How did Julia Child die? The cause of death explored

Julia Child was one of the most endearing chefs on television. The American chef hosted numerous cooking shows on television, which propelled her popularity, along with authoring many cookbooks.

Child was known for popularizing French cooking among a large number of people in America through her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her very popular television show The French Chef.

She was introduced to French food by her husband, Paul Cushing Child, and the pair even lived in Paris during his service as a United States Foreign Service Officer.

A graduate of the famous Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris, Child mastered the art of cooking by training with various world-renowned chefs too. Leaving a culinary legacy behind her, Julia Child passed away due to kidney failure in 2004. While many films and television series detail her life, fans still question how the famous chef passed away.

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What caused the death of Julia Child?

The famous television personality, author, and chef lived till the ripe age of 91, until she succumbed to kidney failure on August 13, 2004. As per the L.A. Times, she passed away just two days before her birthday, at 2:50 a.m. At the time of her death, Child was residing at an assisted living center in Montecito, California.

As per The Spokesman, her niece, Philadelphia Cousins, made the following statement at the time of her death:

"She passed away in her sleep. She was with family and friends and her kitten, Minou. She had cookbooks and many paintings by her husband Paul around the house."

Unknown to many fans, Julia Child secretly battled cancer for years before her death. As per PBS, Child wrote "left breast off" in a diary from February 18, 1968. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1968 while completing the drafts for her famous cookbook, The French Chef Cookbook.

Child's physicians ordered a full, radical mastectomy after a routine test confirmed the diagnosis. She spent a total of ten days in the hospital at the time, and her husband, Paul, was reportedly a mess. As per PBS, Child was apparently stoic until she broke down in tears in a bathtub at home after her hospital stay.

Julia Child's struggle with cancer was never a common subject of conversation during her lifetime, but she eventually spoke out about it to encourage others to seek treatment.

Despite having a history of breast cancer, Child's death was not ultimately caused by the disease. Reports around the time of Child's 2004 death stated that renal failure was the cause of death. The L.A. Times reports that the California native was eating out frequently and visiting farmers markets in the months before her death and that she was typically in good health. Reports suggest that Child's cancer was in remission at the time of her passing.

She only started to experience kidney failure a few weeks before her death. Poetically, Julia Child's last meal before her demise was French onion soup.

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Julia Child's story has been the subject of popular television shows like HBO's 2022 biopic series Julia. Even after her passing, she remains one of the most influential American chefs, introducing a large number of people to the world of French cooking.