Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Died

The icon of the Supreme Court was 87.

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Ruth Bader
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Today, America lost an icon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court justice beloved by feminists everywhere, died at 87 from complications of metastatic cancer of the pancreas. She was at her home in Washington, D.C., with her family. Her death was announced by the Supreme Court.

Her passing will bring about many questions in this, an election year. In February 2016 when Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, then-President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to be his replacement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell famously would not hold hearings for him because of the impending presidential election. According to NPR, on her deathbed, Ginsburg told her granddaughter that “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new President is installed.”

RBG, as she was lovingly dubbed, was a legal and pop culture icon. Known for her biting dissents, passion for equal rights for all, and her regular workout routine, Ginsburg was perhaps the country's most popular octogenarian. She was given the nickname “Notorious RBG” (which became the title for her biography) and even portrayed by Kate McKinnon on SNL, where she regularly scorched Weekend Update host Colin Jost with her Ginsburns.

Ginsburg was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, the second woman to serve on the United State's highest court. A graduate of Columbia Law School, the small (in stature) but mighty (in wit) lawyer made a name for herself championing equal rights for women in the workplace. The 2018 film On the Basis of Sex, starring Felicity Jones as Ginsburg, depicted her fight to prove that gender discrimination is unconstitutional.

This post will be updated.

Danielle McNally
Danielle McNally
Executive Editor

Danielle McNally is a National Magazine Award–winning journalist. She is the executive editor of Marie Claire, overseeing features across every topic of importance to the MC reader: beauty, fashion, politics, culture, career, women's health, and more. She has previously written for Cosmopolitan, DETAILS, SHAPE, and Food Network Magazine.