Paul Child was Julia's husband. Paul and his twin brother, Charlie, were raised in Brookline, Massachusetts. They had one older sister. When the twins were just a few months old, their father died from typhoid fever. When the children were old enough, they joined their mother in providing private music performances in the Boston area. Paul did not attend college, but Julia considered him an intellectual. He worked in different places around the world, including France. During World War II, Paul joined the OSS, heading up the Visual Presentation group in India. He and Julia met in Ceylon and they married after the war when they returned to the States.