Celebrities React To Gloria Steinem’s Death At 92

Gloria Steinem has died at 92, her foundation announced on Sept. 3. The feminist leader “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her,” reads a statement. “Gloria’s near-century on earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end.”

Celebrity supporters reacted to Steinem’s death with meaningful tributes.

Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle called Steinem her “friend and mentor” in a moving statement. After recalling some of their public work together, the Duchess of Sussex said Steinem was “even better than you would imagine” in their private friendship — from spending Thanksgiving together to “loving our children with her whole heart, counseling me during hard times, and giving extraordinary advice and perspective with a cup of tea and an unrivaled cheekiness and wit.”

Hilary Clinton

Hilary Clinton remembered growing up with Steinem’s influence, and how it inspired women of all disciplines. “She wasn’t going to be an astronaut, but my goodness, she made it possible for Sally Ride to be an astronaut,” wrote the former secretary of state. “She wasn’t going to play college sports, but she stood behind the women in Congress who passed Title IX and opened up opportunities in sports and academics for girls. And she wasn’t on the Supreme Court when Roe v. Wade was decided, but her voice and her activism was behind that advancement for women’s rights.”

Clinton urged her followers to follow Steinem’s lead and “embody possibility,” even in the face of setbacks to women’s equality. “Gloria Steinem was, at heart, an optimist,” she wrote. “Her activism was rooted in optimism, and that’s a moral choice she made every day.”

Joe & Jill Biden

Former President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, paid tribute to Steinem in a shared statement.

“Gloria Steinem understood that women’s equality begins with the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies, health, and futures,” they wrote. “For decades, she fought to make that freedom real for generations of women and girls. She spoke up when it was difficult, listened to those whose voices too often went unheard, and never stopped pushing our country forward.”

The Bidens “are holding Gloria’s loved ones in our hearts today” — adding that her voice and courage “will continue to inspire us to keep fighting for the freedoms she spent her life defending.”

Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham shared a series of photos with Steinem throughout the years, writing: “It will never cease to amaze me that I had the chance to know you.”

In addition to honoring Steinem’s legacy as an activist, the Girls creator highlighted some of her personal memories with the changemaker. “You weren’t just generous with your life force, your vision or your intellect: you were generous with your time, your laughter and even your jewelry,” she wrote — noting the time she let Dunham wear her silver vulva ring. (Later in her heartfelt tribute, Dunham also noted a bracelet Steinem gifted her with her motto: “linked not ranked.”)

Dunham remembered being among a group of women to visit Steinem at her home just months ago — writing that the host “doled out jokes with ease.” Saying goodbye to Steinem after the festivities had wrapped, “you retreated to your bedroom, and when I peaked through the door to wave goodbye you ushered me in. You said you were going to enjoy your favorite indulgence, watching Call The Midwife,” Dunham said. “Because even when you wanted to chill, you turned on a show about a group of women whose vocation is to help other women to survive.”

Kamala Harris

Former Vice President Kamala Harris remembered first working with Steinem in the 1990s, telling MS Now: “To know her as a person is to know someone who was kind. She had an incredible sense of humor and wit, and was just very connected with thinking about where we are going — not only where we’ve been, but where we are going.”

Miss Piggy

Miss Piggy herself shared a throwback snap with Steinem, calling her a “trailblazer” in a sweet tribute. “Throughout her incredible life, Gloria broke glass ceilings, challenged perceptions, and fiercely advocated for women around the world,” the Muppet continued. “Few people have inspired and influenced moi more than dear Gloria, and I will forever treasure the fabulous times we shared together.”

Jameela Jamil

Jameela Jamil looked back on her own time with Steinem through a series of photos, calling the trailblazer a “guiding light” in her life. “She supported and encouraged me from the very first time she saw me give a speech about feminism. (I was so nervous knowing she was there, I was shaking throughout.) She was an example to me of never being afraid to make people uncomfortable, in pursuit of the truth.”

Jamil said Steinem was “really about the cause up until her very final days,” and recalled their last meeting in June. “She was telling me all of her plans. 92 and still fighting,” Jamil said. “A legend through and through. I feel such pain that she left in a moment where it appears the rights she fought for us to have are being rolled back. She expressed disbelief to me as to how fast the pendulum is swinging back. And it lit a fire in me, to make sure her work and the work of the incredible women before her and around her, was not in vain.”

Billie Jean King

Tennis legend Billie Jean King remembered Steinem as a “true giant” with a “dynamic voice,” writing: “She devoted her life to the pursuit of equality and political change, working tirelessly for over 70 years to ensure each generation built upon the work of the previous one. We are forever grateful for her many accomplishments. She lit a torch many years ago. It is now our responsibility to keep it lifted into the future.”

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey noted Steinem’s immense legacy, writing that “every girl who has grown up assuming that her dreams are hers to pursue — whether she knows Gloria Steinem’s name or not — is living, in some measure, inside the progress Gloria helped create. She leaves us with more freedom than she inherited and with the responsibility to keep widening that freedom for the women and girls who come next.”

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda wrote about Steinem’s tireless work speaking to women across the country — noting her collaboration with Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Florynce Kennedy, “two prominent Black activists who helped show that this women’s movement addressed race as well as gender.”

Fonda went on to highlight how Steinem helped women harness their voice and stand up for each other. “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,” she said.

Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore remembered spending time with Steinem before portraying her in The Glorias, calling the experience “one of the most edifying of my life.” Watching the activist up close gave her a “template” on how she wanted to live her own life, Moore wrote. “Her honesty, her tolerance, her patience, and her insistence on humanism and inclusion as she moved through the world offers us all a moral roadmap.”