‘Feminist Icon’ Gloria Steinem has Died

Gloria Steinem, the trailblazing feminist who helped reshape American politics, culture and women’s rights for generations, has died at 92.

Steinem died peacefully Wednesday at her home in New York City, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement posted on her Instagram account.

“Gloria’s near-century on earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end,” the statement said.

No cause of death was immediately announced.

Steinem became one of the most recognizable faces of the modern women’s movement, spending decades fighting for reproductive rights, equal pay, political representation and protections against sexual harassment.

Her death marks the end of an extraordinary life that stretched from undercover journalism inside the Playboy Club to marches, Democratic political events and the White House, where President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1934, Steinem spent part of her childhood traveling around the country in a trailer with her father, Leo, a traveling salesman. After her parents divorced, she returned to Toledo with her mother, Ruth.

Steinem eventually headed to New York and built a career as a journalist.

Her breakthrough came in 1963, when she went undercover as a Playboy Bunny to expose what women working inside the famed Playboy Club were actually experiencing.

The resulting story, “A Bunny’s Tale,” helped make her a national name.

By 1968, Steinem was helping launch New York magazine, where she covered politics, culture and the rapidly growing women’s liberation movement.

But it was the creation of Ms. magazine that would cement her place in American history.

Steinem co-founded the groundbreaking publication in 1972, creating a national platform for discussions about abortion rights, workplace discrimination, equal pay, sexual harassment and other issues that were still considered taboo in much of mainstream America.

Ms. remains in publication today under the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Steinem also helped establish the National Women’s Political Caucus, which pushed to elect more women to public office and give women greater influence in government.

Her activism made her a fixture at demonstrations and political rallies for decades, particularly in campaigns supporting the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion rights.

She remained politically outspoken late into her life and continued advocating for progressive causes long after many of her contemporaries had retired from public life.

Steinem’s activism was also deeply personal.

She previously revealed that she had undergone an illegal abortion as a young woman, an experience that later helped fuel her advocacy for reproductive freedom. Her involvement in the organized women’s movement intensified after she covered an abortion-rights hearing in 1969.

Her personal life also broke with the expectations placed on women of her generation.

Steinem did not marry until she was 66, when she wed businessman and environmentalist David Bale, the father of actor Christian Bale, in 2000.

Bale died from brain lymphoma just three years later.

Steinem never had biological children but became stepmother to Bale’s four children.

She also faced serious health challenges.

Steinem was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986 at age 52 and underwent surgery before being declared cancer-free. In 1994, she was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, a painful condition affecting nerves in the face.

Her influence eventually stretched far beyond activism and journalism.

Steinem’s life became the subject of books, documentaries, movies and television shows, and actress Rose Byrne portrayed her in the Hulu drama “Mrs. America,” which focused on the bitter political battle over the Equal Rights Amendment.

Throughout it all, Steinem remained one of the most enduring symbols of American feminism.

The statement announcing her death described her ability to connect with people as one of her defining qualities.

“Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard,” it said.

“Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves.”

For supporters, Steinem was far more than a magazine editor or activist.

She was a woman who spent more than half a century challenging political and social barriers that once seemed immovable — and lived long enough to see many of the battles she helped launch become central issues in American life.

She continued working for equality until the end.