Helen Gurley Brown Helen Gurley Brown Helen Gurley Brown (February 18, 1922 – August 13, 2012; born Helen Marie Gurley) 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 daughter of Cleo Fred (née 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. He died in an elevator accident on June 18, 1932. In 1937,
Helen Gurley Brown Gurley, her sister Mary Eloine (later Mrs. Alford), 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 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. In 1947, Cleo and Mary moved to Cleo's native Osage, Arkansas, while Helen stayed in Los Angeles. After working at the William Morris Agency, Music Corporation of America,