Billie Jean King Biography | Wiki
Billie Jean King is a popular American former world No. 1 tennis player who is the Adidas Global Ambassador, and the founder of BJK Initiative. It was reported in March 2021 that Billie will be an advisor to First Women’s Bank in Chicago. She won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women’s doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States team in seven Federation Cups and nine Wightman Cups. For three years, Billie was the U.S. captain in the Federation Cup.
Billie is an advocate of gender equality and has long been a pioneer for equality and social justice. In 1973, at the age of 29, Billie famously won the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match against the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. Billie was also the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation. She was instrumental in persuading cigarette brand Virginia Slims to sponsor women’s tennis in the 1970s and went on to serve on the board of their parent company Philip Morris in the 2000s. Known by many as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Billie was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
The Fed Cup Award of Excellence was bestowed on her in 2010. In 1972, Billie was the joint winner, with John Wooden, of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award and was one of the Time Persons of the Year in 1975. Billie has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year lifetime achievement award. In 2018, Billie won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. The Federation Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in her honor in 2020. In 2022, Billie was awarded the French Legion of Honour.
Billie Jean King Age | Born
Billie was born on November 22, 1943, in Long Beach, California, in the United States. She is 80 years old. Billie celebrates her birthday on November 22, every year.
Billie Jean King Height
She is a woman of average stature. Billie stands at a height of 5 ft 6 in ( Approx. 1.65m ).
Billie Jean King Family
She was born in Long Beach, California, into a conservative Methodist family, the daughter of Betty (née Jerman), a housewife, and Bill Moffitt, a firefighter. Billie’s family was athletic; her mother excelled at swimming, and her dad played basketball and baseball and ran track. Billie’s younger brother, Randy Moffitt, became a Major League Baseball pitcher, pitching for 12 years in the major leagues for the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Billie Jean King Married | Wife | Spouse
Billie is married to her wife Ilana Kloss a former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and commissioner of World TeamTennis from 2001-21. Ilana was the World’s No. 1 ranked doubles player in 1976, and World No. 19 in singles in 1979. Billie and Ilana married in a secret ceremony in 2018 and have been together for over 40 years. The couple became minority owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team in September 2018 – so she has a 2020 World Series championship to her credit – and Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women’s Soccer League in 2022, in October 2020.
Previously, in 1971, Billie began an affair with her secretary, Marilyn Barnett. In 1979, Billie’s family asked Marilyn to leave their house, but she did not want to. The two began dating in 1972. Marilyn and Billie ended their seven-year relationship in 1979, and Billie asked her to vacate the Malibu beach house where she had been allowing her to stay. Prior to that, Billie was married to her husband Larry King until 1987.
Billie Jean King Husband
While attending Cal State, Billie met Larry King in a library in 1963. The two became engaged while still in school when she was 20 and Larry 19 years old and married on September 17, 1965, in Long Beach. She and Larry remained married through the palimony suit fallout. The two’s marriage ended in 1987.
Billie Jean King Son
Billie has no biological children. She is the godmother of her ex-husband Larry King’s son Sky from his subsequent marriage to Nancy King.
Billie Jean King Education
She attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School. Following graduating in 1961, Billie attended Los Angeles State College, now California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA). Billie did not graduate, leaving school in 1964 to focus on tennis.
USTA Billie Jean King
On August 28, 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park became rededicated as the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Billie Jean King Cup
In 2010, Billie won The Fed Cup Award of Excellence. In 2020, the Federation Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in her honor.
Battle Of Sexes Billie Jean King | Battle Of The Sexes
She won the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match in 1973 against the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. Dubbed “the Battle of the Sexes”, the Riggs–King match took place at the Houston Astrodome in Texas on September 20, 1973. The match got huge publicity. In the midst of 30,492 spectators and a television audience estimated at 50 million people (U.S.), and 90 million in 37 countries, 29-year-old King beat the 55-year-old Riggs 6–4, 6–3, 6–3.
Coco Gauff Billie Jean King Cup
In 2023, US Open champion Coco Gauff and fellow Top 10 player Pegula will not play for the U.S., and Swiatek is skipping the event for Poland for the second year in a row. Coco and Jessica Pegula, the two highest-ranked American players, were both absent from the U.S. team.
Billie Jean King Bobby Riggs
In 1973, at the age of 29, Billie famously won the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match against the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. She defeated Bobby Riggs in an exhibition match, winning $100,000 ($670,520 in 2022 terms). Bobby had been a top men’s player in the 1930s and 1940s in both the amateur and professional ranks. Bobby won the Wimbledon men’s singles title in 1939 and was considered the World No. 1 male tennis player in 1941, 1946, and 1947.
Billie Jean King Tennis | Tennis Star
In 1959, Billie made her first Grand Slam appearance at the U.S. Championships. Billie’s first-round opponent, Justina Bricka retrieved the match following having a match point against her in the second set. In 1960, Billie won the Philadelphia and District Women’s Grass Court Championships – her first senior title. Billie defeated Karen Hantze Susman, who had reached the U.S. Championship Quarterfinals the previous year. In 1965, Billie lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open and the Wimbledon.
In the U.S. Open, Billie suffered a demoralizing loss to Court in the finals, following being in a winning position. Between 1973 and 1980, Billie won five Grand Slam singles titles – two Wimbledon and three U.S Opens. During that period, Billie also won four mixed doubles and four Grand Slam doubles titles. In 1983, Billie reported her retirement from competitive singles after a second-round loss to Catherine Tanvier in the Australian Open. Billie continued to play doubles occasionally for seven more years. Billie became the captain of the U. S Federation Cup team and the coach of its women’s Olympic tennis squad. In 1996, the U.S. lifted the Fed Cup and added 3 Olympic gold medals.
