By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-03 14:20:31 | Updated at 2026-09-03 14:52:31
39 minutes ago
Meghan Markle has paid tribute to her "friend and mentor" Gloria Steinem, who died on Wednesday at the age of 92.
Ms Steinmam was a trailblazing American feminist and journalist who spent more than half a century championing women's rights and shared a close relationship with the Duchess of Sussex, who affectionately nicknamed her "Glo".
Her foundation confirmed the news in a statement posted to Instagram, revealing that she had died at her residence in New York City with loved ones at her bedside.
"Gloria's near-century on Earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end," the foundation said.
It added: "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."
The author of nine books and co-founder of Ms. Magazine, Ms Steinem was a defining figure in the women's liberation movement since the early 1970s.
She met Meghan in 2020, thanking voter registration organisers, and later that summer they filmed a discussion together about suffrage.
Three years later, the feminist icon presented the Duchess of Sussex with the Women of Vision award, citing her global mission to empower women.
Meghan Markle has paid tribute to her 'friend and mentor' Gloria Steinem, who died on Wednesday at the age of 92
INSTAGRAM/@MEGHAN
Taking to Instagram merely hours after the tragic news, Meghan celebrated the life of her friend who was "loved and admired".
"You all know her many accolades and the way in which she helped shape the world for women and all people - 'we are linked, not ranked' she would tell me, and the bracelet she gave me said exactly that. I still wear it with pride," she wrote.
"Publicly, we did interviews together, called young voters to encourage them to have their voices heard, attended award ceremonies, and brainstormed how to help this beautiful yet complicated world to become more equitable."
The Duchess said that privately, Ms Steinem was "even better than you would imagine", explaining how she spent Thanksgiving with her family, loved Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet "with her whole heart", counselled her during "hard times" and also gave "extraordinary advice and perspective with a cup of tea and an unrivalled cheekiness and wit."
Taking to Instagram merely hours after the tragic news, Meghan celebrated the life of her friend who was 'loved and admired'
INSTAGRAM/@MEGHAN
Meghan added: "But my very favourite story about GLO is when she was out one day in NY, and a woman approached her in absolute awe and said she wanted to introduce her young daughter to her (though she was embarrassed to say the young girl may not know who she was).
"Gloria replied: 'It doesn’t matter if she knows who I am. What matters is that she knows who SHE is'."
Meghan concluded with gratitude by wishing Ms Steinem rest in peace, rest in pride, and declared: "Look at what you’ve done for all of us. Thank you."
Ms Steinem was born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, and spent her earliest years in a trailer home.
Gloria Steinmam was a trailblazing American feminist and journalist who spent more than half a century championing women's rights
GETTY
Her mother suffered from mental illness, which left her drifting between sanatoriums and struggling to maintain employment, before her parents split when she was 10.
While she did not attend school on a regular basis until she was 12, Ms Steinham completed her studies at a women's liberal arts college in 1956, before becoming a journalist in 1962.
The following year brought the story that would make her famous - an 11-day undercover stint as a Playboy Bunny at Hugh Hefner's club, exposing the degrading treatment of the women who worked there.
She then co-founded Ms. Magazine alongside Dorothy Pitman Hughes in 1971, one of the first mainstream publications dedicated to women's concerns beyond domesticity and appearance.
Despite having long dismissed the institution of marriage, Ms Steinem surprised many when she married David Bale, a South African-born environmental campaigner and father of actor Christian Bale, in 2000. He died of brain lymphoma just three years later, and she remained close to her stepson afterwards.
In 2013, President Barack Obama bestowed upon her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's most prestigious civilian honour.
