Hilary Clinton and Billie Jean King, among other politicians and celebrities, have taken to Twitter to express their condolences after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The US feminist icon, has died at 87.
The US Supreme Court announced her death, saying the cause was complications from cancer.
Ginsburg, the court's second female justice, died at her home in Washington.
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Advertise with NZME.In July she announced she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for lesions on her liver, the latest of her several battles with cancer.
Ginsburg spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court's liberal wing and became something of a rock star to her admirers.
Young women especially seemed to embrace the court's Jewish grandmother, affectionately calling her the Notorious RBG, for her defence of the rights of women and minorities, and the strength and resilience she displayed in the face of personal loss and health crises.
Those health issues included five bouts with cancer beginning in 1999, falls that resulted in broken ribs, insertion of a stent to clear a blocked artery and assorted other hospitalisations after she turned 75.
She resisted calls by liberals to retire during Barack Obama's presidency at a time when Democrats held the Senate and a replacement with similar views could have been confirmed.
Instead, President Donald Trump will almost certainly try to push Ginsburg's successor through the Republican-controlled Senate — and move the conservative court even more to the right.
- With AP
