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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem is the third subject to now appear on Netflix’s “Famous Last Words,” the series that banks interviews with notable figures meant to be shared only after their death.
Steinem died Wednesday
at her home in New York City. She was 92. Her interview with host and executive producer Brad Falchuk was conducted in February 2025 and recorded in private, per the show’s format, and held until after her passing — as a means to share what she hopes will be seen as her final message to the world.
The first episode of “Final Last Words” featured chimpanzee expert and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, who died in October 2025, followed by an episode in February that ran after the death of actor Eric Dane.
Per Netflix, the interview with Steinem touches on her role “as a lifelong traveler on the road to justice. While the world often recognizes her as a face of modern feminism, this interview delves into her deep-seated interests in the shared origins of sex and race caste systems, the cultures of Indigenous peoples, and the vital necessity of organizing across boundaries for equality. Steinem also takes advantage of the Famous Last Words format to speak freely about her loves, her family, the complicated personal politics within the feminist movement and her regrets.”
Steinem helped launch Ms. magazine, which was at the forefront of the movement to help organize and promote the voices and concerns of women in society. She also helped establish the Women’s Action Alliance, and wrote books including her 2015 memoir, “My Life on the Road.”
Steinem was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2013.
“Gloria Steinem was the steady heartbeat of a revolution, but in this room, she was a woman reflecting on the simple, profound beauty of human connection,” Falchuk said. “She spoke about the intersection of race, gender, and peace with a wisdom that only comes from a lifetime on the front lines. Even in her final moments, she was organizing us, challenging us to keep moving forward. It is an extraordinary privilege to share her final thoughts with the world.”
Based on the Danish format Det Sidste Ord, “Famous Last Words” is taped in a closed-door recording session. And keeping the privacy of the recording, the chat will be shot by remotely operated cameras. At the end of the interview, subjects (including Steinem) are asked to look into a camera and give their final message, their last words to the world. The footage is then kept confidential until the subject’s passing.
The series is executive produced by Falchuk and Mikkel Bondesen through the Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision banner, alongside BSNA (a Banijay Entertainment company), David Goldberg and showrunner David Friedman.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is also an executive producer and the home of the show’s archives.
Meanwhile, although the “Famous Last Words” interview will be the final chat with Steinem that is posted, it actually wasn’t quite her last interview. On Sept. 17, Audible plans to release Steinem’s final public appearance, which took place July 14 and 16 at its Minetta Lane Theatre in New York.
Those two evenings, dubbed “Yes to the Unknown: A Night with Gloria Steinem,” were led by Amy Richards, who conducted conversations with Steinem, and also featured Keri Russell, who performed excerpts from Steinem’s writing during the July 14 show.
