Westheimer went by a number of different names and titles throughout her lifetime.
On her birth certificate, you’ll find the name Karola Ruth Siegel.
She later tacked on the “Westheimer” surname upon marrying her late husband, Manfred, in 1961.
Standing a mere 4 feet 7 inches tall, she seldom had to literally look down on people.
However, the phrase rings true even in the figurative sense.
Dr. Ruth devoted the better part of her life to answering our every question about sex.
But when the Nazis took power, any semblance of a carefree childhood came to an abrupt end.
A then-10-year-old Westheimer escaped to a school-turned-orphanage for Jewish refugees in Switzerland where she worked as a maid.
Sadly, she never saw her family again and believes they were killed inAuschwitz.
I want to be called an orphan of the Holocaust."
On her 20th birthday, she was badly wounded after a bomb exploded outside the kibbutz where she lived.
She recovered and found love, later moving to Paris with her husband to study psychology at the Sorbonne.
She crossed continents to continue her education in New York City.
In the late 1960s, Dr. Ruth nailed down a job at a Planned Parenthood in Harlem.
The conversations and work she experienced there inspired her to pursue a doctorate degree in family and sex counseling.
In 1984, the show became syndicated nationally and Dr. Ruth’s career skyrocketed.
In 2019, she was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, per theirpress release.
We remember her as a revolutionary survivor who’s groundbreaking work forever shattered deep-rooted taboos.
