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 September 2 at her home in New York City, surrounded by people who loved her, according to a statement from her foundation reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Her cause of death was not disclosed.
For more than six decades, Steinem moved between journalism and organizing, advocating for women’s political representation, reproductive freedom and equality. She helped launch Ms. magazine, cofounded the National Women’s Political Caucus and later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Her final memoir was already finished. Random House is scheduled to publish An Unexpected Life on September 22, less than three weeks after her death.
Her Foundation Says Steinem Worked for Equality Until the End
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“Gloria’s near century on earth were years well lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end,” the statement from her official account said.
Steinem spent much of her later life writing and bringing activists, artists and organizers together at her longtime Manhattan home through gatherings known as Talking Circles.
Gloria’s Foundation says it has held more than 50 Talking Circles since 2022, with more than 200 people attending gatherings at Steinem’s home during the past three years. The foundation plans for the space to continue serving as a center for organizing and activism.
Her Undercover Playboy Investigation Changed Her Career
Steinem was born in Toledo, Ohio, on March 25, 1934. She graduated from Smith College in 1956 and spent two years in India before establishing herself as a freelance journalist in New York.
In 1963, she went undercover as a Playboy Bunny at the New York Playboy Club for an investigation published in Show magazine. The articles documented working conditions behind the club’s glamorous public image, including restrictive uniforms, long shifts and the treatment of the women employed there.
The assignment raised Steinem’s public profile but complicated her journalism career for a period afterward. As the BBC noted in its account of her career, editors sometimes focused more on the Bunny persona than the reporting that produced it.
Her work became increasingly political during the remainder of the decade. Steinem later described attending a 1969 abortion speakout in New York as a turning point in her involvement with the women’s movement.
‘Ms.’ Made Women’s Issues National News
Steinem helped launch Ms. as an insert in New York magazine in 1971 before it became an independent publication in 1972. She remained one of its editors for 15 years.
The magazine gave national space to subjects including abortion, equal pay, domestic violence and women’s political representation at a time when many mainstream publications treated them very differently.
Steinem also helped establish organizations including the National Women’s Political Caucus and Women’s Action Alliance. She later cofounded the Women’s Media Center and was the founding president of the Ms. Foundation for Women.
Her activism extended beyond gender discrimination. Over different periods of her career, she worked on racial justice, LGBTQ rights, opposition to apartheid and campaigns against war.
Obama Awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Barack Obama presented Steinem with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, recognizing her journalism and decades of work for women’s equality and civil rights.
Her influence eventually extended into film and television as well. Rose Byrne portrayed Steinem in the FX series Mrs. America, while Julie Taymor’s 2020 film The Glorias used several actresses to portray her at different ages.
Steinem remained resistant to grand descriptions of her own status. When TMZ interviewed her in Washington in 2019 and referred to her as a legend, she redirected the attention toward the work she believed remained unfinished.
Her Second Memoir Arrives September 22
Random House announced An Unexpected Life on Steinem’s 92nd birthday in March and still lists the memoir for publication on September 22.
The book revisits her childhood, her years in India and her path into journalism and activism while reflecting on six decades of movements for women’s and human rights.
It follows her 2015 memoir My Life on the Road and books including Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, Revolution from Within and The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!