Julia Child Graduated From a College Featured in ‘Sex and the City’, Grey’s Anatomy’ and Other Shows

Julia Child changed the face of cooking shows. The wildly popular television personality learned to cook in France and became a sensation later in life. Before she started teaching Americans the wonder of French cuisine, she had an awe-inspiring life. Child attended boarding school and later Smith College, where she graduated in 1934. While Child is one of the school’s real-life graduates, several fictitious characters call the school their Alma Mater. Smith College is referenced in pop culture rather often, actually.  

Julia Child graduated from Smith College in 1934

Before Child moved into the culinary world and became a beloved television personality, she worked for the United States government. Her government work inadvertently led her to her husband and, eventually, her television career. Before all of that, she had to get an education, though.

After being raised in Pasadena, California, Child moved to the East Coast to attend college. While at Smith College, Child played basketball, continuing her high school career that took advantage of her height. According to Smith College, Child graduated in 1934 with a degree in history.

Emily Gilmore attended Smith College in Gilmore Girls

Several well-respected schools were mentioned during the course of Gilmore Girls. While Yale was the most noted university, the show also gave nods to Princeton, Harvard, and Sarah Lawrence College. While Richard Gilmore was a Yale alum, his beloved wife, Emily Gilmore, attended Smith College.

Richard and Emily met while Richard was an undergraduate student at Yale and Emily was an undergraduate student at Smith. While neither mention exactly when they graduated, it can be assumed that the pair were in college in the 1960s. Yale didn’t go coed until 1969. Until then, Smith was considered the school’s sister college.

Charlotte York of Sex and the City and Cristina Yang of Grey’s Anatomy also attended the school

Emily Gilmore wasn’t the only famous, fictitious character to attend Smith College. Charlotte York, the famed Sex and the City gallerina, mentioned the school multiple times during the show’s six-season run. Funnily enough, only Charlotte and Miranda Hobbes said where they attended college. Miranda earned her law degree from Harvard University.

Grey’s Anatomy has mentioned multiple schools during its lengthy run. Both East Coast and West Coast schools are represented. Cristina Yang, the Grey’s Anatomy character, earned her medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine. Before she landed in California, she earned her undergraduate degree from Smith College.