Betty Friedan

About

Author of the groundbreaking 1963 work, The Feminine Mystique, and a leading figure in 20th-century American feminism's second wave. She established the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966 and served as the group's first president.

Before Fame

She studied psychology at Smith College and edited the campus newspaper. She began graduate study at the University of California-Berkeley, but dropped out of school to work as a left-wing journalist.

Trivia

She was a strong supporter of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.

Family Life

She married Carl Friedan in 1947; together, the couple had three children: Emily, Daniel, and Jonathan.

Associated With

She and Rebecca West were both important feminist authors.