Gloria Steinem, the journalist, author and activist who became one of the most recognizable leaders of the American women’s movement, has died. She was 92.
Steinem died peacefully at her home in New York City on Wednesday, September 2, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement from Gloria’s Foundation shared through her official social media. A cause of death was not disclosed.
National NOW President Kim Villanueva said, “Gloria Steinem was an outspoken, courageous, brilliant, and tenacious feminist warrior whose voice helped transform the women’s rights movement and whose commitment to equality inspired generations.”
Born in Toledo, Ohio, on March 25, 1934, Steinem began her career as a journalist after graduating from Smith College and spending two years in India. She attracted national attention in 1963 when she went undercover as a Playboy Bunny for an investigative story exposing the working conditions faced by women employed at the Playboy Club.
Her career soon expanded beyond journalism. In 1968, Steinem helped establish New York magazine, where she worked as a political columnist and feature writer. Four years later, she co-founded Ms. magazine, which became an influential publication covering women’s rights, politics and social issues at a time when those subjects received limited attention in mainstream media.
Steinem emerged as a leading figure in the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s, advocating for equal rights, reproductive freedom and greater political representation for women. She helped establish several organizations during her career, including the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Women’s Action Alliance, the Ms. Foundation for Women and, later, the Women’s Media Center.
She was also the author of several books, including Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, Revolution from Within and her memoir, My Life on the Road.
Her decades of advocacy brought numerous honors. Steinem was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993, and in 2013 President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Steinem remained involved in the movement for equality well into her 90s, ending a public career that stretched across more than six decades.
In lieu of flowers, Steinem’s request was to make a donation to her foundation https://www.gloriasfoundation.org/
