Late celebrity chef Julia Child may have brought all things culinary to the masses, but there was one secret she kept from the world: She was a spy.
Newly released personnel records reveal that Julia Child was part of an international spy ring managed by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an early version of the CIA created during World War II by President Theodore Roosevelt. Before she became a famous chef, Child helped the OSS develop shark repellent, an explosives coating that was critical to protecting ammunition used to sink German U-boats during the war.
Yesterday, the National Archives released a list of nearly 24,000 names that were in the previously classified records. Are you surprised by this recent news? Does it change the way you perceive the nation's first celebrity chef?
Michael Kors
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True Religion
I heard about this a long time ago. I couldn't imagine her as a spy though.
1This boggles my mind. When I think CIA spy, I think Jennifer Garner kicking you-know-what in high heels and a skin-tight outfit. This definitely changes my opinion of Julia Child - she was much more bad-a** than I ever imagined! (Although I don't believe she was ever one of those butt-kicking secret weapons and martial arts operative types...)
2She was such a cool woman!
3I thought we'd known about her for a while; people hadn't necessarily believed it was the OSS, but she certainly revealed she'd been a spy in her posthumously published memoir.... the big news to me was the thousands of other famous names on the list that hadn't been disclosed yet.
4Yet more proof that Julia Child was a total badass.
5I think its pretty cool!
6Make a pie, be a spy! I love this story.
7Just makes her even more awesome! Though I sort of suspected it after reading about her history. Good stuff.
8this is old news really.
9i think that's so interesting that she was a spy
it's all things like that which
make a person even more intriguing. can you imagine sweet Julia Child as a spy providing top secret information to people ?
10I learned about this at the Spy Museum in DC. In fact, it is the ONLY thing I learned. HA!
11I too learned this at the Spy Museum
It is totally cool, really. She would have been
perfect because she seemed so normal and able to blend in. It makes me respect and admire her even more.
12Thats freaking awesome.
13Am I complete dork for just noting that it was Franklin, not Theodore, Roosevelt that was President right before and during WW II? It's okay, I know I probably am.
14I remember hearing this years ago and my mom telling me about it when i was lil while we watch her show on pbs.
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