Gloria Steinem, feminist writer and activist, dead at 92

Gloria Steinem, writer and activist, dies at 92

Gloria Steinem died at age 92, according to a statement posted on her Instagram account on September 3, 2026. The statement said she passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by family and friends. It described her life as “years well-lived” and noted that she continued working until the end.

The statement highlighted Steinem’s practice of listening to others and making them feel heard. It stated that her words and actions gave people permission to be their truest selves and that she maintained an independent spirit marked by curiosity and humor. It added that in recent years she focused on being in community with others and on writing. The statement also referenced a tradition of lighting signal fires and invited readers to light a candle in her memory as part of a global circle.

Steinem was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1934. Her website biography listed her as a founder of New York magazine and Ms. magazine. It named her books as *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*, along with additional collections and essays.

The biography stated that she co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Free to Be Foundation, and the Women’s Media Center. It noted her role in establishing Equality Now, Donor Direct Action, and Direct Impact Africa. It recorded that she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2013 and the Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum in 2019. The biography described her home as the center of Gloria’s Foundation and a gathering place for feminist and activist thinkers.

Additional details on her website indicated that she helped found the Women’s Action Alliance, which focused on nonsexist, multiracial children’s education, and the National Women’s Political Caucus, which works to increase the number of women in elected and appointed offices. She co-founded the Women’s Media Center in 2004. She served for twenty-five years as president and co-founder of Voters for Choice, a political action committee supporting abortion rights, and later worked with the Planned Parenthood Action Fund after a 2004 merger.

Steinem married businessman and animal rights activist David Bale in September 2000. Bale, the father of actor Christian Bale, died in 2003 from primary brain lymphoma.

Steinem began her career in journalism. In 1963 she reported on working conditions at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy clubs after an undercover assignment, a story she later said she regretted, according to The Associated Press. She told the AP that a 1969 meeting at which women spoke in favor of abortion rights changed her direction. She had undergone an illegal abortion at age 22. In a 2022 email to the AP commenting on the reversal of Roe v. Wade, she stated that control over one’s body must be equal regardless of sex or race for a society to be democratic.

Into her eighties and nineties, Steinem traveled and spoke on topics including female genital mutilation and Korean reconciliation, with primary emphasis on equality for women. She was quoted as saying, “Being a feminist means that you see the world as whole instead of half. It shouldn’t need a name, and one day it won’t.”

In 2020 a feature film titled *The Glorias*, based on her 2015 memoir, was released with Julianne Moore in the lead role. At age 91 she collaborated with Liberian peace activist and Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee on the picture book *Rise, Girl, Rise: Our Sister-Friend Journey. Together for All*, published in February 2026 and intended to encourage young people to engage in social change.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.