Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social-political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader and spokeswoman for the American feminist movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio, to Leo Steinem, a traveling salesman, and Ruth Nuneviller Steinem, she experienced an unstable childhood marked by frequent travel across Michigan, Florida, and California in a house trailer. After her parents' divorce around 1944-1946, Steinem settled in Toledo with her chronically depressed mother, assuming significant caregiving responsibilities from age 11, and did not attend school regularly until then. She completed high school in Washington, D.C., living with her older sister Suzanne, before attending Smith College. Steinem graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Smith College in 1956 with a degree in government. She then received a Chester Bowles Fellowship to study in India for two years, where she engaged with Gandhian activism and wrote for Indian publications. Returning to the U.S., she built a career as a freelance journalist in New York, gaining fame with her 1963 exposé 'A Bunny's Tale' on the Playboy Club. In the late 1960s, she wrote the political column 'The City Politic' for New York magazine, co-founded Ms. magazine in 1972—the first national feminist magazine—and the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971 alongside Bella Abzug and Betty Friedan. Early in her career, she worked for the CIA-funded Independent Research Service, focusing on anti-communism. Steinem has authored books like 'Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions' and 'My Life on the Road,' co-founded organizations including the Ms. Foundation for Women and Women's Media Center, and continued activism on issues like abortion rights, child abuse, and global women's rights. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 and numerous journalism awards. Now in her 90s, she remains active, with contacts including gloriasteinemoffice@gmail.com and a P.O. Box in Brooklyn, NY, and maintains an Instagram presence at @gloriasteinem.