Gloria Steinem: A Life in Pictures
New York Times · LC · trust 47/100
Steinem was one of the faces of the modern women’s rights movement.
Steinem was one of the faces of the modern women’s rights movement.
Gloria Steinem in San Francisco in 1977. Credit... Janet Fries/Getty Images
Gloria Steinem, who died on Wednesday at her home in New York City, did not exactly want to carry the mantle of being one of the most prominent and recognizable faces of the modern women’s rights movement.
For many, her long, streaked, center-parted hair and aviator glasses would go on to become synonymous with the movement that, in the 1960s and 70s, helped usher in tectonic social change and legal protections for women.
But to Steinem, the very notion of a singular figurehead — particularly a white woman — felt antithetical to the mission of the women’s rights movement. When Newsweek magazine put Steinem’s face on its cover in 1971 with the headline “The New Woman,” she refused to be interviewed for it. Each time she spoke in public, she would only do so if there was a woman of color on stage with her, hoping that would force others to widen their aperture.
In a 2015 interview with Lena Dunham , she pushed back on the idea that she would inevitably need to pass on a figurative torch that was thrust into her hands. “The very idea that there’s one torch is bullshit,” she told Dunham.
As the granddaughter of a suffragist and daughter of a journalist, Steinem seemed to have inherited her mission. After graduating from Smith College, she worked as a journalist herself — one of her most enduring pieces from that time included going undercover as a Playboy bunny. In 1968, she became one of the founders of New York magazine before going on to start Ms. magazine in 1971, a publication that fearlessly covered what were then considered taboo topics, including abortion, sexual harassment and domestic violence, and challenged the very foundation of what a women’s magazine could be.
Over the next half century, she would help form the National Women’s Political Caucus, lead political marches and raise funds for social causes (since her 50th birthday, she turned her birthday bashes into fundraisers ). She also hosted talking circles in her home until her last days, a tradition that will continue despite her absence, a spokeperson for her foundation confirmed.
In a 2010 interview , when asked what she felt her greatest accomplishment was for the women’s movement, she chuckled.
Credit... Frances McLaughlin-Gill/Condé Nast, via Getty Images Image Gloria Steinem famously went undercover for Show magazine in the 1960s to expose what it was really like to work at New York City’s famed Playboy Club. Credit... Getty Images Image At the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971, with Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm and Betty Friedan. Credit... Charles Gorry/Associated Press Image During a news conference for the Women’s Action Alliance in 1972. Credit... Leffler/Library of Congress, via Getty Images Image Talking to Senator George McGovern after addressing the Women’s National Political Caucus in Miami Beach, 1972. Credit... George Tames/The New York Times Image A meeting of the National Women’s Political Caucus, 1971. Credit... Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times Image At the offices of Ms. magazine in New York. Credit... PL Gould/Getty Images Image Florynce Kennedy and Steinem at the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1974. Credit... John Sotomayor/The New York Times Image Steinem and Jimmy Carter at a meeting of Democratic women leaders. Credit... D. Gorton/The New York Times Image Steinem with Midge Costanza during a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee in 1978. The panel voted in favor of a time extension for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Credit... John Duricka/Associated Press Image Addressing the Women Against Pornography conference in 1979. Credit... Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Image A party for the 10th anniversary of Ms. magazine. Credit... Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images Image New York City, 1984. Credit... Neal Boenzi/The New York Times Image Steinem and the media mogul Mort Zuckerman. Credit... Susan Wood/Getty Images Image Steinem being arrested during a protest against Apartheid outside the South African Embassy in Washington in 1984. Credit... Pool photo by Associated Press Image Her New York apartment in 1990. Credit... Barbara Alper/Getty Images Image With Anita Hill in 1992. Credit... Jim Estrin/The New York Times Image Steinem at a women’s rights rally in October 1995 in New York. Credit... Evan Agostini/Liaison, via Getty Images Image Jane Fonda, Steinem, Hillary Clinton and Pat Mitchell at the Women’s Media Center in 2017. Credit... Krista Schlueter for The New York Times Image A talking circle at Steinem’s home in New York in 2025. Credit... Nina Westervelt for The New York Times From the comments Alisha Haridasani Gupta Styles reporter It is difficult to summarize Gloria Steinem’s impact in a single article, but what was undeniable was her stamina as an organizer. She kept at it until her very last days; I was, in fact, at her New York home last month for one of her now-famous talking circles. In return, she gave us all the gift that only she could: She listened, intently.
Alisha Haridasani Gupta is a Times reporter covering style and pop culture.
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