Joyce Brothers was an American psychologist, television personality, columnist, author, and actress who had a net worth of $8 million at the time of her death. Dr. Joyce Brothers became one of the first mental-health professionals to build a sustained career in mass media, dispensing advice about marriage, parenting, sex, grief, work, and emotional health through television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and books.

Brothers first became famous not as a psychologist but as a game-show contestant. She memorized an enormous amount of boxing history and won the top prize on "The $64,000 Question." She later won another $64,000 on "The $64,000 Challenge," making her one of the most successful contestants of the quiz-show era.

She transformed that exposure into a media career lasting more than five decades. Brothers hosted advice programs, wrote a newspaper column carried by hundreds of publications, contributed to Good Housekeeping for nearly 40 years, published numerous books, and appeared as herself in dozens of films and television shows.

Joyce Diane Bauer was born on October 20, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were attorneys who encouraged academic achievement.

Brothers entered Cornell University at the age of 16. She studied home economics and psychology and graduated in 1947. She then attended Columbia University, where she earned graduate degrees in psychology and completed a doctorate.

She married physician Milton Brothers in 1949. During his medical residency, the couple lived on a limited income while raising their young daughter.

Seeking a way to improve the family's finances, Brothers applied to appear on the popular television quiz show "The $64,000 Question" in 1955. Contestants could not select a subject related to their professional expertise, so producers assigned her boxing.

Brothers had little initial knowledge of the sport. She studied fight records, biographies, technical terms, and newspaper accounts with extraordinary intensity. Her appearance as a petite psychologist answering increasingly obscure boxing questions made her a national sensation.

She became the first woman to win the show's $64,000 grand prize. Brothers later competed on "The $64,000 Challenge," where former champions faced specialists in their chosen fields. She defeated several boxing experts and won another $64,000.

When investigations later revealed that some contestants on 1950s quiz shows had received answers or assistance, Brothers was cleared of wrongdoing.

Her boxing knowledge led to work as one of television's earliest female sports commentators. Brothers provided analysis of a championship fight between Sugar Ray Robinson and Carmen Basilio and co-hosted the program "Sports Showcase."

The assignments were unusual at a time when women were largely excluded from sports broadcasting. Brothers used her visibility to move toward the subject she had originally wanted to discuss publicly: psychology.

Brothers began hosting a local television advice program in New York during the late 1950s. Viewers submitted questions about relationships, family problems, anxiety, sex, and personal behavior. Her combination of professional credentials and accessible language proved well suited to television.

Over the following decades, she hosted programs with titles including "The Dr. Joyce Brothers Show," "Consult Dr. Brothers," "Tell Me, Dr. Brothers," and "Living Easy with Dr. Joyce Brothers." She also hosted syndicated radio shows.

Brothers was not acting as a therapist to individual viewers. Instead, she used psychological research and general principles to explain common emotional problems. Her programs helped make discussions of therapy and mental health more acceptable in American households.

She became a frequent guest on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," appearing more than 90 times. She also appeared on "The Mike Douglas Show," "The Merv Griffin Show," "Good Morning America," "Today," CNN, and numerous other programs.

Brothers wrote a syndicated advice column that appeared in more than 300 newspapers at its peak. She also contributed a monthly column to Good Housekeeping for nearly four decades.

Her books included "What Every Woman Should Know About Men," "How to Get Whatever You Want Out of Life," "Positive Plus," and "Widowed." She wrote "Widowed" after Milton Brothers died of cancer in 1989, combining psychological guidance with her own experience of grief.

Her publishing, broadcasting, and speaking work made Brothers one of the most commercially successful psychologists in American media.

Brothers frequently played a comic version of herself in movies and television programs. Her credits included appearances in "The Naked Gun," "Police Squad!," "The Love Boat," "Frasier," "The Simpsons," "Happy Days," "ALF," "Entourage," and "Analyze That."

These appearances reinforced her public image as the psychologist Americans could instantly recognize. She was often summoned by fictional characters to explain an absurd problem or offer advice before delivering a punchline.

Joyce and Milton Brothers had one daughter, Lisa. They remained married until Milton's death in 1989.

Brothers continued writing and appearing publicly well into her later years. She died in New York City on May 13, 2013, at the age of 85. Her daughter later disclosed that she had suffered from Lewy body dementia.

Brothers is remembered as a founder of media psychology who helped move discussions of mental health from private offices into mainstream American culture.