HispanicBusiness

Helen Gurley Brown, the legendary editor of Cosmopolitan who turned the magazine from a staid women's journal into a heaving tome of sexual titillation and empowerment, died Monday at 90.

The Hearst Corporation, which published the popular woman's title, said that Brown died after a brief stay at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Brown, who wrote the 1962 advice book Sex and the Single Girl, took over as Cosmo editor in 1965 and held the post until 1997. She remained editor in chief until her death, and reportedly came into her corner office nearly every day.

Gurley Brown "was an icon," Frank Bennack Jr, chief executive of Hearst Corporation, said in a statement. "Her formula for honest and straightforward advice about relationships, career and beauty revolutionized the magazine industry. She lived every day of her life to the fullest and will always be remembered as the quintessential 'Cosmo girl.' She will be greatly missed."