Dr. Ruth Westheimer, often just referred to as simply Dr. Ruth, may be 90, but she's still producing work like a true BAMF. Known as the OG celebrity sex expert, Dr. Ruth is the subject of the new documentary Ask Dr. Ruth, which is out now in theaters and will be streaming on Hulu on June 1. The documentary explores her life — from Holocaust survivor to paramilitary sniper to world famous sex guru. After nearly 40 years in the spotlight, Dr. Ruth has accumulated quite a bit of wealth. Below, we look at just how much the queen of sex therapy is worth.
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Dr. Ruth was born in 1928 to religious Jews living in Germany. At just 10, she was sent to an orphanage in Switzerland after her father was arrested by Nazis. She lost her entire family over the course of the Holocaust, moved to British-controlled Palestine in 1945, where she later served as a sniper in a Jewish paramilitary group. She moved to the United States in 1956, where she got her doctorate at Columbia, became a professor, and then a pioneer in the world of sex therapy.
Dr. Ruth came to fame in 1980 with her sex advice radio show, Sexually Speaking, which became one of the top-rated shows of the time and was syndicated nationwide by NBC Radio. She went on to host a few Lifetime TV shows, including her very own full hour show called The Dr. Ruth Show.
Over the course of her decades-long career, the sex guru has written 46 books, including the best-selling Sex For Dummies and her more recent success, Sexually Speaking: What Every Woman Needs To Know About Sexual Health.
Dr. Ruth has also appeared on multiple late night talk shows, and she has spoken at a plethora of universities, synagogues, and large-scale events — placing her in the spotlight throughout her life. Dr. Ruth has lived in Manhattan for most of her time in the U.S., specifically in a three-bedroom apartment, in a Jewish community in Washington Heights. She's a powerful member of the NYC community, and was the subject of a Broadway show entitled Becoming Dr. Ruth.
So, how does this clout translate to cash? According to Celebrity Net Worth, Dr. Ruth is worth a whopping $3 million — not too shabby for a famous sex therapist.