Gloria Steinem, pioneering feminist journalist, dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, the journalist and activist who built the modern women's movement from a newsroom still hostile to her presence, died on September 3, 2026, at her home in New York City. She was 92. The announcement was posted on her Instagram account and did not give a cause of death.

Steinem spent seven decades as a writer, organizer, and public voice for reproductive freedom, equal pay, and LGBTQ+ rights. Her death marks the close of a career that began in the early 1960s when American journalism largely closed its doors to women and ended as a testament to what persistent refusal of those limits could reshape.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1934, Steinem graduated from Smith College in 1956 with a degree in government studies. After finishing school, per NPR's reporting, she spent two years in India on a fellowship, where she traveled with people organizing against caste violence and wrote for Indian publications. In the late 1950s, Steinem was briefly involved with a CIA-backed organization that sent American students to Soviet-sponsored youth festivals to promote pro-American principles. She later defended her role, asserting that the CIA never attempted to alter the organization's policies.

In 1963, Steinem gained national attention for going undercover at one of Hugh Hefner's nightclubs. Her exposé for Show magazine, "A Bunny's Tale," revealed the sexism and low wages endured by cocktail waitresses. She later served as a founding editor and writer at New York magazine. In 1972, Steinem launched Ms. magazine, which is widely regarded as the first national magazine run by and written for women. A 1977 cover story about sexual harassment forced the long-silenced issue into the national spotlight and later became the basis for the 1980 film "9 to 5" starring Dolly Parton.

In 1971, months before she established Ms. magazine, Steinem co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus, which focused on recruiting, training, and endorsing women in politics. When the caucus began, according to NPR, there were 15 women elected to Congress, 363 women state legislators, and 7 women city mayors. Today those numbers have grown to 150 women in Congress, 2,476 state legislators, and 428 city mayors. Steinem also co-founded the Women's Action Alliance, dedicated to fighting sexism.

Steinem had an illegal abortion at age 22, which she described in her 2015 memoir "My Life On The Road." She dedicated the book to the English doctor who performed the procedure. In 2022, a few weeks before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Steinem told NPR that she did not believe her work on reproductive justice would be in vain even if the decision were reversed. She said: "It will not change the basic fact that we either have decision-making power over our own bodies, women and men, or there is no democracy."

Steinem spoke in favor of same-sex marriage legalization, equal rights and pay for women, and protested against the death penalty and female genital mutilation. In 2000, she married David Bale, a South African-born entrepreneur and environmentalist. He died three years later from brain lymphoma. When asked why she had changed her position on marriage, Steinem replied: "I didn't change. Marriage changed."

In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her commitment to activism. Obama said of her: "Because of her work, across America and around the world, more women are afforded the respect and opportunities that they deserve. She also changed how women thought about themselves."

Per her foundation, Steinem continued working for equality until the end. In her last years, she lived in community and writing, welcoming guests into her home for "Talking Circles," a tradition that will continue. A forthcoming book titled "An Unexpected Life" is among the works she left behind.

Meghan Markle celebrated Steinem's life and legacy on Instagram, calling her "my friend and mentor" and recounting spending Thanksgiving with her family. Markle said Steinem "privately, was even better than you would imagine" and now wears a bracelet Steinem gave her inscribed with "we are linked, not ranked." Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Steinem was "one of the architects of the entire structure of women's equality," tearing down obstacles to women's participation. Clinton told CBS Mornings: "Gloria was at heart an optimist. Her activism was rooted in optimism, and that's a moral choice, and she made it every day."