Leo Steinem is the father of iconic media personality Gloria Steinem. Leo Steinem’s daughter is an acclaimed journalist, trailblazing feminist, and one of the most visible, passionate leaders and spokeswomen of the women’s rights movement in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Steinem was a columnist for New York magazine and a co-founder of Ms. magazine.
Leo Steinem: Bio Summary
| Full Name | Leo Steinem |
| famous as | *Gloria Steinem’s father |
| Age | 64 years old at the time of death |
| Date of Birth | 24 Apr 1897 |
| Place of Birth | Toledo, Lucas, Ohio, United States |
| Date of death | 11 May 1961 |
| Zodiac sign | Taurus |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Caucasian |
| Children | Susanne Steinem Patch, Gloria Steinem |
| Parents | Ruth Nuneviller (m. 1921–1944) |
Who is Gloria Steinem’s father?
Leo Steinem was born on 24 April 1897 in Toledo, Lucas, Ohio, United States to his parents Joseph Steinem and Pauline (Perlmutter) Steinem. His parents are immigrants from Württemberg, Germany, and Radziejów, Poland. Steinem’s mother was chairwoman of the educational committee of the National Woman Suffrage Association, and a delegate to the 1908 International Council of Women.
Leo Steinem’s mother was also the first woman to be elected to the Toledo Board of Education, as well as a leader in the movement for vocational education. Pauline also rescued many members of her family from the Holocaust. Leo is not the only child of the family, he had three siblings- Edgar Steinem, Jessie Steinem, and Clarence Steinem.
Leo Steinem was an antiques dealer (in the winters) and owner and manager of Ocean Beach Pier, an entertainment hall at Clark Lake, Michigan (in the summers). He was married to Ruth Nuneviller, a Journalist and Editor-in-chief, The Teaser, Toledo, Ohio (student newspaper @Univ. Ohio). The couple got married on 25 Oct 1921 in Toledo, Lucas Co., Ohio, USA. Though they promised each other forever on that faithful day, things didn’t go as planned for the couple.
ALSO, READ; Ruth Nuneviller: Who is Gloria Steinem’s mother?
The Steinems lived and traveled about in a trailer, from which Leo carried out his trade as a roaming antiques dealer. Five years after their marriage, Ruth Steinem was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. Although she coped with daily life, she struggled with psychological problems for decades afterward that occasionally turned violent. Leo Steinem and her wife Ruth were the parents of two daughters- Gloria Steinem and her elder sister Susanne Steinem Patch.
When Gloria Steinem was 10, her parents separated and her father went to California to find work, while she and her mother continued to live together in Toledo. That same year, the couple called their marriage a quit. While her parents divorced under the stress of her mother’s illness, Gloria did not attribute it at all to male chauvinism on the father’s part—she claims to have “understood and never blamed him for the breakup.“
Nevertheless, the impact of these events had a formative effect on her personality: while her father, a traveling salesman, had never provided much financial stability to the family, his exit aggravated their situation as she was living with her mother who couldn’t hold down a job.
ALSO, READ; Susanne Steinem Patch: What happened to Gloria Steinem’s sister?
Though they were divorced, in 1951 Leo Steinem agreed to live with his former wife for a year so that their youngest daughter Gloria Steinem could move in with her older sister and finish her senior year at Western High School in Washington, D.C. Although the reunion between her parents was brief, Steinem’s mother eventually received the psychiatric treatment she needed and lived semi-independently until her death.
How did Gloria Steinem’s father die?
Gloria Steinem’s father Leo Steinem died on 11 May 1961 at age 64 in Orange, California, United States. He died after sustaining an injury in a car accident. In the book, Ms. Gloria Steinem: A Life, this is how she described her father’s death- “No one knows exactly what happened: Leo may have fallen asleep at the wheel, or another car may have drifted into his lane. What is known is that on a freeway in Orange County, California, Leo’s car was sideswiped with such force that it spun in circles, directly into the path of oncoming traffic“
She went on to say “. Due to his size, he was pinned under the steering wheel and could not escape. A moment later, he was hit again from the opposite direction, compounding his injuries.” Leo Steinem was Cremated. Specifically: Ashes were sent back to Washington, DC where the family held a memorial service.
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