Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies: Supreme Court Justice Was 87

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a U.S. Supreme Court justice nominated by President Bill Clinton, has died. She was 87.

Ginsburg passed away Friday from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, the High Court said in a statement.

“Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died this evening surrounded by her family at her home in Washington, D.C.,” the statement said.

In 1993, Ginsburg was nominated to the Supreme Court and began serving on August 10, 1993.

She was the second of only four women appointed to the court and served more than 27 years. The other female justices include Sandra Day O’Connor, and Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, both of whom are still serving.

Justice Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 15, 1933. She married Martin David Ginsburg in 1954. She received her B.A. from Cornell University and attended Harvard Law School, before transferring to Columbia Law School, where she graduated at the top of her class.

She served as a law clerk, and taught at Rutgers University School of Law from 1963–1972, and Columbia Law School from 1972–1980.

In 1971, she was instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served as the ACLU’s General Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from 1974–1980.

Ginsburg was the subject of the award-winning 2018 documentary RBG, which focused on her life, career, and fight for gender equality in the U.S.

Directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, the film earned $14.4 million at the box office. It was named best documentary of 2018 by the National Board of Review and received two Oscar nominations.

Ginsburg faced criticism for not retiring as her health deteriorated, with critics saying her departure would have allowed President Obama to nominate a left-leaning justice. Her death will likely touch off a fierce political battle in Washington to select her replacement.

She is survived by her two children, Jane Carol Ginsburg (George Spera) and James Steven Ginsburg (Patrice Michaels), four grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Her husband died in 2010. A private interment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery, the court said.