Gloria Steinem, Pioneer of the Women’s Movement, Dies at Age 92

Gloria Steinem, the pioneering feminist, journalist, author, and activist whose work helped shape the modern women’s movement, has died at 92. Her death was announced in a post on social media by the Gloria Steinem Foundation, with no cause given.

Born in 1934 Ohio, Steinem went on to become a symbol of second-wave feminism, advocating for women to live the lives of their choosing rather than the ones assigned to them. She attributed her feminist awakening to a “speak out” she attended in 1969 as a journalist in her mid-30s, where women openly discussed their illegal abortions.

She went on to co-found Ms. magazine; it was the first glossy national magazine created, owned, and run entirely by women (it first launched in December 1971 as an insert in New York magazine, which she also helped co-found, and published its first full issue the following year). The periodical covered topics like reproductive rights, gender equality, sexual harassment, and social justice, and both captured and propelled a zeitgeist increasingly in favor of women’s empowerment.

The same year, Steinem and a group of prominent women, including Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Bella Abzug, founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, which in addition to identifying and supporting potential female candidates for political office, advocates for issues like abortion access, the Equal Rights Amendment, equal pay, and dependent care.

Beyond her political work, Steinem’s star as a cultural force and icon rose throughout the 20th century, helped in part by her signature look of tinted aviator glasses and blonde-streaked, center-parted hair. She worked well into her 90s, hosting gatherings, speaking at events, and writing essays. She wrote nearly a dozen books, including An Unexpected Life, due for publication later this month. In 2013, former President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Steinem never had children, a choice she celebrated. In 2017, when Chelsea Handler asked if she regretted the decision, she said, “Not for a millisecond. Not everybody with a womb has to have a child, like not everybody with vocal cords has to be an opera singer. It’s a choice, and it’s a wonderful choice, but if everybody has to do it, it’s no longer a choice.”

She had high-profile relationships, including with The Graduate director Mike Nichols, media mogul Mort Zuckerman, and Ford Foundation president Franklin A. Thomas. In 2000, at the age of 66 married activist and entrepreneur David Bale, who died from brain lymphoma three years later (he was also the father of Christian Bale).

On social media, admirers and friends of Steinem shared their tributes: “This is the greatest Gloria. All are grateful for her revolutionary spirit; a lifetime of service,” Patti Smith wrote on Instagram.

Calling into CBS Mornings, Hillary Clinton told Gayle King: “I’m heartsick, as I think everyone who not only knew her, but followed her, was inspired and challenged by her.” She added: “I’m hoping that young women realize that the fight is worth it. It is exhilarating.”

Diane Von Furstenberg, a close friend of Steinem, shared a photo of the two on Instagram with the caption: “Good bye darling Gloria[.] Rest in Peace and continue to inspire us and lead us !! Thank you for your Courage, Strength and Leadership”

On X, Christiane Amanpour wrote: “Gloria Steinem will go down in history as one of the most important activists of all time, leading a movement for the equality of half the world: its women. She lived a long and passionate life dedicated to this vital and basic cause. She did it with intellectual precision, emotional awareness, humour and beauty. May she rest in peace and may the cause thrive.”

Sandra Bernhard shared a tribute on Instagram, writing, “[Gloria Steinem] fought for women’s rights her entire life she coined the phrase ‘reproductive freedom’ regarding Abortion rights she mobilized & led the battle for decades helping found [Ms. magazine] she gave everything to us, & here we are back to the trenches fighting the patriarchy the stupidity of our woeful government let us honor Gloria’s legacy & continue the fight here’s to you Glo”

On Instagram, Meghan Markle wrote: “My very favorite story about GLO is when she was out one day in NY, and a woman approached her in absolute awe and said she wanted to introduce her young daughter to her (though she was embarrassed to say the young girl may not know who she was). Gloria replied: ‘It doesn’t matter if she knows who I am. What matters is that she knows who SHE is.’”

French human rights activist and secretary general of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, wrote, "A sad moment for many of us with the death of Feminist activist and journalist Gloria Steinem. It is a moment of remembrance and celebration of this extraordinary woman. And it is too a moment of reflection.

In a joint Instagram post, former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden shared: “Gloria Steinem understood that women’s equality begins with the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies, health, and futures. For decades, she fought to make that freedom real for generations of women and girls. She spoke up when it was difficult, listened to those whose voices too often went unheard, and never stopped pushing our country forward.”

Roxane Gay commented on the Instagram post announcing Steinem’s death: “Gloria was one of a kind. Genuine, generous, curious, thoughtful. She lived a staggering life and her passing is a staggering loss tempered only by the ferocity of her legacy.”

Journalist Ann Curry also commented on the post: “Thank you Gloria. You once told me in an interview that it was your mother’s suffering that first moved you to take action for the rights of women. May you now be in her embrace. How the lives of so many shine a little brighter because you were in this world. With respect.”