Lilly Ledbetter, a champion of women getting paid the same as men for doing the same work, has died, her family said in a statement. She was 86.

Lilly Ledbetter, an former Alabama factory manager whose lawsuit against her employer made her an icon of the equal pay movement and led to landmark wage discrimination legislation, has died at 86.

Alabama woman's case led to law, signed by Barack Obama, that gave Americans more rights to sue for pay discrimination.

Lilly Ledbetter, whose name was attached to the Fair Pay Act in former President Obama's first act in 2009, has died at the age of 86, reports the New York Times. The cause of death, on Saturday, was respiratory failure.

Equal pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter died on October 12, leaving behind a legacy of activism and an eponymous act that has strengthened equal pay law.

Lilly Ledbetter, a legendary advocate for women's equality and a driving force behind fair pay in America, died at 86 years old in her home state of Alabama on Saturday.

Two years after a Supreme Court ruling against her, in 2009 former President Barack Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.