Smeal, Eleanor (1939–)

American feminist. Name variations: Ellie. Born Eleanor Cutri, July 30, 1939, in Ashtabula, Ohio; raised in Erie, Pennsylvania; dau. of Peter Cutri (home builder, developer, and owner of a General Insurance agency) and Josephine Cutri; graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University, 1961; University of Florida, MA in political science and public administration, 1963; m. Charles Smeal, 1963; children: Tod (b. 1964, PhD in molecular biology), Lori (b. 1968, lawyer).

President of the Feminist Majority and former president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), who led the national ERA campaign, discovered the gender gap in voting, and spearheaded feminist drives for more than a quarter of a century; joined National Organization for Women (1970); founded South Hills Chapter of NOW (1971) and served as its president (1971–73); was a founder and member of the board of South Hills NOW Day Nursery School (1972–77); was Pennsylvania NOW state coordinator and president (1972–75); served as NOW national board member (1973–75); served as member of the Bylaws, Budget, Financial Development and Conference Implementation Committees (1973–75); served as chair of NOW national board (1975–77); served as president of NOW (1977–82, 1985–87); with Peg Yorkin, co-founded the Fund for the Feminist Majority and Feminist Majority Foundation (1987), and became president (1987); writings include Why and How Women Will Elect the Next President (1984). Awarded honorary doctor of law degree from Duke University (1991).

See also Women in World History.