Gloria Steinem, a feminist trailblazer who helped shape the modern women’s movement, has died aged 92.
The news was announced in a statement posted to Steinem’s official Instagram account on Thursday (NZ time).
The post said she died peacefully at her New York City home surrounded by loved ones on Wednesday.
“Gloria’s near-century on earth was years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end,” the statement said.
“Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard. Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves.”
Steinem was a feminist icon whose influence spanned more than six decades.
She emerged as a leader of the women’s liberation movement in the 1960s and 70s, co-founded Ms. magazine, and became a prominent advocate for gender equality.
In 2013, she received the Medal of Freedom, a US Presidential honour, presented to her by then-President Barack Obama, for her work and activism.
Steinem’s new memoir, An Unexpected Life, is due to be released on September 22.
Her Instagram account said the book, along with her commitment to her home becoming a centre for social justice movements, was among the gifts she gave the world.
“I have now lived for more than fifty years in this brownstone, in rooms that have witnessed lives before mine, and will know others after I am gone,” Steinem wrote in an extract from the book.
Steinem visited New Zealand in May 2016 as part of the Auckland Writer’s Festival, where she spoke to a sold-out crowd at the Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre.
In an interview with Viva during that visit, she offered advice to young women: “Do not listen to me. Listen to yourself, the unique voice inside you. Do what you love so much you forget what time it is while you’re doing it.”