Julia Child Spy
Celebrity chef Julia Child was part of the U.S. intelligence effort during World War II, working for the now-defunct Office of Strategic Services, the CIA's predecessor.1 Although this chapter in Child's life has been previously reported, new details emerged in files on 24,000 OSS members released by the National Archives on August 14, 2008.1 Child, who died in 2004, just short of her 92nd birthday, was stationed in both China and Sri Lanka, and helped develop a repellent to keep sharks from setting off underwater mines.2
Fast Facts
- Joined OSS in 1941
- Worked for Secret Intelligence division
- Rejected by Army and Navy for being "too tall"3
- OSS formed in 1942; replaced by CIA in 1947
- Other OSS members included Chicago White Sox catcher Moe Berg and historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr.1
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