Gloria Steinem, Feminist Icon and Ms. Magazine Co-Founder, Dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, the writer, activist, and co-founder of Ms. magazine, has died at her home in New York City at the age of 92. Her foundation announced the death in an Instagram post on 3 September 2026, stating that she "passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her" (Variety).

The foundation's statement described her "near-century on earth" as "years well-lived," adding that "she continued working for equality until the very end" (Variety). Her "greatest gift," the statement said, "was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard."

Steinem began her journalism career in New York in the 1970s and helped launch Ms. magazine, the first feminist periodical with a national readership (Jewish Women's Archive). The magazine broke new ground by addressing women's broader concerns beyond housekeeping and the beauty industry (Variety). More than 50 years ago, she also helped establish the Women's Action Alliance, a group focused on combating sexism (Variety).

Throughout the 1970s, Steinem was among the most visible advocates for women's reproductive rights. She welcomed the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established a constitutional right to abortion (Variety). She was widely regarded as a leader of second-wave feminism, the movement of the 1960s and 1970s that pushed for equal pay, reproductive freedom, and an end to legal sex discrimination (Jewish Women's Archive).

Her life reached screens more than once. In 2011, HBO premiered the documentary Gloria: In Her Own Words, directed by Peter Kunhardt and produced by Sheila Nevins. Her 2015 memoir My Life on the Road became the basis for The Glorias, a biopic directed by Julie Taymor in which four actors each played Steinem at a different stage of her life (Variety).

Steinem's New York City home served as the heart of Gloria's Foundation and as a gathering centre for feminists and activist thinkers from around the world (gloriasteinem.com). The foundation said she hosted Talking Circles in her living room, meetings that will continue in her memory (Variety).

She had a forthcoming book titled An Unexpected Life (Variety).

Steinem's official website describes her as a writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organiser who spent decades travelling in the United States and abroad (gloriasteinem.com). Her wide-ranging interests included the shared origins of sex and race caste systems, gender roles, non-violent conflict resolution, and the cultures of indigenous peoples (gloriasteinem.com).

She died in the city she called home for decades, with the foundation she built pledged to carry the work forward.