BILLIE Jean King is most famously known as a former American tennis star who was once ranked as the No.1 player in the world.
Throughout her life, she has been married twice.
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Who is Billie Jean King?
Born November 22, 1943, King, 78, is known as one of the best tennis players in the world.
Prior to her 1990 retirement, she won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles.
In 1973, she also famously competed in the highly publicized Battle Of The Sexes tennis match against Bobby Riggs, which is still known today as one of the most watched televised sports events of all time.
This match was one of the most iconic matches in women's sports history because of Riggs' reputation as a self-proclaimed male chauvinist, who was often referred to by the nickname "Bobby 'No-Broad-Can-Beat-Me' Riggs."
The match also came one year after the passing of Title IX, that prohibits federally funded educational institutions from discriminating against students or employees based on sex.
She is also known for lobbying for equal pay and helped the U.S. Open become the first tournament to offer equal prize money to both sexes.
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Is Billie Jean King married?
Throughout King's life, she has been married twice.
King's first marriage was to Larry King, 77, who is known as an American attorney, real estate broker, promoter and one of the founders of World Team Tennis.
The former couple were married from 1965 to 1987 after meeting at California State University.
Following her divorce from Larry, King, then remarried over three decades later to her former doubles partner Ilana Kloss, 65.
Even though they did not tie the knot until 2018, the couple had been secretly together for four decades.
In her 2021 autobiography, All In, King first addressed the marriage revealing that only three people had known prior.
"Nobody threw rice or smashed wedding cake in the other's face," King wrote.
"One of the brides wore jeans and a lovely red scarf and the other had on a black shirt, a comfortable warm‑up suit, and pearls — ha! — a personal touch of glamour that Ilana still teases me about."
In an interview with PEOPLE, she then talked about why it took her 42 years.
"I felt very married to Ilana, whether I had a piece of paper or not," King told PEOPLE in August 2021. "But I'd had a big problem with trusting and it meant a lot to show my trust in Ilana."
She later wrote in her book: "Years from now, I never want anyone to question how much I was committed to you."
King also revealed that she didn't publicly acknowledge her sexuality until she was 51 years old.
Sexuality is "a continuum. You're finding your truth, and it doesn't have to stay the same,"King told the media outlet. "I only liked guys when I was young. I didn't think about girls. And then all of a sudden I'm like,'Oh my God, what's happening?'My truth was changing over time. It took me forever."
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What is Billie Jean King's net worth?
Over the years, King has had one of the most successful careers in the tennis world.
Thanks to her career and other business ventures, she has been able to amass an estimated net worth of $20million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Not only is she known as one of the best tennis players in the world, but she is also the founder of the Women's Tennis Association, World Team Tennis and the Women's Sports Foundation.
King and Kloss are also minority owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In 2017, her famous match against Riggs was also turned into a movie with Emma Stone portraying King and Steve Carell portraying Riggs.
Best of Billie Jean King at the US Open
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