The magazine was established in 1978 with the name Journal für Haushalt und Familie.[1][2] The first issue of the magazine appeared on 30 August 1978 and was published on a monthly basis.[3]
In October 1980 it was renamed Journal für die Frau.[1] The frequency of the magazine was switched to biweekly on 19 October 1983.[3] Its headquarters was in Hamburg.[4][5] The market share of Journal für die Frau was 15,5% in 2000 in terms of subscription.[6] In 2001 the website of the magazine was launched.[7] Target audience of Journal für die Frau was women aged 40-49.[6] Stefan Lewerenz was one of the editors-in-chief of the magazine.[3] In the second quarter of 2003 Journal für die Frau sold 306,312 copies.[3]
The owner of the magazine was Axel Springer Verlag[8][5] until first quarter of 2005 when Burda Verlag, a media company based in Munich, acquired it.[9] The last issue of Journal für die Frau was published in January 2005.[10] The new owner of the magazine, Burda, merged it with another women's magazine Freundin.[10]