Ruth Westheimer, Sex Therapist Known as ‘Dr. Ruth,’ Dead at 96

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the sex therapist whose advice helped educate millions of Americans about sexual desires and practices, has died.

She was 96.

via CNN:

The diminutive, grandmotherly Westheimer was a leading advocate of sexual education for decades, dispensing colorful, witty advice in her distinctive German accent.

“Dr. Ruth” – as she was more commonly know – died while her two children sat alongside at her home Friday around 11:30 p.m., Lehu said.

Westheimer’s first radio call-in show, “Sexually Speaking,” debuted in New York in 1980 and proved so popular that it quickly became syndicated around the country.

It also catapulted her to TV fame in the mid-1980s with her eponymous “The “Dr. Ruth Show,” on the Lifetime network. Over the next several decades, she hosted a handful of other TV shows in which Westheimer took calls from fans around the country and spoke candidly about a wide range of taboo sexual topics.

She ended many of her shows by urging her audience to “have good sex!”

Westheimer appeared on programs aimed at the general education of children and teens and became a cultural figure, authoring more than 37 books and becoming a regular guest on late-night talk shows.

She continued to joyfully dole out sex advice to the public well into her 90s.

Westheimer was appointed in 2023 as New York state’s honorary ambassador to loneliness, a role that was the first of its kind in the nation.

Westheimer wrote a book on loneliness, outlining 100 ways to beat loneliness and live a happier and more meaningful life, that will be released posthumously in September, according to the book publisher’s website.

RIP.

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