Get excited, foodies and period drama fans alike: a new movie based on famous chef Julia Child‘s life as a spy is coming to Netflix. Yes, you read that right — Julia Child was a spy for the U.S. during World War II because *gasp!* women don’t just belong in the kitchen.
According to Deadline, the “darkly comedic” show, titled Julia, will imagine what it would be like if Child returned to the CIA as a covert operative. There’s not much information about Child’s time in the CIA available, but what we do know is that she served as a top-secret research assistant for the Office of Strategic Services, a predecessor of the CIA. Her time in that role ended in 1948 when Child and her husband, Paul, moved to Paris.
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While we wait for more details to be released, here are a few more little-known facts about our favorite 20th-century celebrity chef.
1. She was very tall
Child, who was 6 feet, 2 inches, was actually turned away from the Women’s Army Corps and the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services because of her height. This rejection actually led to her joining the OSS!
2. She helped develop shark repellent
Child used her then-undiscovered culinary talents to help the Navy invent a shark repellant that’s still being used today.
3. She has a flower named after her
Child chose “The Julia Child Rose” herself, and fittingly, it’s the color of her favorite food — butter!
4. She wasn’t a fan of the Julie/Julia Project
Child viewed the project that inspired the Meryl Streep-led movie, Julie & Julia, as being what she called “the flimsies,” according to her book editor, Judith Jones. She felt that blogger and author Julia Powell’s quest to cook her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking was just a stunt and didn’t think much of it at all.
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5. She survived breast cancer
Child, who died at 91 of natural causes, was very open about her mastectomy in 1974, telling Time magazine, “I would certainly not pussyfoot around about having a radical because it’s not worth it.”
6. She was the first woman to be recognized with a prestigious culinary honor
Seriously, what couldn’t this badass woman do? Among her many accolades, she was the first woman inducted into the Culinary Institute Hall of Fame.
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7. She was the first educational TV personality to win an Emmy
Child was actually nominated for eight Emmys throughout her career and won three. Woman of many talents.
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