Born Julia McWilliams in 1912 in Pasadena, CA, she attended Smith College, where upon graduation, she joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the present-day CIA.

But instead of becoming a spy, she was assigned to India as a clerk in charge of filing secret documents. It was there that she met Paul Child, the multi-talented head of a chart-making division 10 years her senior -- and the man who would become her husband and life-long partner.

A fateful assignment in Paris for the couple changed Julia Child’s life forever. Paul, a serious food lover, enjoyed good cooking and thusly, prompted Julia to enter the kitchen.

She was 35 when she attended the famous French cooking school, the Cordon Bleu. There she met two French women who wanted to write a cookbook for Americans. And thus, the "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" was penned, taking more than a decade to write.

When it was finally and exhaustively completed, the end product was 800 pages long and filled with exotic recipes made more "approachable" for the American housewife who, at the time, was mastering Jell-o molds. Knopf published the book in 1961.

The book was groundbreaking for introducing French cooking techniques to a country whose cuisine had been best known for dishes like meatloaf and potatoes. That book spawned the PBS television series 'The French Chef' and was followed by several other shows where she brought a simple, American approach to making gourmet dishes.

And the rest -- from her sparkling debut on WGBH at age 50 to her Time Magazine cover five years later, Dan Aykroyd's "SNL" imitation, her Emmy(R), George Foster Peabody and National Book Awards, multiple cookbooks and eventual pop icon status -- is history.

Two weeks before she died, Broadcasting & Cable Magazine interviewed the legendary television chef.

"She pioneered the genre," says B&C Editor-in-Chief Max Robins. "And, just as she never skimped on a recipe in the 206 episodes of her acclaimed show, The French Chef, she never compromised her ethics.

"For example, we asked her why she never endorsed products," Robins notes. Her answer: "I want to be able to be completely honest about what I present. I like having the opportunity to show the difference between brands and styles of cookware. I don't want to have to avoid using anything simply because it may conflict with the views of a sponsor."

Tonight, the Biography Channel will air an encore presentation of BIO REMEMBERS: JULIA CHILD at 10PM ET/7PM PT.

For more information, please log on www.BiographyChannel.com