Joyce Brothers

Joyce Diane Brothers (October 20, 1927 – May 13, 2013) was an American psychologist, television personality, advice columnist, and writer. She first became famous in 1955 for winning the top prize on the American game show The $64,000 Question. Her fame from the game show allowed her to go on to host various advice columns and television shows, which established her as a pioneer in the field of "pop (popular) psychology". Brothers is often credited as the first to normalize psychological concepts to the American mainstream. Her syndicated columns were featured in newspapers and magazines, including a monthly column for Good Housekeeping, in which she contributed for nearly 40 years. As Brothers quickly became the "face of psychology" for American audiences, she often appeared in various television roles, usually as herself. From the 1970s onward, she also began to accept fictional roles that parodied her "woman psychologist" persona. She is noted for working continuously for five decades across various genres. Numerous groups recognized Brothers for her strong leadership as a woman in the psychological field and for helping to destigmatize the profession overall. Family and personal relationships Joyce Diane Bauer was born to Jewish parents Morris K. Bauer and Estelle Rapport, who were attorneys sharing a law practice. She grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York. She had a sister named Elaine Goldsmith, with whom she was close. Joyce described that, while she was growing up, her father treated her like a son, even having decided to name her "Joseph" instead of Joyce before she was born. As a result, she grew up in an environment in which her status as a female made no difference in the family's expectations of high academic excellence for all their children. Consequently, she was often described as being a studious person, thriving on "hard work and academic achievement".