Few figures in American history have so thoroughly reshaped the legal landscape as Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, she rose from humble beginnings to become a formidable champion of gender equality, a Supreme Court Justice, and a cultural icon. As the second woman ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, Ginsburg’s career was defined by a relentless pursuit of justice, often in the face of deeply ingrained societal and legal biases. Her meticulous legal reasoning, groundbreaking advocacy, and powerful dissents left an indelible mark on the country, earning her the affectionate moniker “The Notorious RBG.”
Early Life and Education: The Foundation of a Fighter
Joan Ruth Bader was born to Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn’s working-class Flatbush neighborhood. Her father, Nathan Bader, was a furrier who had emigrated from Odesa, Ukraine, and her mother, Celia Amster Bader, was the daughter of Polish immigrants. Celia, who had been denied the opportunity to pursue higher education herself, instilled in her daughter a deep respect for learning and independence.
Tragedy struck early in Ruth’s life. Her older sister, Marilyn, died of meningitis when Ruth was just a toddler. Then, as she neared high school graduation, her beloved mother lost a long battle with cancer. Celia had been a guiding force, encouraging Ruth to excel academically, but she did not live to see her daughter graduate at the top of her class from Brooklyn’s James Madison High School.
Ruth continued her education at Cornell University, where she majored in government and developed a deep appreciation for language and precision under the mentorship of renowned writer Vladimir Nabokov. It was also at Cornell that she met Martin D. Ginsburg, the man who would become her husband, intellectual equal, and lifelong partner. The couple married soon after Ruth’s graduation in 1954 and relocated to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where Martin fulfilled his military service. During this time, Ruth experienced workplace discrimination firsthand—she was demoted from her job at the Social Security Administration after becoming pregnant with their first child.
Undeterred, she pursued her legal education at Harvard Law School in 1956, where she was one of only nine women in a class of over 500 men. The school’s dean famously asked the female students why they were taking spots that could have gone to men. Yet, Ruth excelled, balancing rigorous coursework while caring for her young daughter and her husband, who was battling testicular cancer. When Martin recovered and secured a job in New York, she transferred to Columbia Law School, where she graduated in 1959 at the top of her class.
Breaking Barriers in Law and Academia
Despite her exceptional credentials, Ginsburg faced blatant gender discrimination in the legal field. Law firms refused to hire her, and Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter declined to offer her a clerkship because of her gender. She eventually found work as a clerk for U.S. District Judge Edmund Palmieri, followed by a stint as a researcher on Swedish civil procedure at Columbia, an experience that profoundly shaped her thinking on gender equality.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Ginsburg turned to academia, becoming one of the first female law professors at Rutgers University and later Columbia Law School, where she was the first woman to earn tenure. It was during this period that she co-founded the Women’s Rights Law Reporter, the first legal journal focused on women’s rights, and began laying the groundwork for her future legal battles.
Legal Advocacy and the Fight for Gender Equality
Ginsburg’s legal career took a decisive turn when she became the director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project in 1972. At a time when the law often reinforced gender-based discrimination, she systematically worked to dismantle it, strategically choosing cases that would demonstrate the harmful effects of gender bias on both women and men.
She argued six cases before the U.S. Supreme Court between 1973 and 1976, winning five. Among her landmark victories:
- Reed v. Reed (1971) – The Court ruled, for the first time, that gender-based discrimination violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Frontiero v. Richardson (1973) – A female Air Force officer challenged the military’s policy of giving more benefits to male spouses than female ones. Ginsburg’s argument helped lay the foundation for stricter scrutiny of gender discrimination.
- Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld (1975) – A widower was denied Social Security benefits that were available to widows. By showing how gender discrimination hurt men as well, Ginsburg forced the Court to recognize the need for gender-neutral laws.
Her careful, methodical approach mirrored the work of Thurgood Marshall in the civil rights movement, earning her the nickname “the Thurgood Marshall of gender equality.”
Judicial Career: A Moderate Turned Progressive Icon
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where she developed a reputation as a pragmatic, consensus-building judge. President Bill Clinton, recognizing her intellectual rigor and commitment to equality, nominated her to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993, making her the second woman and first Jewish woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
Initially viewed as a moderate, Ginsburg increasingly became the Court’s liberal anchor, particularly after Justice Sandra Day O’Connor retired in 2006. She authored United States v. Virginia (1996), which struck down the Virginia Military Institute’s male-only admissions policy, solidifying her legacy as a champion of gender equality.
Her powerful dissents in cases like Ledbetter v. Goodyear (2007), which limited pay discrimination claims, inspired Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, demonstrating her ability to influence legal progress even in the minority.
Cultural Icon: “The Notorious RBG”
In her later years, Ginsburg became an unlikely pop culture icon. Her fiery dissents, particularly in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) (which weakened the Voting Rights Act), earned her a devoted following. A law student’s Tumblr page playfully dubbed her “The Notorious RBG,” comparing her to rapper The Notorious B.I.G. The nickname stuck, spawning a bestselling book, a documentary (RBG), and even a feature film (On the Basis of Sex).
Ginsburg’s influence extended beyond the courtroom—she officiated same-sex weddings, embraced her status as a feminist icon, and even inspired a generation of women with her rigorous workout routine.
Legacy and Passing
Despite multiple battles with cancer, Ginsburg remained on the Court, vowing to serve as long as she was mentally capable. She rejected calls to retire under President Barack Obama, believing she could outlast Republican opposition. But on September 18, 2020, she passed away at age 87 from complications of pancreatic cancer.
Her death sparked a fierce political battle over her replacement, with President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans swiftly confirming Amy Coney Barrett, shifting the Court’s ideological balance to the right.
Ginsburg was the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol, a testament to her historic impact. Her legacy endures not only in the legal precedents she shaped but in the countless women and marginalized individuals whose lives were changed by her relentless fight for equality.
Conclusion: A Justice Who Changed America
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life was a testament to perseverance, intellect, and the power of the law to shape society. Her legacy is woven into the fabric of American democracy—one that continues to inspire those who believe in justice, equality, and the enduring fight for civil rights.
