Adrienne Cecile Rich (May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She received credit for bringing attention to the oppression of women and lesbians. She wrote many fiction and non-fiction books and many poetry. Her most controversial work was Of Woman Born: Motherhood and Institution in 1976. In 1986 Rich's 1980 essay Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence against heterosexuality forced by society was published. In 1974 she won National Book Award.
Rich was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She died from rheumatoid arthritis in Santa Cruz, California at age eighty-two. At the time Rich lived with her partner Michelle Cliff.