Ruth Westheimer, celebrity sex guru, dies at 96
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Dr Ruth Westheimer, a celebrity sex guru who changed the way Americans speak about sex, died at her Manhattan home on Friday.
She was 96. Her death was announced on her Twitter account Saturday morning with a short message: “The beloved Dr Ruth has passed away.” Westheimer’s cause of death was not immediately known.
Her sex guru career began in her 50s when she began taking questions from readers on WYNY, a New York radio station. She had a 15 minute segment that played after midnight on Sundays. The show, called “Sexually Speaking”, made Westheimer a celebrity.
Westheimer was at the height of her fame in the 80s. She appeared on late night talk shows and even had her own show that ran from 1984 to 1991 called “The Dr Ruth Show”. Jerry Seinfeld and Cyndi Lauper made appearances on the program. She was routinely asked to speak on university campuses to college students.
Her writing achievements included over 30 books written to educate the general public about sex. Titles included Sex for Dummies, The Art of Arousal and Heavenly Sex, among many others. Her latest work, The Joy of Connections, cowritten with Allison Gilbert, is scheduled to come out this fall.
“I am heartbroken. Recently, on June 4, her closest friends and family gathered to celebrate her 96th birthday,” Gilbert wrote on X. “It was a joyous occasion. I will keep the memory of that wonderful evening close to my heart. Already missing my friend so much.”
Before going into the sex industry, Westheimer attended the Sorbonne in Paris and New School for Social Research in 1959, where she obtained her Master’s degree. She was later hired as a research assistant at Columbia University’s School of Public Health. In 1967, she became project director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Harlem. She obtained her doctorate from Columbia in 1970.
Westheimer never stopped working. Recently, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed her as the Ambassador to Loneliness in New York State.
“Dr Ruth Westheimer led an extraordinary life,” Hochul said in an emailed statement. “She was brave, funny, candid and brilliant.
“As New York’s first-ever Ambassador to Loneliness, we worked together to spotlight a mental health crisis impacting our seniors. We will miss her greatly. May her memory be a blessing.”
