Women Changing the World

Rita Wilson is a wife, actress, mother and producer who says she felt Gloria's influence when she picked up her first copy of Ms. magazine in high school. "I thought: 'Wait a minute. A magazine that is going to be empowering for women?'" Rita says. "'Ms.,' that was even new. A marriage-neutral title that a woman could use that did not define her by who she was married to. That is fantastic."

Gloria's insight carried through to Rita's professional life, as well. "She kind of looked like us, but she had a brain that was completely different," Rita says. "She was saying things that were new ideas to us. It made me think that maybe there was another option that was out there for me."

Decades later, Rita says she's still in awe of Gloria. "You are as inspiring, vibrant, passionate and exciting in your 70s as you were in the '70s when you started all of this," she says.