Helen Gurley Brown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helen Gurley Brown
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Brown in 1996
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| Born |
Helen Marie Gurley
February 18, 1922 Green Forest, Arkansas, U.S.
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| Died | August 13, 2012 (aged 90) New York City, U.S.
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| Occupation | International Editor, Cosmopolitan |
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Notable credit(s)
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Editor-in-chief, Cosmopolitan |
| Title | International Editor, Cosmopolitan; Former editor-in-chief, U.S. Cosmopolitan |
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David Brown
(m. 1959; |
Helen Gurley Brown (née Helen Marie Gurley; February 18, 1922 – August 13, 2012) was an American author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.
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Early life
Helen Marie Gurley was born February 18, 1922, in Green Forest, Arkansas, the younger daughter of Cleo Fred (née Sisco; 1893–1980) and Ira Marvin Gurley. At one time her father was appointed Commissioner of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. After his election to the Arkansas state legislature the family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. He died in an elevator accident on June 18, 1932.
In 1937, Gurley, her older sister Mary Eloine (later Mrs. Alford; 1917–1997), and their mother moved to Los Angeles, California. A few months after moving, Mary contracted polio. While in California, Helen attended John H. Francis Polytechnic High School.
After Gurley's graduation, the family moved to Warm Springs, Georgia. She attended one semester at Texas State College for Women and then moved back to California to attend Woodbury Business College, from which she graduated in 1941. In 1947, Cleo and Mary moved to Cleo's native Osage, Arkansas, while Helen stayed in Los Angeles.
After working at the William Morris Agency, Music Corporation of America, and Jaffe talent agencies, Gurley worked for Foote, Cone & Belding advertising agency as a secretary. Her employer recognized her writing skills and moved her to the copywriting department, where she advanced rapidly to become one of the nation's highest-paid ad copywriters in the early 1960s. In 1959, she married David Brown, who later became a noted film producer.
Career
Publishing
In 1962, Brown's book ... and the Single Girl was published in 28 countries, and stayed on the bestseller lists for over a year. In 1964 the book inspired the film of the same name]] starring Natalie Wood. In 1965, Brown became editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, then a literary magazine famed for high-toned content, and reinvented it as a magazine for the modern single career-woman. In the 1960s, Brown sought to provide women with role models in her magazine. As a result of her advocacy, glamorous, fashion-focused women were sometimes called "Cosmo Girls".
In 1997, Brown was ousted from her role as the U.S. editor of Cosmopolitan and replaced by Bonnie Fuller. When she left, Cosmopolitan ranked sixth at the newsstand and, for the 16th straight year, ranked first in bookstores on college campuses. However, she stayed on at Hearst publishing and remained the international editor for all 59 international editions of Cosmo until her death on August 13, 2012.
In September 2008, Brown was named the 13th-most-powerful American over the age of 80 by Slate magazine.
At Cosmopolitan
In 1965, Gurley took over as editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine and was in that position until 1997. Brown revamped the magazine by taking it from a women's magazine written by men to one of the most widely sold women's magazines, now available in more than 100 countries. When she began at the magazine, Brown had no editing experience.
After being gently let go, in 1996 at age 74 due to her increasing disconnection from young women, Helen Gurley Brown went on to be editor of the international Cosmopolitan magazines.
Personal life and death
After a brief hospitalization, Helen Gurley Brown died August 13, 2012, at the McKeen Pavilion at New York–Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia. She was 90.
In a statement announcing the news of her death, Hearst Publications noted that "Helen was one of the world's most recognized magazine editors and book authors, and a true pioneer for women in journalism – and beyond." The cause of her death was not disclosed.
Entertainment Weekly said that "Gurley Brown will be remembered for her impact on the publishing industry, her contributions to the culture at large, and sly quips like her famous line: 'Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere.'" Then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a statement, said: "Today New York City lost a pioneer who reshaped not only the entire media industry, but the nation's culture. She was a role model for the millions of women whose private thoughts, wonders and dreams she addressed so brilliantly in print."
Brown's only husband, David, preceded her in death in 2010, dying on February 1, 2010, at the age of 93. In late November 2012, Brown and her husband were buried in adjacent graves at Sisco Cemetery, her maternal family cemetery in Osage, Carroll County, Arkansas.
Legacy
Seven months prior to her death, continuing the work started with her husband in forming the Helen Gurley Brown Trust, Brown established the Brown Institute for Media Innovation.
This institution is housed at both the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Stanford's Engineering School. Their $38 million donation to the two schools develops journalism in the context of new technologies.
Following her death, the trust continues donating much of its fortune to programs that serve the children of New York City and foster advancements in education and technology. Fifteen million dollars were donated to the New York Public Library, and $7.5 million donated to the American Museum of Natural History.
These donations have collectively created new media programs (David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia) and started initiatives to benefit at-risk youth (NYPL BridgeUp) and increase representation of women and minority groups in STEM disciplines (the AMNH BridgeUp:STEM program).
Brown also funds the Helen Gurley Brown Fellowship within the BOLD Women's Leadership Network designed to facilitate the pathway for exceptional young women from college to career.
Awards
- 1985: Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications
- 1995: Henry Johnson Fisher Award from the Magazine Publishers of America
- 1996: American Society of Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame Award
- 1998: Editor of the Year by Advertising Age magazine
- 2013 (posthumously): Woman of Achievement Award from the Women's Project Theater
Works
- ... and the Single Girl (1962)
- Lessons in Love—LP Record on How To Love a Girl & How To Love a Man (1963) Crescendo Records, GNP 604
- ... and the Office (1965)
- Outrageous Opinions of Helen Gurley Brown (1967)
- Helen Gurley Brown's Single Girl's Cookbook (1969)
- ... and the New Single Girl (1970)
- Having It All (1982)
- The Late Show: A Semi Wild but Practical Guide for Women Over 50 (1993)
- The Writer's Rules: The Power of Positive Prose—How to Create It and Get It Published (1998)
- I'm Wild Again: Snippets from My Life and a Few Brazen Thoughts (2000)
See also
In Spanish: Helen Gurley Brown para niños
