Dr. Ruth Westheimer Biography
Dr. Ruth Westheimer — known simply as Dr. Ruth — had radio show in the 1980s, Sexually Speaking, that ended up making her a celebrity on TV and in print also.
Westheimer was born in Germany, spent World War II in Switzerland (separated from her parents, who were killed in the Holocaust) and at the age of 16 emigrated to Israel.
In the 1950s she lived and studied in Paris, and in 1956 she moved to New York City, where she eventually got her PhD in Education.
A strong advocate of sex education, she started a radio show titled Sexually Speaking in 1980. Her bubbly personality, thick German accent and surprisingly frank advice about sex made her a major celebrity for the next decade.
Her star cooled a bit in the 1990s as frank sex talk became more common, but she remained a reliable go-to media expert for things sexual, dispensing advice on TV, radio and in newspaper columns, as well as keeping up her private practice.
She was the author of over two dozen books, including Dr. Ruth’s Guide to Good Sex (1983), Dr. Ruth’s Guide to Erotic and Sensuous Pleasures (1991), Sex for Dummies (1995), and the 1988 autobiography All in a Lifetime.
Extra credit
Dr. Ruth Westheimer is 4’7″ tall, according to a 1987 article in The New York Times… She has been married three times, she told National Geographic in a 2003 interview: “The first fellow who offered to marry me… we loved each other, and we are still good friends — but it wasn’t a marriage forever. Then I met a gorgeous looking French guy and I married for one year and have a beautiful daughter, and then that didn’t lead to a relationship.” Her third marriage, to Manfred Westheimer, lasted from 1960 until his death in 1997.