Early Life[]
Allred was born to a working class family in 1941. After leaving school after the eighth grade, her parents Stella and Morris Bloom worked hard to provide for their daughter. Morris worked six days a week as a door-to-door salesman, and would wait outside the movie theater while Gloria watched because he could only afford a single ticket. At 14 Allred was admitted to the Philadelphia High School For Girls, a prestigious all girls school. Allred was a cheerleader and class treasurer, even voted "most persistent" by her class.
College Career[]
After high school, Allred attended the University of Pennsylvania where she received a B.A. in English and wrote her thesis on African-American authors. in 1960, at the age of 19, Allred married Peyton Bray, and in her sophomore year gave birth to their daughter, Lisa. After a turbulent marriage, they divorced in 1962. Bray was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and committed suicide in 2003. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, while working as as a high school teacher, Allred began pursuing a graduate degree at NYU. While at NYU Gloria became interested in the Civil Rights Movement and after graduating with a masters degree moved to Los Angeles where she continued working as a high school teacher. In 1966 while on vacation, Allred was raped. At the time abortions were illegal so Allred was forced to have a "back-alley abortion." She suffered medical complications from this procedure and it took a while for her to recover. Two years later Gloria married William Allred and enrolled at Loyola University School of Law. In 1975 Allred was admitted to the State Bar of California, which began her legal career. Gloria divorced William in 1987 but kept her married name.
Legal Career and Recognition[]
Allred currently heads her own law firm which, according to her website, "represents victims who have been discriminated against on account of their sex, race, age, physical handicap or sexual orientation. Her firm also represents victims of AIDS discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. AM&G is also well-known for its work on behalf of victims in sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse and battered women cases." Allred also founded, and is currently president of, the Women's Equal Rights Legal Defense and Education Fund. Over the course of her legal career Allred has won many awards honoring her commitment to LGBTQ+ issues, domestic violence survivors, women, and volunteer work, to name a few.
Allred has also ventured into popular culture and television with an Emmy-nominated 2011 crime show, We the People with Gloria Allred. She has also appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race and been parodied on animated comedy series such as Family Guy. Allred has also been nominated for three Emmys for her commentary on a radio show is Los Angeles spanning fourteen years. In 2018 Netflix released a documentary covering her personal life, career, and various achievements.
Notable Cases[]
1984- A client claims she had been regularly raped by Catholic priests. Allred spends almost two decades trying to prove this case.
1984- Allred files a suit against a dry cleaners charging women more than men and within five hours the company agrees to change its policies.
1985- Allred wins a settlement and an apology from a group that had been taunting Holocaust survivors.
1989- Allred represents Norma McCorvey, aka Jane Roe, in the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade.
1993- Allred sues a restaurant after a same-sex couple is denied access to a section of the restaurant designated for couples.
1994- Allred represents Nicole Brown Simpson's family in O.J. Simpson's murder trial.
1997- Allred wins a settlement on behalf of an actress who was fired for being pregnant.
2004- Allred files the first lawsuit challenging California's ban on same-sex marriage.
2008- Allred files a lawsuit on behalf of 200 former Circuit City employees claiming age discrimination.
2013- Allred represents six women who claim Occidental College failed to take their sexual assault claims seriously.
2015- Allred represents many of the women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault.
2018- Allred reprents the women who accuse Donald Trump of sexual harassment.
Criticisms[]
Many of Allred's cases are controversial, which leads to frequent criticisms. Many accuse her of only being interested in the spotlight and the money that comes with high profile clients. Some claim she seeks out these high profile clients; however, Allred and her firm deny this. Several clients have also come out and said they only saw Allred when there was a media presence despite many others who speak very highly of Allred. As a woman often holding media conferences for her clients, her attire and demeanor are often challenged with many saying she is aggressive, overbearing, and loud. Other critique her form of feminism, saying her beliefs and advocacy do not currently align with the newest wave of feminism and she is regressive in that way.
Sources[]
- “About Gloria Allred | Influential California Lawyer | Women's Rights Attorney.” Allred, Maroko & Goldberg, www.gloriaallred.com/About-Ms-Allred/.
- Clark, Alex. “Who's Afraid of Gloria Allred?” The Observer, Guardian News and Media, 9 July 2017, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/09/who-is-afraid-of-gloria-allred-trump-feminist-laywer.
- Doll, Jen. “Gloria Allred: Ambulance Chaser of 'Feminism'.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 22 May 2012, www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/05/gloria-allred-just-ambulance-chaser-feminism/327806/.
- “Gloria Allred.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Mar. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Allred.
- Knoll, Corina, and Richard Winton. “Gloria Allred's High-Profile Cases and Clients over the Decades.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2015, www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-gloria-allred-famous-cases-20151113-htmlstory.html.
- Tolentino, Jia. “Gloria Allred's Crusade.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 26 Sept. 2017, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/02/gloria-allreds-crusade.
- Winer, Laurie. “The Avenger: Gloria Allred.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 June 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/fashion/20ALLRED.html.