What caused Julia Child's voice to become so odd?

Answer 1

Here's my theory: Julia Child was a tall and large woman, and she had a naturally deep voice. Her size and voice probably made her feel masculine. So, at an early age she raised the pitch of her voice to sound more feminine and that stuck. Then, compound the fact that she spent WWII in England in US Army Intelligence, and a considerable amount of her early adulthood in France and around French speakers. Listen to her voice, especially during her early shows, and you can hear a low voice being brought up higher, a bit of English nasality and pronunciation, and a very French rythym to her speaking. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.