King, Billie Jean (1943–)

American tennis player. Name variations: Billie Jean Moffitt; Mrs. L.W. King. Born Billie Jean Moffitt, Nov 22, 1943, in Long Beach, CA; m. Larry King, Sept 17, 1965 (div.).

Member of the Southern California Junior Wightman Cup team (1959–60); achieved 1st national tennis ranking (1959); turned professional (1968); won Wimbledon singles (1966–68, 1972–73, 1975), doubles (1961–62, 1965, 1967–68, 1970–73), mixed doubles (1967, 1973); won US Open singles (1967, 1971, 1972, 1974), doubles (1965, 1967, 1974, 1980), mixed doubles (1967, 1971, 1973); won French Open singles and doubles (1972), mixed doubles (1967, 1970); won Australian Open singles and mixed doubles (1968); won Italian Open singles and doubles (1970); won US Hard Court singles (1966); won West German Open singles (1971); won South African Open singles (1966, 1967, 1969); won U.S. Indoor singles (1966–68, 1971); played key role in establishing the 1st Virginia Slims tournament (1971); founded the Women's Tennis Association and played Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome (1973); co-founded and published WomenSports magazine (1974); named in controversial palimony suit (1981); had international tv sports commentary position for NBC expanded to coverage of male players (1982); wrote, with Cynthia Starr, We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis (McGraw-Hill, 1988). Named Associated Press Women's Athlete of the Year (1967, 1973); named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (1972); named Top Woman Athlete of the Year (1972) and Time magazine Woman of the Year (1976); elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame (1987) and National Women's Hall of Fame (1990).

See also (autobiographies) with Kim Chapin Billie Jean (Harper & Row, 1974) and with Frank Deford Billie Jean (Viking, 1982); and Women in World History.