Julie Powell

Powell, who was propelled into the spotlight after starting a tongue-and-cheek blog that highlighted her cooking every dish in Julia Child's cook books, died of cardiac arrest at the age of 49. The food writer started her career as a secretary for a company in New York City, but she always wanted to break into the entertainment industry and spent her days dreaming of doing more. Despite having virtually no expertise in the kitchen, when the idea struck her to cook all 524 of Child's recipes in a year, she never thought that it would launch her into stardom almost overnight. She later said that she saw the effort as a distraction from her boring job, but what started as a way to escape the monotony from her run-of-the-mill existence helped her to reclaim her celebrity, which she had always wanted. It became so popular that she was asked to turn it into a book; and Julie and Julia, which starred Amy Adams and Meryl Styep, received an Oscan nomination, as well as an Oscan nomination. As the news of Powell's death ripples the food industry, FEMAIL has honed down her impressive career, from her early days as a secretary to how she made her dreams of becoming famous come true.

Powell, who was thrust into lime after starting a tongue-and-cheek blog that featured her baking every dish in one of Julia Child's cook books, died of cardiac arrest at the age of 49. The food writer started her career as a secretary for a New York City firm, but she always wanted to break into the entertainment industry and spent her days wishing to do more. Despite having virtually no expertise in the kitchen, when she was inspired to cook all 524 of Child's recipes in a year, she never thought it would launch her into stardom overnight. She later said she thought of the venture as a break from her boring work, but what started as a way to escape the monotony of her run-of-the-mill life helped her achieve the fame she had always wanted. It became so popular that she was asked to turn it into a book, and Julie and Julia, which starred Amy Adams and Meryl Stout and an Oscan nomination, became a 2009 film. FEMAIL has fallen short of her incredible career as the news of Powell's death around the food industry has sparked waves, from her early days as a secretary to how she made her dreams of becoming popular.

Julie Powell, a food writer whose blog about every dish in Julia Child's 1961 'French Cooking' book, has died at the age of 49.