bibliography
NNDB
This is a beta version of NNDB
Search: for

Ruth Westheimer

Ruth WestheimerAKA Karola Ruth Siegel

Born: 4-Jun-1928
Birthplace: Frankfurt, Germany

Gender: Female
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Talk Show Host

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: 4'7" of concentrated sex

Military service: Israeli Army (1948)

Known for her thick German accent and frankness, the diminutive Dr. Ruth Westheimer was born Karola Ruth Siegel to Jewish parents in pre-World War II Germany, just in time for the Holocaust. Both parents were ultimately hauled off to the Lodz Ghetto in 1941 and presumably killed at Auschwitz. Fortunately, they had sent little Ruth off to Switzerland in January 1939.

After Israel declared its independence in 1948, Ruth joined the Israeli army. They decided her exceptionally small stature would be an asset for concealment, and trained her as a sniper. Soon after, Ruth sustained serious injuries from an enemy artillery shell while serving guard duty. After her convalescence and discharge, she married another soldier and the two moved to Paris. She studied at the Sorbonne, divorced her husband, found a new boyfriend and they moved to New York City in 1956.

There Ruth resumed her studies, eventually receiving a doctorate in Education from Columbia University. Along the way, she married husband #3, Fred Westheimer, and obtained a job at Planned Parenthood where she discovered her calling as a sex therapist. After establishing her private practice, in 1980 Dr. Ruth began hosting an unassuming midnight radio call-in show at WYNY. She quickly built a following which mushroomed into a veritable industry. After writing several best-selling sex books, having her own sex advice TV show, and making guest appearances on all the late-night talk shows, Dr. Ruth became an indisputable icon of the 1980s.

Father: Julius Siegel (presumed killed in Auschwitz)
Mother: Irma Hanauer (presumed killed in Auschwitz)
Husband: David (m. 1949, div. 1955)
Husband: Dan (m. 1956, div. 1957)
Husband: Manfred Westheimer ("Fred", m. 16-Dec-1961, dec. 3-Apr-1997)
Daughter: Miriam (b. 1957)
Son: Joel (b. 1963)

    University: Sorbonne
    University: MA Sociology, Columbia University (1959)
    University: PhD Education, Columbia University (1970)

    EMILY's List
    John Kerry for President
    People for the American Way
    Planned Parenthood
    Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Wilson Council
    Endorsement of Pepsi 1991
    Left at Orphanage Switzerland
    German Ancestry
    Jewish Ancestry

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel (12-Sep-2009) · Herself
    Inside Deep Throat (11-Feb-2005) · Herself
    Forever Lulu (24-Apr-1987) · Herself
    One Woman or Two (6-Nov-1985)
    Electric Dreams (16-Nov-1984) [VOICE]

Official Website:
http://www.drruth.com/


New!
NNDB MAPPER
Create a map starting with Ruth Westheimer
Requires Flash 7+ and Javascript.

Do you know something we don't?
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile



Copyright ©2019 Soylent Communications