Gloria Steinem, fierce feminist trailblazer, dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, the indefatigable feminist and journalist whose activism revolutionized the personal and professional lives of women, has died. She was 92.

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Steinem “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her,” a post on her official Instagram page said Thursday. It added that she died on Wednesday, although it did not give a cause of death.

“Gloria’s near-century on earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end,” the post said.

She “lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humor,” the statement added. It haled her ability to welcome hundreds of guests into her living room for so-called “Talking Circles,” and was committed to using her home as a “center for social justice movements.”

Her representatives asked her fans to light a candle in her honor and for donations to be made to her Gloria’s Foundation.

Steinem dedicated her life to causes ranging from reproductive freedom and domestic violence prevention to workplace gender inequalities.

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She was the face of a movement that radically changed rights for women so they could eventually apply for credit cards without a man’s signature, be admitted to Ivy League schools that previously barred them and legally get an abortion in the United States.

A pioneer of the 1960s’ era of second-wave feminism, Steinem advocated for social issues as well as wrote about them.

Her first brush with national fame came in 1963, when she went undercover as a Playboy bunny and wrote an exposé about the poor working conditions that the servers in Hugh Hefner’s famed Playboy clubs endured.

Steinem earned some of the highest recognitions possible, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s top civilian honor. 

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But she came from humble beginnings — and had an unusual childhood.