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Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown dies at 90 | Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown dies at 90 |
(40 minutes later) | |
Helen Gurley Brown, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine and author of Sex and the Single Girl, has died at 90, magazine publisher Hearst says. | |
Brown died on Monday in New York after being admitted to hospital. | Brown died on Monday in New York after being admitted to hospital. |
Hired by Hearst to turn around Cosmopolitan three years after her 1962 best-selling book, she edited the magazine for 32 years. | |
Under her, the magazine became famous for encouraging women to have sex, regardless of marital status. | Under her, the magazine became famous for encouraging women to have sex, regardless of marital status. |
Brown said her aim was to tell readers "how to get everything out of life - the money, recognition, success, men, prestige, authority, dignity - whatever she is looking at through the glass her nose is pressed against". | |
'Spirited and gutsy' | |
Brown was born in Arkansas on 18 February 1922, and moved to Los Angeles after her father died. | |
She graduated top of her class at John H Francis Polytechnic High School in 1939 before working as a secretary at various advertising agencies. | |
When finally given the chance to write advertising copy, she began winning prizes and became the highest-paid advertising woman on the west coast. | |
She was married at age 37 to former Cosmopolitan managing editor and movie producer David Brown, who encouraged her to write the book that became Sex and the Single Girl. | |
The best-seller has been published in 28 countries and translated into 16 languages. Brown wrote an additional five books over the course of her career. | |
Cosmopolitan's relentless focus on sex and Brown's approval of cosmetic surgery made her a controversial figure among feminists. | |
US feminist Betty Friedan initially dismissed Cosmo as "immature teenage-level sexual fantasy", but later said that Brown "in her editorship, has been a rather spirited and gutsy example in the revolution of women". | |
Brown soon turned around Cosmo's stagnant circulation. Within four issues, sales rose, even as the price of the magazine increased. | |
That trend continued until sales peaked at three million in 1983. | |
Frank Bennack Jr, chief executive of Hearst, wrote in a statement confirming her death: "Helen was one of the world's most recognized magazine editors and book authors, and a true pioneer for women in journalism." | |
By the time Brown stepped down as editor-in-chief of the American edition in 1997, the magazine was selling 2.5 million copies. | |
She continued to be editor of the magazine's 64 international editions until her death. |