Billie Jean King has become the first woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the new sports entertainment category on Monday.
“The important things is, I don’t want to be the last one,” the Hall of Fame tennis player told the crowd.
King, 81, received the 2,807th star, located near the famed intersection of Hollywood and Vine across from the historic Pantages Theater. Its electronic marque read: “A star for a star. Congratulations Billie Jean King.”
She was joined by some famous friends - NBA legend Magic Johnson and Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
“You always fight for what’s right,” Johnson told King. “You lend your platform and your voice and your time and your money to bring about change.”
“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. She played at the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills tennis clubs, where she’d spot stars like Lucille Ball and Doris Day.
“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.”
