Famous sex therapist Dr. Ruth dies at age 96 in NYC
![Famous sex therapist Dr. Ruth dies at age 96 in NYC Famous sex therapist Dr. Ruth dies at age 96 in NYC](https://media.timeout.com/images/106157858/image.jpg)
Celebrated sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, born Karola Ruth Siegel – known to most as just “Dr. Ruth” – passed away peacefully at her home in New York City last Friday. She was 96 years old and the cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
Dr. Ruth is known across the country and is especially popular in New York, where Governor Kathy Hochul named her the country’s first Ambassador Against Loneliness in 2023.
“I am deeply honored and have promised the Governor that I will work day and night to help New Yorkers feel less lonely!” Westheimer said at the time.
As already mentioned by the New York Times Her obituary stated that Dr. Ruth was a Holocaust survivor whose parents were murdered by the Nazis during World War II. In 1956, she moved into an apartment in Washington Heights, New York, where she lived until her death.
An important part of the city’s cultural canon, Dr. Ruth has been dispensing advice to New Yorkers for years on everything from intimacy in close quarters (“Try having sex when there are no (roommates) around”) to the world of online dating (“I welcome any dating service if people are intelligent and careful, and if you know people can lie and say they’re six feet tall.”).
Her death has obviously affected many people. Below is a collection of some of the most heartwarming reactions to Dr. Ruth’s passing:
Many older people may have known Dr. Ruth Westheimer as the coolest, most sex-positive villain of all time, but my generation knew her as Dr. Ruth Wordheimer from Between the Lions. She challenged the media’s views on sex and was so wise and sweet. Rip icon 💔 pic.twitter.com/bLs8q5fCpr
— Rendy Jones (@rendy_jones) July 13, 2024
A few years ago I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Ruth in her home. It was incredible to sit with someone who has lived and struggled through some of the most horrific chapters in history and who has maintained an incredible sense of optimism and humor.https://t.co/6cr36D2mDN
– Emma Green (@emmaogreen) July 15, 2024
Today we mourn the loss of Dr. Ruth, a long-time New Yorker and friend of the Parks, who @FortTryon_Park and the parks of northern Manhattan with the same fire and humor she showed in life. pic.twitter.com/7wHEvyVJXl
— NYCParks (@NYCParks) July 13, 2024
Dr. Ruth talked about things in 1985 that people don’t talk about today. And we would definitely have watched a Dr. Ruth cartoon. RIP pic.twitter.com/TVA19ow6p5
— Found Footage Fest (@foundfootage) July 14, 2024
I am deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Dr. Ruth Westheimer was a Holocaust survivor who achieved the American dream. She was a force of nature who lived an extraordinary life and left an equally extraordinary legacy.
May her memory be a blessing. pic.twitter.com/UCL4ADwQp7
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) July 13, 2024
She taught us to talk openly about sexual desire or dysfunction. What a force Dr. Ruth Westheimer was. She died at the age of 96. A life definitely well lived. pic.twitter.com/lPAw0kbb7j
— Deborah Roberts (@DebRobertsABC) July 13, 2024
It’s really nice to see Dr. Ruth getting her flowers from younger sex experts. Pretty remarkable that she remained unproblematic and managed to be a sex-positive figure in an aggressively problematic and sex-hostile culture.
— Brandon Wilson (@Geniusbastard) July 13, 2024