Biography

As editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan from 1965-1996, Brown published readers' confessions on the most unusual places they were intimate, an article entitled "How I'd steal the president (Richard Nixon) away from Pat," and the Burt Reynolds centerfold. Betty Friedan called Cosmopolitan under Brown's sex-drenched stewardship "quite obscene and quite horrible."

Her father died in an elevator accident when Helen was 10 years old.

Born to Ira and Cleo Gurley, both school teachers.

Until her death, Girley Brown was known for coming into her pink corner office nearly every day.

The family moved to Little Rock when Ira was elected to the state legislature.

Nearly every glamorous, wealthy, successful career woman you might envy now started out as some kind of schlep.

The reward of not having children [is] if I get blown up tomorrow, I'll have lived long enough and I won't have to worry about my children.

Good girls go to Heaven -- bad girls go everywhere.

Never fail to know that if you are doing all the talking, you are boring somebody.

I was mousy on the outside but inside I'm a tiger and I have to get on with it.