Gloria Steinem, the writer, activist, and co-founder of Ms. magazine who spent more than half a century as one of the most recognizable faces of American feminism, died peacefully at her home in New York City on Wednesday. She was 92. [1]
Her foundation announced the news on social media, saying she was "surrounded by many who loved her." [3] "Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves," the foundation wrote. "Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humour." [1]
A Difficult Start, a Defining Career
Born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, Steinem had an unsettled childhood and did not attend school full-time until she was 12. [3] After graduating from university in the late 1950s, she traveled to India on a research scholarship, spending two years in various roles — including helping village women organize nonviolent protests against government policies — an experience that ignited a lifelong commitment to grassroots activism. [3]
She arrived in New York City in the early 1960s to work as a freelance journalist. Her breakthrough came through an undercover exposé of the working conditions faced by Playboy Bunnies in Hugh Hefner's clubs — a 1963 assignment she later came to regret. [1] She eventually became a columnist for New York Magazine before co-founding Ms. magazine in 1972, one of the first publications to address women's issues beyond housekeeping and beauty. [3]
From Journalist to Activist
The pivot from reporter to activist was not inevitable. Steinem has said she would have remained a writer had editors of the era been willing to let her cover the women's movement. Instead, a pivotal moment arrived in 1969, when she attended a speak-out at which women spoke boldly in favor of abortion rights. [1]
"That speak-out was the beginning of activism for me," she told the Associated Press in a 2022 email, reflecting on the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade. "Either our control over our own bodies is equal, regardless of sex or race, or we're not living in a democracy." [1]
Her personal stake in reproductive rights was profound. She had obtained an illegal abortion herself at age 22 — in London, before Roe — and later celebrated the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that enshrined the constitutional right to the procedure, only to witness its dismantling decades later. [3]
Those who watched her speak for so many years might have been surprised to learn she had to overcome a deep fear of public speaking. [1] Yet she became one of the movement's most compelling orators, addressing college campuses, community centers, rallies, and marches across the country and around the world — continuing to travel and speak well into her 80s. [1]
A Life of Broad Causes
Steinem's advocacy extended well beyond reproductive rights. She campaigned for equal pay and workplace equality, spoke out in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, protested the death penalty, and drew international attention to female genital mutilation. [3] She also co-founded the Women's Action Alliance, a group dedicated to fighting sexism, more than 50 years ago. [3]
For years she famously resisted marriage as an institution, but in 2000 she wed David Bale, a South African-born entrepreneur and environmentalist and the father of actor Christian Bale. Bale died three years later from brain lymphoma. [3] When asked why she had changed her position on marriage, Steinem offered a characteristically sharp reply: "I didn't change. Marriage changed." [3]
In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. [3]
Listening as a Form of Leadership
In her later years, Steinem remained active in a quieter, more intimate register. She hosted "Talking Circles" — gatherings of hundreds of people — in her New York home, a tradition her foundation says will continue. [3] She was also working on a forthcoming book, An Unexpected Life, which her foundation described as among "many gifts Gloria has given the world with the hope they have ripple effects for generations to come." [3]
"You can't do it on the phone or on the web," she told the Associated Press in 2015, explaining her preference for in-person connection. "You have to be there with all five senses. It should be obvious that people can't empathise with each other unless we're in the same room." [1]
Her foundation said "she continued working for equality until the very end." [3]
Tributes Pour In
Tributes arrived swiftly. Meghan Markle, who described Steinem as "my friend and mentor," shared photographs of the two together on Instagram, saying that privately Steinem "was even better than you would imagine." Markle noted that Steinem had spent Thanksgiving with her family, offered counsel "during hard times," and gave "extraordinary advice and perspective with a cup of tea and an unrivaled cheekiness and wit." Markle said she now wears a bracelet Steinem gave her reading "we are linked, not ranked." [3]
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Steinem "one of the architects of the entire structure of women's equality." Speaking to CBS Mornings, Clinton said: "Gloria was at heart an optimist. Her activism was rooted in optimism, and that's a moral choice, and she made it every day." [3]
What Comes Next
The immediate question for the movement Steinem helped define is one of continuity. Her foundation has pledged to carry forward the Talking Circles tradition and to publish An Unexpected Life. How the broader feminist coalition channels her legacy — particularly in an era of renewed battles over reproductive rights — will be the story to watch in the months ahead.
