Helen Gurley Brown

Helen Gurley Brown in 1964, Library of Congress. New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection. by John Bottega, World Telegram staff photographer

Birth Name: Helen Marie Gurley

Date of Birth: February 18, 1922

Place of Birth: Green Forest, Arkansas, U.S.

Date of Death: August 13, 2012

Place of Death: New York City, New York, U.S.

Ethnicity: English, German, Scottish, some Dutch, distant French

Helen Gurley Brown was an American author, publisher, and businessperson. She was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, from 1965 to 1996. She published readers’ confessions about sex. Her specialty was young American women, balancing tradition and ambition in a world of double standards and glass ceilings, and still trying to have fun. She believed a woman could have “love, sex, and money,” and originated the phrase “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.” She wrote the book Sex and the Single Girl, a guide for young women on such varied topics as sex, romance, career advancement, and makeup and wardrobe improvement. Helen appeared as a fictionalized version of herself in the 1964 comedy film Sex and the Single Girl, played by Natalie Wood, opposite Tony Curtis, and based on her book.

Helen was the daughter of Cleo Fred (Sisco) and Ira Marvin Gurley. Her father was Commissioner of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. She was married to film and theatre producer David Brown, until his death.

Helen’s paternal grandfather was named John Henry Gurley.

Helen’s paternal grandmother was Cedella Melvin Lipps (the daughter of James Harrison Lipps and Elizabeth Ann Collon). James was the son of James M. Lipps and Frances “Frankie” Norris.

Helen’s maternal grandfather was Alfred Burr Sisco (the son of Granville Finley Sisco and Mary Mack Wilson). Granville was the son of Thomas Fancher Sisco and Nancy Caroline Miller.

Helen’s maternal grandmother was named Jennie Denton Seitz.

Source: Genealogy of Helen Gurley Brown – http://www.geni.com