Inside Bill Russell's four marriages - from three years with Miss USA to dying with doting wife Jean

May 2024 · 3 minute read

NBA great Bill Russell sadly passed away this weekend with his loving wife Jeannine by his side.

The basketball legend died aged 88 and tributes poured in from across America.

Russell was an 11-time NBA champion during his legendary career with the Boston Celtics.

The five-time MVP was also a much loved father and husband.

He had three children and was married four times during his time.

He shares all three of his children with his first wife and college sweetheart Rose Swisher.

READ MORE SPORT STORIES

The couple married in 1956 before divorce in 1973.

Bill and Rose's daughter Karen was born in 1962.

William Jr was born in 1957 but passed away from cancer in 2016.

Jacob was born in 1959 and is reportedly happily married.

Most read in Sport

Bill then married Dorothy Anstett in 1977 but they divorced just three years later in 1980.

Dorothy was a beauty queen who was named Miss USA of 1968.

But the marriage with Russell didn't last and they went their separate ways after three years.

Russell married his third wife Marilyn Nault in 1996 and they were together right up until she died in 2009.

And the NBA legend was married to latest wife Jeannine at the time of his death.

Although the pair often posted photos together on social media, they tried to keep their relationship private and not much is known about Jeannine.

However, back in January 2021, Bill posted a picture of the two renewing their vows on Instagram.

"Happy 1 year vow renewal #Anniversary to my wonderful wife," he wrote.

"We realized today we were married on the 8th, and renewed our vows on the 24th. The #Kobe connection goes deep."

President Joe Biden was the latest to pay tribute to Russell after his passing.

In a statement released Sunday night, Biden said: "The promise of America is that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives.

"We’ve never fully lived up to that promise, but Bill Russell made sure we never walked away from it.

"By August 1963, he had won six of what would be 11 NBA championships in his 13 years in the league with the Boston Celtics, a defining career that would include five regular season Most Valuable Player awards, an Olympic gold medal, and serving as the first Black coach of any major sports league in America.

"But on the historic day of August 28, 1963, there he was at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as a towering champion for freedom, equality, and justice as Dr. King delivered a dream for the Nation.

"That was Bill Russell. From a childhood in segregated Louisiana to a career playing on the biggest stages in sports at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Bill faced the hostility and hate of racism embedded in every part of American life.

"Yet, he never gave up. Throughout his life, he forced us to confront hard truths.

Read More on The US Sun

Read More on The US Sun

"And on this day, there are generations of Americans who are reflecting on what he meant to them as someone who played for the essential truth that every person is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.

"Bill Russell is one of the greatest athletes in our history – an all-time champion of champions, and a good man and great American who did everything he could to deliver the promise of America for all Americans."

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEZqqupl6YvK570qmmq6xfaoZxfZVuaGiamaG5br7UrKqepJxiuqK%2B0aKYoJ1drLKlsMinnmavmZuycA%3D%3D