Billie Jean King has become the first woman to receive a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in the sports entertainment category. The tennis legend accepted the honour at a ceremony on Monday, April 7, which she attended with her wife Ilana Kloss, alongside some friends and celebrities like NBA great Magic Johnson.
“The important thing is, I don’t want to be the last one,” the 81-year-old said at the event. “My family loved music and movies. A trip to Hollywood, a movie at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, was a special treat for our family. My mother would have loved this.”
Billie Jean King’s star is the 2,807th to be installed on the Walk of Fame at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine. Located across the road, the Pantages Theater celebrated her achievement by displaying the message: “A star for a star. Congratulations Billie Jean King.”
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A native of Long Beach, 34 miles south of Hollywood, the former world number one is no stranger to making history.
She won 39 Grand Slams throughout her career, and in 1973, she defeated Bobby Riggs in the famous Battle of the Sexes competition, which remains the most-watched tennis match of all time. She is also the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Women’s Sports Foundation and has been a prominent advocate for gender equality and social justice.
She married her ex-husband Larry King in 1964, before coming out as a lesbian in 1981 after her secretary, Marilyn Barnett, threatened to reveal their affair. Her marriage officially ended in 1987, when Billie Jean fell in love with Ilana Kloss, her former doubles partner. The two secretly married in 2018 before publicly sharing the news three years later.
In 2000, King became the first out lesbian coach of the United States women’s tennis team. Additionally, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2024.
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