'I Am Woman' singer Helen Reddy dies at 78

Helen Reddy.
(Image credit: John Sciulli/Getty Images)

Helen Reddy, the Grammy Award-winning singer whose hit "I Am Woman" became a feminist anthem, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. She was 78.

Reddy's death was announced by her children Traci and Jordan, who said in a statement she was a "truly formidable woman," and while their "hearts are broken" they "take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever."

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The song has been used in countless movies and television shows, and Reddy told The Associated Press in 2012 that she decided to stop performing in the 1990s after seeing her name and the lyrics to "I Am Woman" in a high school textbook's chapter on feminism. "I thought, 'Well, I'm part of history now. And how do I top that? I can't top that.' So, it was an easy withdrawal," she said. After her retirement, Reddy earned a degree in clinical hypnotherapy.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.