HELEN GURLEY BROWN
Name: Helen Gurley Brown
Born: 18 February 1922 Green Forest, Arkansas
Helen Gurley Brown (b. February 18, 1922 in Green Forest, Arkansas), is an
author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan
magazine for 32 years.
Brown's father died in an accident when she was young, and her sister was a
polio victim. She was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas.
From 1939 to 1941 she attended Texas State College for Women and Woodbury
Business College.
After a stint in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency, she went to work for
a prominent 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 was producer of Jaws, The Sting,
Cocoon, Driving Miss Daisy, and other motion pictures.
In 1962, at the age of 40, Brown authored the bestselling book Sex and the
Single Girl. In 1965 she became editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and reversed the
fortunes of the failing magazine. During the decade of the 1960s she was an
outspoken advocate of women's sexual freedom and sought to provide them with
role-models and a guide in her magazine. Brown claimed that women could have it
all, "love, sex, and money". Due to her advocacy, the liberated single woman was
often referred to generically as the "Cosmo Girl". Her work played a part in
what is often called the sexual revolution.
In the mid 1990s Brown was ousted from her role as the US editor of Cosmopolitan
and was replaced by Bonnie Fuller. However, Brown stayed on at Hearst publishing
and remains the international editor for all 59 international editions of Cosmo.
Name: Helen Gurley Brown
Born: 18 February 1922 Green Forest, Arkansas
Helen Gurley Brown (b. February 18, 1922 in Green Forest, Arkansas), is an
author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan
magazine for 32 years.
Brown's father died in an accident when she was young, and her sister was a
polio victim. She was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas.
From 1939 to 1941 she attended Texas State College for Women and Woodbury
Business College.
After a stint in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency, she went to work for
a prominent 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 was producer of Jaws, The Sting,
Cocoon, Driving Miss Daisy, and other motion pictures.
In 1962, at the age of 40, Brown authored the bestselling book Sex and the
Single Girl. In 1965 she became editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and reversed the
fortunes of the failing magazine. During the decade of the 1960s she was an
outspoken advocate of women's sexual freedom and sought to provide them with
role-models and a guide in her magazine. Brown claimed that women could have it
all, "love, sex, and money". Due to her advocacy, the liberated single woman was
often referred to generically as the "Cosmo Girl". Her work played a part in
what is often called the sexual revolution.
In the mid 1990s Brown was ousted from her role as the US editor of Cosmopolitan
and was replaced by Bonnie Fuller. However, Brown stayed on at Hearst publishing
and remains the international editor for all 59 international editions of Cosmo.