Dr. Ruth Westheimer – the famous sex therapist who became a pop icon, a media personality, and best-selling author – has died. Westheimer passed away on Friday at the age of 96.
Pierre Lehu – Westheimer’s publicist and who co-authored books with her – confirmed the celebrity death of the famous sex guru. Westheimer died at her home in New York City surrounded by family.
“She was restful when she passed away. Her son and daughter were with her and holding her hand at that moment. It was as peacefully as she could possibly go,” Lehu told People magazine. “It’s amazing, there was stuff still going on in her life [she has a book coming out this fall with Allison Gilbert] and someone wants to make a biopic about her.”
Lehu did not offer any further details of Westheimer’s death.
Westheimer was born Karola Ruth Siegel in Germany in 1928.
Westheimer described herself as “an orphan of the Holocaust” after losing her entire family during World War II.
At age 10, she was sent by her parents on a train to Switzerland to escape Kristallnacht. Westheimer never saw her parents again.
At 16, Westheimer moved to Palestine and reportedly joined the Haganah – the underground movement for Israeli independence. Westheimer was trained as a sniper, but she said she never shot at anyone.
Westheimer suffered severe leg injuries when a bomb exploded in her dormitory, killing many of her friends.
Westheimer developed numerous sex education programs after graduating from Columbia University. She delivered lectures at Yale, Hunter, Princeton, and Columbia universities.
In 1980, she began her call-in show “Sexually Speaking” on sex education.
By 1984, her radio show was nationally syndicated.
In 1985, she starred in her own TV show called “The Dr. Ruth Show.”
She was a regular guest on popular late-night talk shows.
Westheimer penned more than 40 books and also wrote a nationally syndicated advice column.
She even had a board game named after her: “Dr. Ruth’s Game of Good Sex.”
Westheimer was married three times. Her last husband – Manfred Westheimer who she married in 1961 – died of heart failure in 1997.
Westheimer is survived by her two children, Miriam and Joel, and four grandchildren.
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