Helen Reddy died at age 78 in a Los Angeles care facility after living with Addison's disease and dementia.
Helen Reddy died on September 29, 2020, at the age of 78, at a care facility in Los Angeles, California. In her later years she had been living with Addison's disease and dementia, conditions that had gradually withdrawn her from public life after she had largely retired from music in the 2000s to pursue a career as a clinical hypnotherapist.
Her death was announced by her children, Traci and Jordan, who confirmed she passed peacefully. The news prompted an immediate and widespread outpouring of tribute across the entertainment industry and among feminist activists, reflecting the enduring cultural resonance of her signature song "I Am Woman" nearly five decades after its chart-topping success.
Reddy's death closed the chapter on a career that had reshaped the landscape for Australian performers in America and provided an anthem for the women's liberation movement that continued to be invoked at protests, rallies, and cultural moments long after its initial release — including its prominent use in the 2019 biographical film I Am Woman, which chronicled her life and rise to fame, released shortly before her death.
Her passing was marked by tributes from major news outlets worldwide, cementing her legacy as both a trailblazing hitmaker and an enduring symbol of women's empowerment in popular culture.