Westheimer, Ruth

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WESTHEIMER, RUTH

WESTHEIMER, RUTH (1928– ), sexologist and broadcaster. Born Karola Ruth Siegel to an affluent family in Frankfurt, Germany, she was sent to boarding school in Switzerland while her parents attempted to arrange passage for the rest of the family out of Nazi Germany. She was never to see them again; it is probable that they died in Auschwitz.

A staunch Zionist, she immigrated to Palestine at age 16, where she joined the Haganah and learned Hebrew. She moved to Paris in 1950, where she earned a degree in psychology from the Sorbonne. Moving to the U.S. in 1956, she received her doctorate in education from Columbia University in 1970.

Westheimer became familiar to millions of radio and tv viewers and listeners as Dr. Ruth, dispensing frank, unambiguous, commonsensical advice on sexual matters in a thickly European-accented English to callers. She received her initial break in the media in 1980 when wyny-fm, a New York City radio station, gave her a late-night slot for her show Sexually Speaking. By 1983 it was the top-rated radio show in New York City and cleared the way for her to move into television with the widely syndicated The Dr. Ruth Show (1984–91). She also hosted the tv talk show What's Up, Dr. Ruth? (1989–90). From 2000 she appeared as Dr. Ruth Wordheimer in the educational/fantasy tv series Between the Lions on pbs. She also had a syndicated newspaper column called "Ask Dr. Ruth."

Advocating good sex in the context of loving relationships, Dr. Ruth also used books to spread her message. Her many publications include Dr. Ruth's Guide to Good Sex (1983); Dr. Ruth's Guide to Married Lovers (1986); an autobiography, All in a Lifetime (1987); Sex and Morality (1991); Dr. Ruth's Guide to Safer Sex (1992); The Art of Arousal (1993); Dr. Ruth's Encyclopedia of Sex (1994); Sex for Dummies (1995); Heavenly Sex: Sexuality in the Jewish Tradition (with J. Mark, 1995); The Value of a Family (with B. Yagoda, 1996); Grandparenthood (1998); Pregnancy Guide for Couples (with A. Grunebaum, 1999); Power: The Ultimate Aphrodisiac (2001); Romance for Dummies (2002); and Human Sexuality (with S. Lopater, 2002).

She maintained ties with Israel, visiting frequently and cooperating in joint projects with Israeli academics and publishers. In that sphere, she wrote Surviving Salvation: The Ethiopian Jewish Family in Transition (1993).