Pauline Phillips
1918-2013
Pauline Phillips, who consoled millions around the world writing the iconic Dear Abby advice column, has died at the age of 94, her syndication service said.
In a statement, Universal Uclick said Phillips - who wrote Dear Abby from 1956 until her daughter Jeanne Phillips took over the column and her alias Abigail Van Buren in 2002 - died on Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota after "a long battle" with Alzheimer's disease.
"I have lost my mother, my mentor and my best friend," Jeanne Phillips said in the statement. "My mother leaves very big high heels to fill with a legacy of compassion, commitment and positive social change. I will honour her memory every day by continuing this legacy."
Long before the internet, the Dear Abby column was a forum for the public discussion of private problems, read by tens of millions of people in hundreds of newspapers around the world.
Phillips, born Pauline Esther Friedman, was the identical twin sister of Esther Pauline Friedman, better known as the equally famous agony aunt Ann Landers. She died in 2000 of cancer.
Their hometown was Sioux Falls, Iowa and - rather aptly for a pair who would be American pop culture icons - their date of birth was July 4, 1918.
