Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the famous sex therapist and talk show host, died on Friday at the age of 96.
Her publicist confirmed her death to BBC News partner CBS News but did not provide a cause of death.
Ruth Westheimer, commonly known as Dr. Ruth, became famous for speaking openly about sex, becoming a pop culture icon as well as a best-selling author of guides such as Sex for Dummies.
She promotes open conversations about sexuality in a non-judgmental way.
Dr. Ruth was a Holocaust survivor born in Frankfurt, Germany, who spoke with a German accent.
In the 1980s, she launched her own local radio show, “Sexually Talk,” which was widely recognized and broadcast nationally in 1984, setting her on the path to national fame.
In 1983, she wrote her first book, Dr. Ruth’s Guide to Good Sex, which aimed to demystify sex. This is the first of more than 40 books she has written.
Dr. Ruth launched a television program the following year called “The Dr. Ruth Show” and wrote a nationally syndicated advice column.
“I know there’s a lot of knowledge out there, but it’s not accessible to young people,” Dr. Ruth told us NBC Nightly News 2019.
Dr. Ruth has appeared frequently on talk shows, including “The Howard Stern Radio Show,” “The Dr. Oz Show,” “Nightline,” “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman.”
Last November, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced that Dr. Ruth would become the state’s Honorary Ambassador for Loneliness.
“I am deeply honored and committed to the governor that I will work day and night to help New Yorkers no longer feel alone!” Dr. Ruth said at the time.
Born Karola Ruth Siegel in 1928, her parents sent her to Switzerland when she was ten years old to escape Kristallnacht, the Nazi massacre that preceded the Holocaust against Jews. violent riots.
Dr. Ruth never met her parents after traveling to Switzerland and believed they were murdered in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp.
