Ruth Bader Ginsburg became a heroine to the American left after overcoming entrenched sexism in the legal profession to ascend to the US Supreme Court, where she championed gender equality and other liberal causes during 27 years on the bench.

Ginsburg, who died on Friday at age 87 of complications from pancreatic cancer, was a fierce advocate for women’s rights - winning major gender-discrimination cases before the Supreme Court - before being appointed to the top US judicial body by Democratic president Bill Clinton in 1993. The diminutive dynamo became the court’s leading liberal voice...