Gloria Steinem World Famous Feminist Leader Dies at 92

Steinem’s decades-long activism was dramatized onscreen on several occasions, including the 2020 biopic 

‘The Glorias’

By Kirsty Hatcher

and Annie Blackman

Updated on September 3, 2026 

NEED TO KNOW

• Gloria Steinem died on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at the age of 92, a post on her official Instagram announced
• In 1972, Steinem cofounded Ms., America’s first feminist magazine, where she served as editor for 15 years
• Steinem also cofounded the Women’s Media Center, with Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan

Gloria Steinem, the enduring feminist activist and writer, has died. She was 92. A joint post shared on Steinem’s Instagram with Gloria’s Foundation confirmed that the women’s liberation leader “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her.” Steinem died on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

“Gloria’s near-century on earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end,” the post continued, in part. “She spent her recent years doing the two things she loved most: being in community with others and writing.”

“In lieu of flowers, Gloria has asked that those wishing to honor her with a gift, may make a donation to Gloria’s Foundation,” the post concluded.

Gloria Steinem. Bettmann Archive

Steinem dedicated her life to social and political change. In the 1960s, she embarked on her career as a champion of women’s rights by spotlighting topics like sexuality and reproductive and workplace rights with her seminal journalism. In addition to writing for New York magazine, she cofounded Ms. magazine as well as organizations like the Women’s Action Alliance and the National Women’s Political Caucus.

Born on March 25, 1934, Steinem grew up witnessing the effects of sexism and gender inequality early on as she cared for her mother after her parents divorced. In her 2015 book My Life on The Road, she described watching her mother suffer from mental illness as formative to her understanding of social injustices. Ruth Steinem had the same activist streak as her daughter but couldn’t act on it because of the gender limitations of the time period.

Gloria Steinem in 1972.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

“My mother paid a high price for caring so much, yet being able to do so little about it. In this way, she led me toward an activist place where she herself could never go,” Steinem wrote.




After graduating from Smith College in 1956, Steinem moved to New York City to pursue a career in journalism. In 1962, her first big article, “The Moral Disarmament of Betty Coed,” was published in Esquire. It told the story of attitudes toward contraception as the birth control pill gained popularity, especially among college-aged women.

She followed it with a 1963 story for Show magazine: “I Was a Playboy Bunny.” She went undercover to work at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Club to expose the exploitation of women within the mammoth Playboy empire. When the article was published, it spurred immense controversy and made it difficult for Steinem to get work, but it has since been recognized as one of her most influential pieces of writing.

Gloria Steinem in 1995.Getty Images

Five years later, she began contributing a political column to a budding New York magazine. Her work led her to a speak-out in New York City, where she was moved by stories women shared about their experiences with abortions and healthcare access.

She later referred to the event as the “big click” turning point in her life that solidified her commitment to feminism.

“There was something about seeing women tell the truth about their lives in public and seeing women take seriously something that only happens to women. In my experience, things were only taken seriously if they also happened to men,” she reflected in the publication’s 30th anniversary edition.

Gloria Steinem at a 2004 Ms. magazine event.SGranitz/WireImage

In 1972, Steinem cofounded Ms., the first American feminist magazine, and served as an editor for 15 years. She also founded and cofounded pro-women organizations and nonprofits like the Coalition of Labor Union Women and the Women’s Media Center.

“[Steinem is] like a piece of history. And she’s framed the future, and it’s utterly inspirational. Her view of what needs to happen is unique and motivational and inspiring, and I love her dearly,” Jane Fonda, who cofounded the Women’s Media Center with Steinem and Robin Morgan told PEOPLE in 2024.

A fierce advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, Steinem testified before the United States Senate on May 6, 1970, in support of it. Her efforts to pass the amendment were dramatized on the FX historical miniseries Mrs. America, in which she was portrayed by Rose Byrne. Her life story was also depicted in the 2020 biopic The Glorias, with Oscar winners Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander among the performers portraying Steinem over 80 years of her life.

Steinem’s vision of gender parity included LGBTQ+ rights and racial equality. She long maintained that racial and gender inequality went hand in hand and spoke out on the unrecognized impact that Black activists played in suffrage and feminism.

Gloria Steinem in 2016.Alberto E. Rodríguez

“The one thing that alarms me is when people think there is such a thing as White feminism. Because if it’s White, it’s not feminism — by definition, it includes all women,” She toldVice in 2017.

In her 2019 book, The Truth Will Set You Free But First It’ll Piss You Off!: Thoughts on Life, Love, and Rebellion, Steinem considered how feminist movements have evolved since the ‘60s and ‘70s, especially in light of #MeToo.

“Recently,” she wrote, “women have begun to feel OK about coming forward to say that our bodies belong to ourselves. We have yet to explain that there’s no democracy without power over our own bodies.”

Steinem’s memoir, An Unexpected Life, is due to be released on Sept. 28, 2026. Per an official description, in the “candid memoir,” Steinem “reflects on the unlikely experiences and pivotal moments—from a childhood rat bite that opened her eyes to the dangers of poverty to the 1970 Women’s March honoring the right to vote—that shaped the visionary woman she would become.”

From left: Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem at the WMC 2024 Women’s Media Awards.
Cindy Ord/Getty

In 2013, President Barack Obama recognized Steinem’s lifetime of activism and awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“She’s been called a ‘champion noticer.’ She’s alert to all the ways, large and small, that women had been and, in some cases, continue to be treated unfairly just because they’re women,” President Obama said during the ceremony.

In later years, Steinem forged a friendship with Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. After Meghan and her husband Prince Harry moved to California, she and Steinem began working together on a 2020 campaign to encourage people to vote, which marked the beginning of their activism partnership.

Though she had once compared being married to being enslaved, Steinem wed British businessman and environmentalist David Bale (father of actor Christian Bale) on Sept. 3, 2000, when she was in her mid 60s. The couple were married for three years before Bale died from brain lymphoma in 2003 at age 62.

Steinem was preceded in death by her mother and father, Ruth and Leo Steinem; her sister, Susanne Steinem Patch; and her husband.