Хелен Гурли Браун: Өмір және мансап жолы

American author, publisher, and businesswoman

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.

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. 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. 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. While at Woodbury she joined Eta Upsilon Gamma sorority; her chapter later merged into Zeta Tau Alpha. 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.

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 U. S. editor of Cosmopolitan and replaced by Bonnie Fuller. When she left, Cosmopolitan ranked sixth at the newsstand and, for the 16th straight year, ranked first in bookstores on college campuses.

In 1965, Gurley took over as editor in chief of Cosmopolitan magazine and was in that position until 1997. Brown revamped the magazine by taking it from a women's magazine written by men to one of the most widely sold women's magazines, now available in more than 100 countries. Her take on the magazine was to be frank when talking about sex in this new version of Cosmopolitan. After being gently let go, in 1996 at age 74 due to her increasing disconnection from young women, Brown went on to be editor of the international Cosmopolitan magazines. She was 90. In a statement announcing the news of her death, Hearst Publications noted that "Helen was one of the world's most recognized magazine editors and book authors, and a true pioneer for women in journalism – and beyond." The cause of her death was not disclosed. Entertainment Weekly said that "Gurley Brown will be remembered for her impact on the publishing industry, her contributions to the culture at large, and sly quips like her famous line: 'Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere. Then New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a statement, said: "Today New York City lost a pioneer who reshaped not only the entire media industry, but the nation's culture. She was a role model for the millions of women whose private thoughts, wonders and dreams she addressed so brilliantly in print." Brown's only husband, David, preceded her in death on February 1, 2010, at the age of 93. In late November 2012, Brown and her husband were buried in adjacent graves at Sisco Cemetery, her maternal family cemetery in Osage, Carroll County, Arkansas.

Seven months prior to her death, continuing the work started with her husband in forming the Helen Gurley Brown Trust, Brown established the Brown Institute for Media Innovation. This institution is housed at both the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Stanford's Engineering School. Their $38 million donation to the two schools develops journalism in the context of new technologies. Following her death, the trust continues donating much of its fortune to programs that serve the children of New York City and foster advancements in education and technology. Fifteen million dollars were donated to the New York Public Library, and $7.5 million donated to the American Museum of Natural History. These donations have collectively created new media programs (David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia) and started initiatives to benefit at risk youth (NYPL BridgeUp) and increase representation of women and minority groups in STEM disciplines (the AMNH BridgeUp:STEM program). Among feminists, Brown's role has been highly contested as empowering women to be unashamed of their sexual urges and as creating a magazine that may live on as a sexist magazine with a body image problem. However, some feminists feel that the sexism cannot be blamed all on Cosmopolitan and Brown, with other magazines circulating that objectify women's bodies. These other people look at Brown's work as both "progressive and retrogressive" when it comes to the feminist movement. Brown also funded the Helen Gurley Brown Fellowship within the BOLD Women's Leadership Network designed to facilitate the pathway for exceptional young women from college to career.