Billie Jean King becomes first woman to receive Walk of Fame star for sports entertainment

Billie Jean King has made history once again.

The 81-year-old out lesbian tennis legend has become the first woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the new sports entertainment category. Her star was dedicated in a ceremony on Monday, which she attended with her friends, NBA star Magic Johnson and Oscar-winning actor Jamie Lee Curtis, and her wife, Ilana Kloss.

“The important things is, I don’t want to be the last one,” King told the crowd.

King's star is the 2,807th on the Walk of Fame, located near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine across from the Pantages Theater, which also celebrated her achievement by displaying on its electronic marque the message: “A star for a star. Congratulations Billie Jean King.”

Magic Johnson Billie Jean King Ilana Kloss Jamie Lee Curtis during Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony April 2025 Los Angeles CaliforniaKevin Winter/Getty Images

King won 39 Grand Slam titles throughout her career, changing the world of sports along the way. She defeated Bobby Riggs in a 1973 match known as the Battle of the Sexes in front of around 50 million people, which is still the most-watched tennis match of all time. It has been described as a milestone in the push for acceptance of women athletes.

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King was a key advocate for equal pay at major tennis tournaments, winning the U.S. Open four times. After winning the singles title at Flushing Meadows in 1972, she used her influence to implement change. As a winner, King earned $15,000 less than the men’s champion of that year. Unless the men’s and women’s singles champions received equal payouts, she threatened not to compete in the tournament the following year.

King married Larry King (no relation to the television and radio host) in 1964. She came out as a lesbian in 1981 after her affair partner and secretary, Marilyn Barnett, threatened to reveal their relationship. Her marriage to Larry would officially end in 1987 when she fell in love with Kloss, her former doubles partner, though the two remained friends after the divorce. King and Kloss would later secretly marry in 2018 before publicly sharing the news in 2021.

King became the first out lesbian coach of the United States women’s tennis team in 2000. She is the founder of both the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2024.