She was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years. In , Gurley, her sister Mary Eloine later Mrs. Alford , and their mother moved to Los Angeles, California.
Francis Polytechnic High School. After Gurley's graduation, the family moved to Warm Springs, Georgia. In , she married David Brown , who would go on to become a noted film producer. In , Brown's book Sex and the Single Girl [16] was published in 28 countries, and stayed on the bestseller lists for over a year. In , Brown became editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan , then a literary magazine famed for high-toned content, and reinvented it as a magazine for the modern single career-woman.
As a result of her advocacy, glamorous, fashion-focused women were sometimes called "Cosmo Girls". Her work played a part in what is often called the sexual revolution. In , Brown was ousted from her role as the U. When she left, Cosmopolitan ranked sixth at the newsstand and, for the 16th straight year, ranked first in bookstores on college campuses. In September , Brown was named the 13th-most-powerful American over the age of 80 by Slate magazine.
In , Gurley took over as editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine and was in that position until Her take on the magazine was to be frank when talking about sex in this new version of Cosmopolitan. Betty Friedan , author of The Feminine Mystique , disliked what Brown had done in her book and in the magazine. Friedan said that what Brown was doing was "anti-feminist" and an "immature teenage-level sexual fantasy".
Feminist views of the magazine were re-evaluated in the s, however, with New York Times media reporter Randall Rothenberg writing, "In retrospect, the magazine played an important role in helping young women redefine their roles in society. Entertainment Weekly said that "Gurley Brown will be remembered for her impact on the publishing industry, her contributions to the culture at large, and sly quips like her famous line: 'Good girls go to heaven.
