Denise Bombardier, a renowned Canadian journalist, author, and feminist, died on Tuesday at the age of 82, according to her family.
Bombardier was one of the first women to advance through the ranks of Canadian media, anchoring major political and cultural shows on Radio Canada in the 1970s and 1980s and interviewing many celebrities.
Bombardier died in a Montreal palliative care clinic “following a rapid cancer, surrounded by people who loved her,” according to her family.
“Tenacious, passionate, intelligent, courageous — Denise Bombardier was all that and more,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter.
“Her impact on Quebec was immense and her legacy will live on, there’s no doubt about that.”
Bombardier also had strong ties to France, where she had completed her studies. In 1990, speaking on a popular television talk show, Bombardier confronted Gabriel Matzneff, a writer who celebrated pedophilia in his work.
When French publisher Vanessa Springora released a memoir in 2020 about her horrific connection with Matzneff, who is 36 years her senior, a video of this exchange went viral.
The publication of the book prompted prosecutors in Paris to start an inquiry into Matzneff on charges of raping kids.
