Helen Gurley Brown

Helen Gurley Brown
Helen Gurley Brown in 1964
Born	Helen Marie Gurley (1922-02-18)February 18, 1922 Green Forest, Arkansas, United States
Died	August 13, 2012(2012-08-13) (aged 90) New York City
Occupation	International Editor, Cosmopolitan
Notable credit(s)	Editor-in-chief, Cosmopolitan
Title	International Editor, Cosmopolitan; Former editor-in-chief, U.S. Cosmopolitan
Spouse(s)	David Brown (m. 1959–2010; his death)

Helen Gurley Brown (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.

Brown was born Helen Marie Gurley in Green Forest, Arkansas, the daughter of Cleo Fred (Sisco) and Ira Marvin Gurley. Her mother was born in Alpena, Arkansas, and died in 1980. Her father was once appointed Commissioner of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas after Ira won election to the Arkansas state legislature. He died in an elevator accident on June 18, 1932. In 1937, Brown, her sister Mary, and their mother moved to Los Angeles, California. A few months after moving, Mary contracted polio. While in California, Brown attended John H. Francis Polytechnic High School.

After Brown'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 Osage, Arkansas, while Brown stayed in Los Angeles.

After working at the William Morris Agency, Music Corporation of America, and Jaffe talent agencies, she 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 would go on to become a noted film producer.