Celebrity sex therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer dies at 96
Renowned sex therapist and talk show host Dr. Ruth Westheimer, who openly discussed sex and intimate topics, passed away on Friday at the age of 96.
Her publicist confirmed her death to CBS News, a partner of BBC News, without providing a cause.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, often called Dr. Ruth, became famous for her candid discussions about sex, becoming both a pop culture icon and a best-selling author with works like “Sex for Dummies.”
She advocated for open, non-judgmental conversations about sex.
Dr. Ruth, who spoke with a German accent, was a Holocaust survivor born in Frankfurt, Germany.
In the 1980s, she hosted a local radio program called “Sexually Speaking,” which gained recognition and led to national fame when it was syndicated in 1984.
Her first book, “Dr. Ruth’s Guide to Good Sex,” was published in 1983, aiming to demystify sex. It was the first of more than 40 books she authored.
The following year, she launched a television program called “The Dr. Ruth Show” and wrote a nationally syndicated advice column.
“I knew that there is a lot of knowledge that is around but doesn’t get to young people,” Dr. Ruth told NBC Nightly News in 2019.
Dr. Ruth frequently appeared 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 Governor Kathy Hochul announced Dr Ruth would become the state’s honorary ambassador to loneliness.
“I am deeply honored and promised the governor that I will work day and night to help New Yorkers feel less lonely!” Dr Ruth said at the time.
Born in 1928 as Karola Ruth Siegel, at ten years old her parents sent her to Switzerland to escape Kristallnacht, a violent riot Nazis carried out against Jews before the Holocaust.
Dr Ruth never saw her parents after leaving for Switzerland and believed they were killed in the gas chambers of Auschwitz – a Nazi death camp.
