Congresswoman Laura Richardson Rises in Memory of Helen Gurley Brown

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay. tribute to the memory of Helen Gurley Brown, one of the world's most influential magazine editors and authors. As editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for over three decades, Ms. Gurley Brown promoted the idea of a modern career woman and left a permanent mark on American culture. She passed away at 90 years old.

Even from an early age, Ms. Gurley Brown never let anyone set limits on what she should do with her life. She put herself through Woodbury Business College and jumped into a career in copyediting, all at a time when society demanded that women marry young and start families instead. She knew that women could have it all: successful careers, relationships, and the confidence to take charge of their own lives.

In 1962, Ms. Gurley Brown authored her famous book, ''Sex and the Single Girl.'' Three years later, she became editor of Cosmopolitan, transforming it into the bold and trendy magazine we know it as today. Her frank advice on sex and careers revolutionized the entire media industry and sparked a nation-wide conversation on what it meant to be a feminist and modern woman. Although her publications were considered shocking and risque when first published, she ushered in a new wave of ideas and made women's empowerment a mainstream concept.

Ms. Gurley Brown changed the way an entire generation of women defined themselves and their future aspirations. Her outspoken and pioneering nature will be greatly missed, but her lifetime's work has already liberated a whole generation from outdated ideas of women's place in society. Her legacy will live on through the countless women Ms. Gurley Brown has inspired.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in expressing deep condolences to Ms. Gurley Brown's friends and family.