How Many Grandchildren Does Dr. Ruth Have?
When it comes to sex (let's be honest), Americans can be skittish compared to Europeans — which is why Dr. Ruth Westheimer (yes, that Dr. Ruth) set out to break Americans out of their discomfort. Her fascination with physical intimacy came about after she started working at Planned Parenthood, "I trained professionals to be family-planning counselors and I thought, my gosh they talk only about sex — they don't talk about culture or literature. And then maybe a few hours later, I thought, what an interesting subject matter," she told Theater Mania.
Although Dr. Ruth's career as a sex therapist has been wildly successful with dozens of books, her radio show "Sexually Speaking", a TV series, and even an off-Broadway show starring Debra Jo Rupp, her family is also a very special part of her life. Dr. Ruth was married to Manfred Westheimer in 1961 and, despite being her third husband, she said Manfred was her "true love" in her column for Moment.
The couple has a son together, Joel, and Manfred adopted Ruth's daughter Miriam as well. In 2000, Dr. Ruth published a book entitled "Grandparenthood" which is both a "how-to" book and a memoir, which was crucial for Dr. Ruth, according to The Baltimore Sun. She told the outlet, "It is like setting a gravestone for my parents and grandparents, who don't have one. I wanted to give my inimitable advice in a fun way, which I usually try to do, as well as in a serious way."
Finding peace with her grandchildren
Dr. Ruth Westheimer was born Karola Ruth Siegel in Germany in 1928 to an Orthodox Jewish family. Much of her family died at Auschwitz, but she was saved by attending a Swiss boarding school which kept her out of harm's way, per Biography. Losing her family in the Holocaust is, in part, why being a grandmother is so important to her. "Whatever I do, I take full advantage of it with my whole soul. I am impatient. Maybe by becoming a grandparent that sense of urgency is heightened. To know that, like I said in the book, Hitler did not succeed. He didn't want me to live, and he certainly didn't want me to have grandchildren," she told The Baltimore Sun.
The 93-year-old sexpert has four grandchildren — who call her "Omi," the German word for "grandmother." And, while she's very open about sex topics in her work, she doesn't give sex advice to her kids or her grandkids, though she does leave her books around if they have questions, according to Jewish Unpacked.
Her celebrity status doesn't get in the way of her being a grandmother to her grandkids although she loves both roles. "When I go to a mall or Central Park and [people come up], I smile and say, 'Today I'm only a grandmother.' I never do [publicity] with my children or grandchildren. It's funny, my four 1/2-year-old does say, 'Omi ['Grammy' in German], everybody knows you'," she told The Baltimore Sun.
Getting older shouldn't stop your sex life, per Dr. Ruth
Age isn't stopping Dr. Ruth Westheimer from working and she says it shouldn't stop her peers from still enjoying healthy sex lives. When asked by the New York Post if 90-year-olds should still be having sex Dr. Ruth replied, "If they have a good partner, they should have sex. If you don't have a partner, they should satisfy themselves. Period. There is no age limit."
Her radio show made her a household name 40 years ago, but Dr. Ruth's popularity is far from over. Even in her 90s, strangers will approach her for sex advice. She quietly takes the person to the side, helps if she can, or recommends someone who can help because things don't always have an easy solution. She still maintains her hard and fast rule, however, that she will not dole out sex advice to her grandkids.