'Dazzling brilliance': Austin-raised 'Julie & Julia' author Julie Powell dies at age 49

Julie Powell, who grew up in Austin and wrote the bestselling memoirs "Julie & Julia" and "Cleaving," died suddenly of cardiac arrest Oct. 26 at her home in Olivebridge, N.Y. She was 49.

"Julie & Julia" started as a blog, "The Julie/Julia Project." In daily posts, Powell wrote of her sometimes frustrated attempts to cook all 254 recipes published in Julia Child's influential cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" over the course of a year. The comic chronicles also recorded personal challenges in Powell's life, including stress from a job taking calls at a government center after 9/11.

Powell's subsequent book, published in 2005, inspired a 2009 major motion picture, "Julie & Julia," starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. The screenplay also drew from Child's memoir, "My Life in France," which described the famous TV personality's marriage to Paul Child, played by Stanley Tucci, as well as her struggles to learn French cooking and to earn respect in a male-dominated field.

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"'Julie & Julia' became an instant classic," said Judy Clain, editor-in-chief of Little, Brown and Co. and Julie’s editor, "and it is with gratitude for her unique voice that we will now remember Julie’s dazzling brilliance and originality. We mourn her loss with her husband, Eric (Powell), and her family.”

Born Julia Ann Foster, the author attended Austin High School, where she pursued creative arts. She studied drama there and at Zach Theatre. She graduated from Amherst College in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in theater and fiction writing.

"She was a tremendous creative talent and, as expressed in her writing, a consummate gourmand with a passion for culinary challenges and extraordinary adventures," Powell's family wrote about her in remembrance after her death. "Julie had a deep love for animals and nature, and cared passionately about art, literature, politics and pop culture."

In 2002, Powell started the blog “The Julie/Julia Project” while working in a government temp job.

Her mother had used recipes from Child's masterpiece at times. Powell borrowed it while visiting the family home in Austin's Enfield neighborhood.

"This is a great book to really learn how to cook, but it was more than that," Powell told the American-Statesman in 2009. "It shows that you can do things. You can learn things. You can change.

"My entire experience with Julia Child before was the book and Dan Aykroyd," who portrayed the 6-foot-2-inch chef on "Saturday Night Live." Along the way, Powell got bored with the gimmick of cooking all Child's dishes.

"It naturally started happening that I wrote more about other parts of my life," Powell told the Statesman, "and about how this thing I did every day spoke to and informed other parts of my life."

Julie and Eric Powell's marital struggles are an integral part of the blog, the book and the movie.

The 2009 movie, directed by the late Nora Ephron, helped launch a revival of interest in Julia Child as a pioneer and historical figure — she worked for the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the CIA, as a research assistant — rather than just a cookbook writer and TV host.

Powell was recognized with an honorary degree from Le Cordon Bleu, and her work received critical acclaim, including two James Beard Awards for magazine writing and a Quill Award for Debut Author of the Year.

Private celebrations of her life are planned for Austin and New York.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 'Julie & Julia' author Julie Powell, raised in Austin, dies