Gloria Steinem grew up quicker than most children — she was forced to. Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1934 to a traveling antiques dealer dad and a chronically depressed mom, her parents divorced at a time when most couples stuck it out. Worse, after her father moved to California and her older sister went off to college in Massachusetts, Steinem was left alone to care for her emotionally unstable mother. Steinem found her escape through books and movies. She often read up to three books a night and visited the movie theater every weekend when she could scrounge up the pocket money.

As Steinem neared the end of her high school years, her sister at last realized the severity of their mother's condition and invited her younger sibling to live with her in Washington DC; their father agreed to care for their mother in her absence. Steinem flourished during her senior year of high school — it was the first time that she was able to focus on herself. Soon, she was off to Smith College.

As a government major, activism became her passion. And it was during her college years that she discovered that activism actually ran in the family. Steinem's mother had been a suffragette who helped women win the right to vote. She had also been a successful columnist and editor for a newspaper in Toledo.

Her mother, Steinem learned, had given up her career for marriage and children. Not long after, she began to suffer from severe bouts of depression. The two were forever linked in Steinem's mind. So, when Steinem herself became pregnant during her junior year, she opted not to marry her fianc? and raise a family. Instead, she had an abortion abroad (the procedure was illegal in the United States) and broke off the wedding. She didn't want to make the mistake she believed her mother had made.

In 1959, she moved to New York City in pursuit of a reporting job, and quickly discovered that very few women were getting hired for such work. Eventually, she landed a job as an editorial assistant at a magazine called Help!, and then freelanced for Esquire, Glamour and Show magazines. She even went undercover for the latter publication as a Playboy bunny for the famed story entitled "A Bunny's Tale." But it wasn't until 1968 that Steinem got to sink her teeth into a bona fide political story: the presidential campaign of Senator George McGovern. Her stories led to a position at New York magazine, which was just launching that year. The hot topics that year: abortion's legal status. Women were starting to speak out about their own abortion experiences — experiences that were similar to Steinem's. Soon, she turned her full attention to the feminist movement: writing articles, raising funds and tirelessly touring the country, talking about women's liberation.

In 1972, Steinem co-founded Ms. magazine, the first publication for and by women that addressed women's issues in a serious way. Since then, she has founded several organizations, including the Ms. Foundation, the National Women's Political Caucus and the Coalition of Labor Union Women. She has also authored several best-selling books including, "Revolution From Within: A Book of Self-Esteem" and "Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions."

Although Steinem once shunned marriage and motherhood, in September 2000, at 66 years old, the most famous Ms. became a Mrs., marrying David Bale, 61. Leave it to Steinem to redefine feminism — again.