The Ohio Connection

Gloria Steinem was born in Toledo in 1934 to native Ohioans Leo and Ruth (Nuneviller) Steinem.
Her father was an antiques dealer and owner of a lake resort in Michigan.
Her mother was a 1920 graduate of Oberlin College.
Steinem’s lonely childhood was spent traveling through the states in a trailer, while her father collected antiques for his business.
Because of the nature of her father’s job, Steinem was never in one place long enough to enroll in school. She was tutored by her mother and received her high school diploma in 1952.
She is the granddaughter of noted suffragette Pauline Perlmutter Steinem, the first woman elected to public office in Toledo. Pauline Steinem served as president of the Ohio Women's Suffrage Association from 1908 to 1911.
In 1998 Steinem was presented with the prestigious Pegasus Award by the Ohioana Library Association for unique and outstanding achievements by an Ohioan.