Photo: Claire Fridkin / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Billie Jean King is one of those rare figures who didn't just dominate a sport — she genuinely changed the world through it. Thirty-nine Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles is an almost absurd achievement on its own, but what I find even more remarkable is that she was fighting for equal prize money and women's rights at the same time she was winning those trophies. The 1973 Battle of the Sexes match against Bobby Riggs drew something like 90 million viewers worldwide and became a genuine cultural moment, not just a tennis match. She co-founded the Women's Tennis Association, pushed for Title IX, and kept showing up as an advocate long after her playing days ended — earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. A Scorpio to her core: relentless, principled, and impossible to ignore.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Billie Jean King
- Name (Japanese)
- ビリー・ジーン・キング
- Reading
- びりー・じーん・きんぐ
- Born
- November 22, 1943 (age 82)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Goat
- Origin
- Long Beach, California, United States
- Height
- 164 cm
- Occupation
- tennis player / tennis coach / sports commentator / writer / athlete
2. Background
- High school
- Long Beach Polytechnic High School
- University
- California State University, Los Angeles
Awards & achievements
- 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Arthur Ashe Courage Award
- 1990 National Women's Hall of Fame
- Library of Congress Living Legend
- 2006 California Hall of Fame
- 1987 International Tennis Hall of Fame
- 1995 Sarah Palfrey Danzig Award
- 1999 Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Billie Jean King born?
Born November 22, 1943 (age 82).
Where is Billie Jean King from?
Billie Jean King is from Long Beach, California, United States.
What does Billie Jean King do?
Billie Jean King works as tennis player, tennis coach, sports commentator, writer, athlete.
How tall is Billie Jean King?
Billie Jean King is 164 cm.
Tennis player — see all → · Tennis coach — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.