Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the sex therapist who became an ’80s pop culture icon for her frank and humourous approach to sex education, has died aged 96.
Her death was confirmed to People by her publicist and co-author of her books Pierre Lehu.
“She was restful when she passed away. Her son and daughter were with her and holding her hand at that moment,” Lehu told the outlet.
READ MORE: Why Kate’s upcoming Wimbledon appearance is a ‘good sign’: expert
“It was as peacefully as she could possibly go. She was 96,” he added.
Lehu reflected, “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.”
Though Lehu did not provide further details about her death, The New York Times and The Washington Post confirm she died in her New York City home.
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
All the celebrities who have died in 2024
Westheimer was born in Germany in 1928 but became a refugee when during World War II she lost her entire family. Her father was taken away by the Nazis in 1938 and soon after, her mother and grandmother put her on a train to Switzerland. She called herself “an orphan of the Holocaust”.
After the war she emigrated to Palestine in 1945 where she trained to be a sniper for the Israeli Army. She later moved to Paris to study psychology at Sorbonne University and later New York City. After two marriages and divorces, in 1961 she met Manfred Westheimer, a telecommunications engineer and fellow Jewish refugee.
Westheimer then pursued her post-doctoral research on human sexuality while also working at Planned Parenthood, training family planning counselors.
READ MORE: Beloved ’80s fitness star Richard Simmons dies aged 76
She caught the attention of public radio station WYNY’s community affairs manager Betty Elam who had heard her speak, coming up with the idea of a call-in show on sex education.
This turned into Westheimer’s famed live call-in show Sexually Speaking, which continued for ten years and spawned her beloved TV talk show The Dr. Ruth Show. “When people needed to learn about oral sex, I would say go buy an ice cream cone and practice,” she said in 2019.
It led to many lucrative ideals in TV, radio, print magazines, and commercials. There are two works based on her life – a one-woman play titled Becoming Dr. Ruth, written by Mark St. Germain, and the 2019 documentary, Ask Dr. Ruth.
Westheimer is survived by her two children, Miriam and Joel, and four grandchildren.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.