Eleanor Marie Smeal (née Cutri; born July 30, 1939) is an American women's rights activist.

Smeal has organized numerous events around and given speeches on the concepts of feminism, equality, and human rights as they pertain to people in and outside of the United States.

Eleanor Smeal is of Italian ancestry, born on July 30, 1939, to Peter Anthony Cutri and Josephine E. (Agresti), in Ashtabula, Ohio.

While attending Duke University Eleanor met Charles Smeal, an engineering student, whom she married on April 27, 1963.

After leaving NOW in 1987, Smeal saw a need for a new feminist organization that combined research, educational outreach, and political action.

[3] Smeal was elected at a time when conference delegates had authorized a NOW ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) Strike Force to campaign for ratification.

Upon hearing that the deadline for the ratification for ERA, Smeal convinced Elizabeth Holztman, a member of the United States House of Representatives, to bring the proposal to Congress.

In this time of great desire for equal rights, Smeal played a key role and was a major organizer of the 1978 March for ERA.

In her second run as President, Smeal focused her efforts on making Social Security more fair for women, testifying against restrictions on abortion funding for military personnel and their dependents, and Lesbian and Gay rights.

Around the time of his inauguration in January, Smeal and the NOW organization launched and led a national campaign to stop Reagan's anti-abortion "Human Life Amendment."

[5] One of the biggest reasons Smeal decided to run for yet another term as President was not only due to the support of many other NOW members, but from her wish that NOW could be more outspoken, assertive, and publicly active on multiple different issues.

In 2010 Smeal delivered the commencement address at Rutgers University's graduation and was conferred a Doctorate of Human Letters honoris causa.

[citation needed] In January 2025, President Joe Biden named Smeal as a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal, along with nineteen others.