In A First, Billie Jean King Receives Hollywood Walk of Fame Star For Sports

Billie Jean King became the first woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the new sports entertainment category on Monday, April 7. She was joined by friends Magic Johnson and Oscar-winning actor Jamie Lee Curtis to celebrate the honour. The electronic marque read, "A star for a star. Congratulations Billie Jean King."  King’s wife, Ilana Kloss, also joined the many photographers to shoot her pictures.

“The important thing is, I don’t want to be the last one,” the ace tennis player told the crowd.

Today, I became the first woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Sports Entertainment category.

Words cannot express how honored and grateful l am to receive this star.

I have so many people to thank, including the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce,… pic.twitter.com/dT1ngqKH7m

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) April 8, 2025

What Did Her Friends Say?

“You always fight for what’s right,” Her friend Johnson told King. “You lend your platform and your voice and your time and your money to bring about change.”

“We’re just alike,” he said. “We’re super competitive as hell, we’re control freaks because we know that if you put it in our hands we’re going to win. You’ve been a winner your whole life, you love to help people and last but not least, you always will stand for what’s right.”

King reunited with several players during the ceremony including Rosie Casals and Julie Anthony from the earliest days of the WTA Tour, along with the tour’s retired athletic trainer Connie Spooner. Five-time major champion Maria Sharapova and Stacey Allaster, former WTA CEO and current US Open tournament director, also attended the event.

“Billie Jean King’s contribution is power,” Curtis said. “She’s power on the courts, she’s power in the courts, she’s power in the press, power in her public advocacy, power in her fight for freedom, power to be who she is now.”

King grew up in Long Beach, 34 miles south of Hollywood. "My family loved music and movies,” she said. “A trip to Hollywood, a movie at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, was a special treat for our family. My mother would have loved this.”

A Dream Come True

In 2008, King attended Oscar-winning actor Holly Hunter’s star ceremony. “I remember thinking back then, ‘Oh man, this is really cool. This is unbelievable,’” she said. “’Oh, I’m never going to get this.’ Here I am.”

King was the first to step on her bronze star after it was revealed several blocks east of where her longtime friend Elton John’s is located. “Remember,” she said, “my star is your star.”

Joining her in this ceremony were Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, her husband Jay Mohr, rapper Flavor Flav, race-car driver Katherine Legge and Emmy-winning screenwriter Jane Anderson.