Gloria Steinem’s Cancer Journey

Gloria Steinem, a widely-known staunch advocate for women’s rights, died on September 2, 2026, at age 92. According to a statement released by her foundation, she “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her”. Currently, the cause of her death has not been disclosed.

Steinem has requested for those wishing to honor her legacy to do so with a donation to Gloria’s Foundation, rather than flowers.

On the post announcing Steinem’s passing, The New York Times-best selling author, Professor Roxane Gay left the following comment as homage to the activist: “Gloria was one of a kind. Genuine, generous, curious, thoughtful. She lived a staggering life and her passing is a staggering loss tempered only by the ferocity of her legacy.”

Well-known celebrities who also paid their respects to Steinem through comments on the post included Paris Hilton, Amy Schumer, Shonda Rhimes and Dianna Argon.

Steinem was an internationally recognized activist in the fight for women's equality. She was a columnist for New York Magazine, and her article in 1969 on women’s liberation was part of how she became the face of the 1970s US feminist movement.

Throughout her lifetime, Steinem dedicated herself to a range of causes, including reproductive freedom, domestic violence prevention and fighting gender inequalities in the workplace. In 2013, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at age 79, the highest civilian honor in the United States.

Steinem was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986 at the age of 52. According to an excerpt from her 2010 documentary, “Gloria: In Her Own Words”, she described herself as thinking at the time: “So, this is how it’s going to end. I’ve had a wonderful life.”

The cancer was discovered once Steinem had felt a lump in her breast, although her initial mammograms did not detect it. She shared that self-examination was important, saying that “We're more familiar, you know, so we're more likely to recognize something unusual.”

During her treatment, she had a small lump excised, and underwent radiotherapy at the time. She did not undergo chemotherapy. Since then, she has not faced a reported recurrence.

Unfortunately, Steinem faced cancer again when her husband, David Bale, father of actor Christian Bale, passed on from lymphoma three years after their marriage in 2000.