Helen Gurley Brown ( 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. Early life Helen Marie Gurley was born February 18, 1922, in Green Forest, Arkansas, the younger daughter of Cleo Fred ( 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 Sex 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 was an outspoken advocate of women's sexual freedom and sought to provide women with role models in her magazine. She claimed that women could have it all – "love, sex, and money". As a result of her advocacy, glamorous, fashion-focused women were sometimes called "Cosmo Girls". Her work played a part in what is often called the sexual revolution. In 1997, Brown was ousted from her role as the