Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inbox We have more newsletters Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inbox We have more newsletters Trailblazing sex therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer, affectionately known as Dr Ruth, has passed away at the grand age of 96. Standing a petite 4ft 7in, Dr Ruth was acclaimed for transforming how we communicate about sex and sexuality, propelling the 'sexpert' field forward, though she modestly declared herself a "square". She passed away surrounded by her family, in her Manhattan home in New York City, her spokesperson confirmed on Saturday 13 July.

Her agent, Pierre Lehu, announced her passing to Page Six with a tribute saying: "She died peacefully, at home, holding the hands of her son and daughter." Pierre also told People Magazine: "It was as peacefully as she could possibly go. She was 96.

" Reflecting on her dynamic life, he expressed astonishment: "It's amazing, there was stuff still going on in her life and someone wants to make a biopic about her." The cause of Dr Ruth's departure remains undisclosed. Escaping the horrors of her native Germany, Ruth, who entered the world as Karola Ruth Seigel on 4 June 1928 in Wiesenfeld, found refuge in Switzerland at just ten years of age during the Second World War.

Tragically, she later learnt that she was her family's lone Holocaust survivor. Her resilient spirit took her to Palestine in her teenage years, where she joined .