No Kids

Julie Powell, who was calved connected April 20, 1973 successful Austin, Texas, had nary children. When she died, she was survived by her parents, John and Kay, her husband, and her brother, Jordon.