President Barack Obama stands with Lilly Ledbetter before signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act during an event in the East Room of the White House on January 29, 2009.

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Lilly Ledbetter, a women's equality activist whose fight for pay equity led to the passage of the monumental Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, died Saturday. She was 86.

Ledbetter's death was confirmed Monday by Jodi Solomon, her speaking manager.

“She was fierce, she was a crusader and just a really good friend. She will be greatly missed,” Solomon told NPR.

Ledbetter was born in Jacksonville, Alabama, and was hired in 1979 as a manager at a Goodyear tire plant in Gadsden, Alabama. years later Through an anonymous note in her mailbox, she learned that she was being paid less than her male colleagues working in the same position.

“When I saw that, it took my breath away. I felt humiliated. “I felt humiliated,” Ledbetter recalled in a 2009 interview with NPR. “On my first day off, I drove to Birmingham, Alabama, and filed a report with the EEOC.”

That 1998 lawsuit marked the beginning of a decade-long legal battle for justice for Ledbetter.

Eleven months after learning of the pay disparity, she resigned from Goodyear and filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the company in 1999. She won the lawsuit in 2003 and received more than $3 million, but the amount was reduced to $300,000 because of… statutory cap and $60,000 back pay. Goodyear appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, arguing that Ledbetter could only receive damages or back pay for the 180 days before her lawsuit was filed. In 2007, the Supreme Court agreed in a 5-4 ruling.

In her dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Ledbetter's case was “not barred” and wrote that the matter was “within the court of Congress.”

Less than two years later, Congress passed it Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to allow workers “to obtain compensation, including the recovery of back wages, for up to two years prior to the filing of charges.” Then-President Barack Obama signed the measure on January 29, 2009, the first bill he signed as president.

Obama paid tribute to Ledbetter in a statement on Sunday.

“Lilly Ledbetter never wanted to be a trailblazer or a household name. She just wanted to be paid the same as a man for her hard work,” he wrote. “Lilly did what so many Americans have done before her: she set even bigger goals for herself and her children and grandchildren. Michelle and I are grateful for her advocacy and friendship, and we send our love and prayers to her family and everyone who continues the fight she started.

Ledbetter was recognized for her advocacy for pay equity and her story continues to resonate.

Last week, Ledbetter was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Advertising Week for their commitment to equal pay. Lilly, A film based on Ledbetter's life is being shown at screenings across the country.

NPR's Nina Totenberg contributed to this report.