'Dear Abby' creator dies: Pauline Phillips was 94

Pauline Phillips, creator of the widely-syndicated newspaper advice column "Dear Abby" has passed away at age 94. TMZ reports Phillips died Wednesday following a battle with Alzheimer's disease.

"Dear Abby" first appeared in newspapers in 1956, eventually growing to a daily readership of 100 million. Pauline's daughter Jeanne Phillips began co-writing the column with her mother before taking is over in 2002 when she retired.

Phillips' sister Eppie Lederer, also a noted advice columnist, wrote under the pen name Anne Landers from 1955 until her death in 2002.