Powerful Liberal Activist Passes Away At 92

Gloria Steinem, the influential feminist writer and liberal activist who spent decades shaping the modern women’s movement, has died at 92.

Her death was announced Thursday in a statement posted to her Instagram account.

“Yesterday, Gloria Steinem passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her,” the message read. “Gloria’s near-century on earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end.”

“Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard. Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves. Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humor,” the statement continued.

The statement said Steinem “spent her recent years doing the two things she loved most: being in community with others and writing.”

“Gloria loved the tradition of lighting signal fires on hills to light the way to the other side of the mountain. Lighting your own candle for Gloria makes you part of this global and celestial community circle,” it added.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1934, Steinem became one of the most prominent faces of second-wave feminism and built a career that blended journalism, activism and left-wing political organizing.

She helped found New York and Ms. magazines and authored several books, including An Unexpected Life, The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off, My Life on the Road, Moving Beyond Words, Revolution from Within and Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions.

Gloria Steinem, the pioneering journalist and activist who became one of the most influential figures in the modern feminist movement, has died at 92. Steinem died peacefully Wednesday at her home in New York City surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement on her official… pic.twitter.com/I5aXp7YJBU

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 3, 2026

Steinem also co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Free to Be Foundation and the Women’s Media Center.

Her activism extended overseas as well, including work with Equality Now, Donor Direct Action and Direct Impact Africa.

In 2013, then-President Barack Obama awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She later received the Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in 2019.

Steinem was also a longtime force in abortion-rights politics.

She served as president and co-founder of Voters for Choice, a pro-choice political action committee, for 25 years before the organization merged with the Planned Parenthood Action Fund for the 2004 election cycle.

Her political influence made her a celebrated figure on the left and a frequent target of criticism from conservatives who opposed her positions on abortion, gender and the broader feminist movement.

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Steinem began her career in journalism and gained attention in 1963 after going undercover to report on working conditions inside Hugh Hefner’s Playboy empire.

She later said a 1969 gathering where women publicly discussed abortion rights pushed her more deeply into political activism.

“That speak-out was the beginning of activism for me,” Steinem, who had undergone a secret illegal abortion herself at age 22, told the AP in an email in 2022, reflecting on the 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.”

Even into her 80s, Steinem continued traveling and speaking on issues ranging from female genital mutilation to Korean reconciliation, though women’s equality remained the defining cause of her public life.

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“Being a feminist means that you see the world as whole instead of half,” she once said. “It shouldn’t need a name, and one day it won’t.”

Her life was portrayed in the 2020 film “The Glorias, A Life on The Road,” based on her 2015 memoir and starring Julianne Moore.

At 91, Steinem remained active in publishing, collaborating with Liberian peace activist and Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee on the children’s book “Rise, Girl, Rise: Our Sister-Friend Journey. Together for All,” which was published in February 2026.

Steinem married businessman and animal-rights activist David Bale in September 2000. Bale, the father of actor Christian Bale, died three years later from primary brain lymphoma.

For more than half a century, Steinem remained a defining figure of the American feminist left, influencing Democratic politics, abortion-rights activism and generations of progressive organizers until the final years of her life.

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