Helen Gurley Brown, the Cosmopolitan editor who inspired “Sex And The City”, died on Monday at 90 years old. According to the Associated Press, Brown’s novel “Sex And The Single Girl” convinced women to seek financial independence and have pre-marital sex in the 1960s.
Helen Gurley Brown worked as an editor-in-chief at the Cosmopolitan magazine for almost 32 years. Everyone who knew her, however, claim that Brown was more than an editor because she inspired millions of women through her writings. Her novel, “Sex And The Single Girl”, which was published in 1962, gave women the strength to become independent and act according to their own wishes without being afraid that other people might judge them.
Her book may be compared with the popular HBO series “Sex And The City” whereas her life is very similar to the one of the fictional character Carrie Bradshaw. Her friends and colleagues have all been impressed by Brown’s life in a way or another. They told the press that Helen was the first woman who stated that it is possible to have “a career, a man and a hot sex life”. Thanks to her, the prototype of the modern woman was created.
Current editors working at Cosmopolitan are convinced that Brown didn’t influence only the life of American women, but also the life of women living in various countries across the world. New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg also appreciated the efforts that Brown did to help shape the modern woman. In his opinion, Helen’s vision lies at the foundation of the modern media and the modern American nation.
Helen Gurley was born February 18, 1922, in Green Forest, Ark. Her father passed away when she was only 10 years old and her mother was forced to move to Los Angeles. Helen began teaching children dancing lessons, so she could make pocket money. When she finished high school, she worked as a secretary for the William Morris Agency, the Daily News in Los Angeles and various advertising companies. She was later on, hired by Kenyon & Eckhardt and became the highest paid woman in advertising on the West Coast. Her husband, David Brown, encouraged her to write the book “Sex And The Single Girl” which brought her even more success.
