Peg Yorkin was born in New York and came to Los Angeles after studying acting. Eventually, she married and raised children, producing plays and raising money for charities. In 1988, The Feminist Majority Foundation was founded by Peg, Eleanor Smeal, Katherine Spillar, Toni Carabillo, and Judith Meuli. The Foundation's mission is to create innovative, cutting-edge research, educational programs, and strategies to further women's equality and empowerment, to reduce violence toward women, to increase the health and economic well-being of women, and to eliminate discrimination of all kinds. Peg endowed the foundation with 15 million dollars to work toward these goals and continues to use her philanthropy to help women around the world.