Julia Child, the grande dame of US television cooking shows whose operatic voice and irreverent attitude brought French haute cuisine into America's humble kitchens, died in her sleep at her California home on Friday at the age of 91.
"She died just a little before 3 a.m. (1000 GMT) this morning, very, very peacefully in her sleep," Child's nephew David McWilliams told Reuters. "It was the way she wanted to go. She didn't want to be in a hospital."
Child was with family, friends and her cat Minou when she died of kidney failure at her Santa Barbara home, said her niece, Philadelphia Cousins. Child, who would have been 92 on Sunday, was wilful to the very end, pulling off her oxygen mask just hours before her death, she said.
Child has been synonymous with fine cooking in America since 1963, when her first TV show, "The French Chef," became a public television hit and sold millions of books.
President George W. Bush paid tribute, saying Child "enriched America with her optimism and enthusiasm for life ... She taught millions to enjoy cooking".