Julie Powell passed away from a heart attack at her upstate New York home; according to acquaintances, she was “a brilliant writer and a brave, original person.”
At the age of 49, a culinary blogger who served as the basis for the 2009 movie Julie & Julia passed away.
After committing to making every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Julie Powell rose to fame online.
A book deal and a big-budget film starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep were the results of her challenge.
Powell, who was praised by friends as “a brilliant writer and a brave, creative person,” passed away at her home in upstate New York from a heart arrest.
We are offering our sincere condolences to everyone who knew and loved Julie, whether directly or through the strong bonds she created with readers of her memoirs, according to her editor Judy Clain.
Following the publication of her best-selling memoir Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen in 2005, Powell made appearances on The Martha Stewart Show and Iron Chef America on the Food Network.
She later wrote for The New York Times, Bon Appétit, and Food & Wine, where she twice took home the James Beard Award.
In addition, Powell received an honorary degree from Paris’ Le Cordon Blue, where Julia Child studied in 1950.
In 2009, Powell published Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession, her second book, in which she acknowledged having an affair.
Her struggle with loving two men at once, her love of sadomasochism, and even a session of self-punishing sex with a stranger were all covered in the article.
In 2004, as she was putting the finishing touches on her debut book, she started her relationship.
In her book, Powell noted that her experience slicing meat actually led to her eating less of it. By 2006, Powell had secured an apprenticeship at a butcher shop.
She consequently started supporting the use of humane practices in the raising and killing of livestock for human consumption.
Powell’s husband, Eric, is still alive.
