Dr. Ruth Has Passed

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RIP Dr. Ruth

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Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the sex therapist, talk show host and author, has died, her publicist announced. She was 96.

"It is with immense personal sorrow that I announce the passing of the iconic Dr. Ruth K Westheimer at the age of 96, whose 'Minister of Communications' I've been since 1981," publicist Pierre Lehu said in a statement to ABC News.

Her family added: "The children of Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer are sad to announce the passing of their mother, the internationally-celebrated sex therapist, author, talk show host, professor, and orphan of the Holocaust. She died peacefully at her home in New York City on July 12th surrounded by her loving family, just over a month after celebrating her 96th birthday."

For decades, the witty, diminutive Westheimer -- popularly known as Dr. Ruth -- was one of America's most trusted and popular voices on the topic of sex.