Helen Gurley Brown 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. However, she stayed on at Hearst publishing and remained the international editor for all 59 international editions of "Cosmo" until her death on August 13, 2012. In September 2008, Brown was named the 13th-most-powerful American over the age of 80 by "Slate" magazine. 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
Helen Gurley Brown 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 would go on to become 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.