Steinem, born on 25 March 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, began her career as a journalist in New York in the 1960s. Her big break came through an undercover exposé of the degrading working conditions of Playboy Bunnies at Hugh Hefner's empire — an assignment she later said she regretted. She went on to co-found Ms. magazine in 1972, one of the first publications to focus on women's issues beyond housekeeping and beauty.
During the 1970s, Steinem became a leading voice campaigning for women's reproductive rights. She herself obtained an illegal abortion in London when she was 22, and later celebrated the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling. Nearly half a century later, she witnessed its reversal. In 2022, reflecting on the decision, she told The Associated Press: 'Either our control over our own bodies is equal, regardless of sex or race, or we're not living in a democracy.'
Steinem also spoke out in favour of same-sex marriage, equal pay, and protested against the death penalty and female genital mutilation. She co-founded the Women's Action Alliance, a group dedicated to fighting sexism, more than 50 years ago.
Despite her public prominence, Steinem initially feared public speaking and would have preferred to write, but said editors at the time were not interested in letting her cover the women's movement. 'So I ended up going out and speaking, which was my nightmare,' she told the AP in 2015. 'I mean, I was terrified. But I'm grateful, even though I still get scared even now.'
Into her 80s, Steinem remained active, travelling the globe to speak on issues from genital mutilation to Korean reconciliation. In 2020, her life was the subject of the feature film 'The Glorias,' based on her 2015 memoir 'My Life on the Road' and starring Julianne Moore. At 91, she collaborated on a picture book with Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee.
'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.'