Julianne Moore reveals Gloria Steinem gave her a ‘life template’ in emotional tribute
The Oscar-winning actress has remembered the pioneering feminist leader she portrayed in The Glorias, praising her honesty, tolerance and commitment to inclusion.
Julianne Moore has paid an emotional tribute to Gloria Steinem following the feminist campaigner’s death aged 92 – saying studying and meeting the activist provided her with a “template” for how she wanted to live her own life.
Julianne, 65, portrayed Gloria in the 2020 biographical film The Glorias, directed by Julie Taymor, and based on the activist’s memoir My Life on the Road.
Gloria died peacefully at her home in New York City on Wednesday (02.09.26), surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement from the Gloria Steinem Foundation.
Sharing photographs from the making of The Glorias on Instagram, Julianne has now described the time she spent researching Gloria’s life and work before playing her on screen.
She said online: “We were so lucky. The time I spent studying Gloria Steinem in order to play her was one of the most edifying of my life.”
Julianne added: “Everything I watched, everything I read, everything I observed about her gave me a template for how I wanted to behave.”
She continued: “Her honesty, her tolerance, her patience, and her insistence on humanism and inclusion as she moved through the world offers us all a moral roadmap. Thank you for all you gave us, Gloria. (Broken heart emoji.)”
The Glorias used four actresses to portray Gloria at different stages of her life, with Julianne joined by Alicia Vikander, Lulu Wilson and Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
Julianne’s tribute included a photograph of the four actresses alongside Gloria and Julie on the film’s set.
The movie also featured Bette Midler as politician and feminist activist Bella Abzug, Janelle Monáe as Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Timothy Hutton and Lorraine Toussaint as civil rights lawyer Florynce Kennedy.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020 before being released digitally later that year during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gloria became one of the defining figures of the American women’s movement after establishing herself as a journalist during the 1960s.
Her early reporting included going undercover as a Playboy Bunny in 1963 to expose working conditions at the Playboy Club. She later wrote for New York magazine and helped found the National Women’s Political Caucus before co-founding Ms. magazine, which became one of the most influential publications associated with second-wave feminism.
Gloria also co-founded the Women’s Media Center with Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan, and continued campaigning for women’s rights, reproductive rights and greater representation throughout her later life.
Former US president Barack Obama presented Gloria with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
Her life was portrayed on screen beyond The Glorias, with Rose Byrne playing her in the 2020 FX series Mrs. America, which examined the battle over the Equal Rights Amendment.
The statement announcing Gloria’s death said: “Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard.”
It added: “Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves. Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humour.”
Julianne’s tribute comes as the Oscar-winning actress continues a busy period on screen.
She is appearing in Jesse Eisenberg’s new musical comedy The Debut, which is being presented at the Telluride Film Festival this week.
Jesse wrote and directed the film as well as starring alongside Julianne.
Julianne remains best known for a career spanning films including Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Magnolia, Far from Heaven, The Hours and Still Alice.
She won the Academy Award for best actress for her performance as a linguistics professor diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in Still Alice, having previously received Oscar nominations for Boogie Nights, The End of the Affair, Far from Heaven and The Hours.
Gloria remained active into her 90s and her memoir An Unexpected Life is scheduled to be published later this month.
