Ruth Westheimer, a sex therapist known as Dr Ruth who was renowned for her frankness and fronted her own eponymous TV talk show, has died aged 96.
In the 1980s, her TV series The Dr. Ruth Show, was attracting millions of viewers, with hundreds of thousands of people tuning in to watch it at night when it aired.
Her radio call-in show Sexually Speaking began in 1980 and lasted for a decade, and she also wrote 45 books on sex and sexuality.
The news of Westheimer’s death was confirmed by her publicist Pierre Lehu, who co-authored books with her.
‘She was restful when she passed away. Her son and daughter were with her and holding her hand at that moment,’ Lehu told People in a statement.
‘It was as peacefully as she could possibly go. She was 96.’ No cause of death has been given.
Lehu continued: ‘It’s amazing, there was stuff still going on in her life and someone wants to make a biopic about her.’
Born in Germany in 1928 as Karola Ruth Siegel, Westheimer grew up in a Jewish household and the only child of her parents, who worked as a housekeeper and a notions wholesaler.
After Westheimer’ father was sent to the Dachau concentration camp by the Nazis, her mother and grandmother sent her to Switzerland for her safety, where she stayed at an orphanage. Both of her parents were killed during the Holocaust.
When she was a teenager, she emigrated to British-controlled Mandatory Palestine, where she trained as a sniper in the Israeli military.
On her 20th birthday, she severely wounded her feet in action and spent several months in recovery.
She went on to move to France, studying psychology at the University of Paris before later moving to New York in her late 20s. She gained US citizenship in 1965.
Having trained as a sex therapist, in 1980 – when she was 52 years old – Westheimer launched her radio show Sexually Speaking, which accumulated a quarter of a million listeners in just one year. The successful radio programme continued for a decade.
In the mid 1980s, she also began presenting various TV programmes for Lifetime, which resulted in the creation of The Dr. Ruth Show.
Westheimer was married three times, including to fellow Holocaust survivor Manfred ‘Fred’ Westheimer. They were married for 36 years from 1961 until his death in 1997.
She had two children, a daughter called Miriam Yael Westheimer and a son called Joel Westheimer.
Tributes have poured in for Westheimer following her death, with film and TV journalist Rendy Jones writing on X: ‘Many older people might’ve known Dr. Ruth Westheimer as the coolest, sex positive baddie ever but my generation knew her as Dr. Ruth Wordheimer on Between the Lions. She challenged the media’s views of sex and was so wise and sweet. Rip icon 💔.’
Actress Marlee Matlin shared: ‘She was honest, she was funny and she was smart. Best of all she was the nicest. May her memory be a blessing to her family and all who had the pleasure of knowing her. RIP Dr. Ruth Westheimer. 😔❤️🤟🏻.’
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Ross Matthews added: ‘I got to interview Dr. Ruth in Feb 2023. She was hilarious, sharp & specific. Here she is telling me exactly what to ask her during the interview. Obvi, I did as instructed. Game changer. Grateful I got to meet her. She passed yesterday at 96 years old. Bravo, Doctor. #DrRuth.’
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Film critic Courtney Howard also posted: ‘Dr. Ruth Westheimer was a pioneer, taking the stigma out of talking about sex. Letterman had her on in 1982 to answer audience questions, which turned into an insightful look at how she approached giving advice.’
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