Gloria Steinem Remembered as Feminist Icon by Clinton, Winfrey, Harris

Gloria Steinem, the writer and activist who became the most recognizable voice of the American women's movement, died Thursday at her home in New York City. She was 92.

For more than half a century, Steinem moved through the country with a single suitcase—packed with black clothes, hair curlers, and a steam iron—speaking to women in conference halls, town meetings, and consciousness-raising groups, no matter how small the gathering. She arrived in sandals and a trench coat, carrying her own luggage, building the infrastructure of a movement from the ground up. She spoke about equal pay, reproductive freedom, political representation, and the right of women to make decisions about their own bodies and futures. What set her apart was not merely the force of her convictions but the grace with which she held them: she delivered fierce arguments with wit, empathy, and a studied humility that made people listen.

Politicians, celebrities, writers, and activists moved quickly to social media to mark her passing. Vice President Kamala Harris recalled Steinem as someone who was "kind, sharp, and witty," invested in younger women and in keeping doors open for the next generation of leaders. Harris noted Steinem's particular commitment to women running for office and said she would always be grateful for that support during her own presidential campaign. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described Steinem's activism as rooted in optimism—"a moral choice she made every day"—and urged that her voice remain present in public consciousness even as women's equality continues to face setbacks. Oprah Winfrey wrote that every woman who has walked into a room knowing she belongs there, every woman who has demanded equal pay and bodily autonomy, every girl who has grown up believing her dreams are hers to pursue, is living inside the progress Steinem helped create, whether or not she knows Steinem's name.

The director of "The Glorias," a 2020 biographical film about Steinem, told the Associated Press that Steinem understood the work of change came from the bottom up and that she never sought credit for what she accomplished. "She always said if she wasn't alive, there would still be a women's movement," the director said. "I think she underestimated her power. She was very modest." The actor who portrayed Steinem in that same film said that studying her for the role was one of the most instructive experiences of her life, and that everything she learned about Steinem gave her a template for how she wanted to live.

Those closest to her spoke of a person whose kindness was inseparable from her politics. The Duchess of Sussex described private moments—Thanksgiving dinners, introductions to lifelong friends, counsel during difficult times—delivered with "unrivalled cheekiness and wit." A fellow activist told the Associated Press that everything Steinem did was rooted in kindness, and that kindness flowed through her political work. A philanthropist and businesswoman reflected that generational change does not happen by accident; it requires leaders like Steinem who work alongside many others to build movements that last.

Writers and activists who came of age in Steinem's shadow described the debt they owed her. One author and feminist wrote in her newsletter that she had been able to do what she wanted with her life only because Steinem and other feminists had radically reshaped America and the world. Another author and social justice activist posted on Instagram that Steinem had seeded a fire in her that became her own activism. An actor and playwright noted the particular irony that Steinem had to battle not only men but women who resisted equality, yet she persisted in demanding equal rights, freedom of choice, access to political power, and equal pay for equal work.

Steinem's legacy now rests in the hands of the generations she mentored and inspired. The tributes that poured in across social media in the hours after her death made clear that her influence extended far beyond any single movement or moment—she had fundamentally altered what women expected from themselves and from the world.