Jean Stein, an author who wrote best-selling oral histories, has died in New York City. She was 83.

Authorities say Stein apparently killed herself by jumping from the penthouse floor of a building in upper Manhattan on Sunday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Stein was a former editor at the Paris Review. In 1970, she and editor George Plimpton produced the oral history "American Journey: The Times of Robert Kennedy."

Plimpton also edited Stein's "Edie: American Girl," an oral history of 1960s and Andy Warhol's muse Edie Sedgwick.

Last year, Random House published her book, "West of Eden: An American Place," about Los Angeles and the American dream.

In a statement, the publisher said they were "greatly saddened to hear the news" of Stein's death.