Tributes are pouring in from celebrities across an array of fields for the trailblazing feminist icon Gloria Steinem, who died Sept. 2.
Prominent voices across sports, entertainment and more have shared emotional words about the impact that the journalist and activist, who dedicated her life to championing women’s rights, had on their lives and the greater movement towards gender equality. The messages follow Steinem’s passing, “surrounded by some of the many who loved her,” according to an announcement shared on her official Instagram account.
“She had a clever, often funny way to say just what was needed to surface feelings and ideas about where we belonged, what our inchoate yearnings meant, whether power was a word that women could and should embrace for ourselves, and how different power looked when held in men’s hands alone,” actor and fellow outspoken women’s rights activist Jane Fonda, who co-founded the Women’s Media Center with Steinem and writer Robin Morgan, wrote in an Instagram post.
Fonda added that Steinem “lives on in the changed lives of many women who don’t consider themselves feminists or part of the women’s movement.”
“I’ve met many such women who because of what Gloria said or wrote gained the courage to leave bad marriages, start their own businesses, persuade husbands to help with household chores,” Fonda said in the post.
Steinem died “peacefully at her home in New York City,” according to the Instagram post shared on her official account. She was 92.
During her decades in the spotlight, Steinem left a significant cultural imprint on American society. And today, she is largely considered one of the faces of the second-wave of feminism — one that broadened the fight for equal rights from a focus on the right to vote to also include issues like employment, politics, education and sexuality.
Skyrocketing to national prominence in 1963, Steinem made a name for herself after going undercover as a Playboy bunny and publishing a two-part exposé on the working conditions and treatment of women at the controversial New York Playboy Club. In 1971, she launched the groundbreaking feminist outlet Ms. magazine, which became one of the first women-led publications to tackle heavy issues like domestic violence and abortion.
For decades, Steinem continued her work, co-founding several other organizations including the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Women’s Action Alliance and the Ms. Foundation for Women along with the Women’s Media Center.
From television host Andy Cohen to the fabulous Muppet queen Miss Piggy, celebrities honored the outspoken activist for her undeniable contributions to society.
Here’s a look at how prominent figures across industries are mourning Steinem’s death and celebrating her legacy.
Fonda, who collaborated with Steinem for decades, shared details of the late activist’s life, including the way in which she “built the new women’s movement.”
“Gloria, in her graceful, kind, and deeply intelligent way, changed the world we live in,” Fonda wrote. “For decades, she trudged through every airport in the country, in sandals and a trench, carrying her own suitcase, packed with a few black clothes, hair curlers, and steam iron, in order to speak to women — at conferences, town halls, consciousness raising groups. No group was too small to deserve Gloria’s time.”
Writer and “Girls” creator Lena Dunham shared personal memories she had of the activist, including some particularly moving anecdotes on how Steinem took her under her wing.
“You let me wander in as a lost twenty something, determined that things should change and unsure how or if they could, and you advised me on everything from men (can be fun, aren’t required) to activism (it’s a marathon, not a race.),” Dunham recalled.