Billie Jean King Young
She was born in Long Beach, California to her parents. Billie also excelled at baseball and softball as a child, playing shortstop at 10 years old on a team with girls 4–5 years older than she. She changed from softball to tennis at the age of 11, because her parents suggested she should find a more ‘ladylike’ sport. Billie saved her own money, $8 ($88.54 in 2022 terms), to buy her first racket.
She joined a school friend to take her first tennis lesson on the many free public courts in Long Beach, taking advantage of the free lessons offered by professional Clyde Walker, who served the City of Long Beach. As a kid playing in her first tennis tournaments, Billie was often hindered by her aggressive playing style. One of her first conflicts with the tennis establishments and status quo came in her youth when Billie was forbidden from being in a group picture at a tournament because she was wearing tennis shorts (sewn by her mother) instead of the usual white tennis dress.
Billie Jean King Now | Today
In 2023, Billie competed in the tenth season of The Masked Singer as Royal Hen. Billie sang “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” in an episode that was a tribute to Elton John.
Billie Jean King Grand Slam | Grand Slams
She won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women’s doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. Billie was a member of the victorious United States team in seven Federation Cups and nine Wightman Cups. For three years, Billie was the U.S. captain in the Federation Cup. Six of her Grand Slam singles titles were at Wimbledon, four were at the U.S. Championships/Open, one was at the French Open, and one was at the Australian Championships.
Billie reached the final of a Grand Slam singles tournament in 16 out of 25 attempts and had a 12–4 win–loss record in those finals. In the nine tournaments that Billie failed to reach the final, she was a losing semi-finalist twice and a losing quarter-finalist five times. From 1971 to 1975, Billie won seven of the ten Grand Slam singles tournaments she played.
Billie Jean King Wimbledon
Billie won a record 20 career titles at Wimbledon – six in singles, 10 in women’s doubles, and four in mixed doubles. She first gained international recognition in 1961 when the Long Beach Tennis Patrons, the Century Club, and Harold Guiver raised $2,000 to send Billie to Wimbledon. There, Billie won the women’s doubles title in her first attempt while partnering Karen Hantze. Billie was 17 and Hantze was 18, making them the youngest team to win the Wimbledon Doubles Title.
She had less luck that year in the 1961 Wimbledon women’s singles, losing to fifth-seeded Yola Ramírez in a two-day match on Centre Court. Despite these performances. Billie could not get a sports scholarship when later that year she attended Los Angeles State (now California State). For the 1962 singles tournament at Wimbledon, Billie upset Margaret Court, the World No. 1 and top seed, in a second-round match by attacking Court’s forehand This was the first time in Wimbledon history that the women’s top seed had lost her first match. That same year, Billie and Hantze repeated their doubles victory at Wimbledon. In 1963, Billie again faced Margaret Court at Wimbledon.
Billie Jean King’s Husband
Until 1987, her husband was Larry King who was born in Dayton, Ohio, and raised in Eagle Rock, California. Larry serves as an Attorney, Pilot, Real estate broker, and sports promoter. They married on September 17, 1965, in Long Beach, California.
Billie Jean King Net Worth | Worth
Billie gets her wealth from her work as a former world No. 1 tennis player who is the Adidas Global Ambassador, and the founder of BJK Initiative. Therefore, Billie has accumulated a decent fortune over the years. Billie’s net worth is $22 million.
How Old is Billie Jean King
Billie is an 80-year-old who was born on November 22, 1943, in Long Beach, California, in the United States. Billie celebrates her birthday on November 22, every year.
Is Billie Jean King Alive
Yes, she is still alive and married to Ilana Kloss.
Does Billie Jean King Have A Wife
Yes, Yes, Since 2018, Billie has been married to his wife Ilana Kloss a retired professional tennis player who won the Wimbledon juniors singles title in 1972, the US Open juniors singles title in 1974, and the US Open Doubles and French Open Mixed Doubles titles in 1976.
Is Billie Jean King Still Alive
Yes, Billie the former world No. 1 tennis player is still alive and well at the age of 80.
Who Is Billie Jean King Married To
She is now married to her wife Ilana Kloss who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ilana was a professional tennis player, tennis coach, and commissioner of World TeamTennis from 2001-21
How Old Is Billie Jean King Now
Billie is now years old. She was born on November 22, 1943, in Long Beach, California, in the United States.
Was Billie Jean King Married
Yes, she was previously married to Attorney Larry King from 1965 until 1987.
Where Does Billie Jean King Live
She lives with her wife Ilana Kloss in their luxurious house in Chicago.
How Old Was Billie Jean King When She Retired
She retired from playing tennis in 1983, at the age of 40 after a storied career that included securing equal pay for women’s tennis players.
How Much Is Billie Jean King Worth
She is worth $22 million due to her work as a former world No. 1 tennis player.
When Did Billie Jean King Die
Billie has not died she is alive and celebrates her 80th birthday on November 22, 2023.
When Was Billie Jean King Born
She was born on November 22, 1943, in Long Beach, California, in the United States.
Where Does Billie Jean King Live Now
She now resides in both New York City and Chicago.
Who Was Billie Jean King Married To
From 1965 to 1987, Billie was married to Larry King an Attorney, Pilot, Real estate broker, and American sports promoter. Larry now lives in Grass Valley, California, with his wife, Nancy, a Cardiologist technician and pilot, and two children, Sky and Katie.
When Did Billie Jean King Retire
She retired from competition in 1983, but her career in tennis continued.
Who Is Billie Jean King’s Partner
Billie’s current partner is former professional tennis player Ilana Kloss. They married in a secret ceremony in 2018 and have been together for more than 40 years.
Billie Jean King Social Media Handles
Twitter – @BillieJeanKing
Instagram – billiejeanking