The Kenyan Woman Married to Billionaire NBA Legend Dirk Nowitzki
Jessica Olsson, the Kenyan woman married to billionaire NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki was born in 1982 in Gavle, Sweden to a Swedish father and Kenyan mother, Njeri Waikwa, from Nanyuki.
She is married to a former German basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Dirk Nowitzki is identified by fans and fellow athletes as the greatest player to ever don the Dallas Mavericks jersey, and is a future candidate for NBA hall of fame. He retired in April 2019, after 21 seasons.
According to a 2019 report by Forbes,Ā Nowitzki was valued at $242 million, which approximately Ksh24 billion.
Jessica met Nowitzki at a charity eventĀ in 2010 that had been organised for sports.
At the time, she worked at the Dallas Art Gallery. The legendary basketball player immediately became smitten with Jessica and they began dating.
āI think we just clicked intellectually. She likes art, she likes sports. Her brothers both played soccer. She grew up around sports. We both love tennis and we love to travel. We both love kids and family,ā Nowitzki toldĀ Dallas NewsĀ at the time.
The couple tied the knot in 2012. First, in a traditional ceremony at Nanyuki, and a formal wedding at the family’s home in Dallas, Texas.
In a test of how well they knew each other, he hadĀ to find Jessica among five women who had all been covered up from head to toe. Dirk was able to pick out Jessica by herĀ height and scent.
āWe went to Kenya to seeĀ cucu,ā Nowitzki toldĀ Lifestyle,Ā a South African magazine, during an interview in 2015.
The couple is blessed with three children, Malaika Nowitzki, Max Nowitzki, and Morris Nowitzki.
HeĀ went on to add that he traversed Kenya for a week in a low-key affair, from the Mount Kenya region,Ā Nairobi to Mombasa.
Nowitzki stressed the importance of exposing the coupleās three children to their Kenyan heritage numerous times.
In 2011, Nowitzki was crowned NBA player of the year. When Nowitzki got up to accept the award for being theĀ best NBA player, he kissed Jessica and Twitter erupted.
The veteran basketballĀ player stated that no one had ever confronted him with racist comments about his wife.
āNobody actually approached me with it. Everybody thatās met my wife has said sheās great with me.
So I havenāt heard any of that to my face. Iām sure there are some people that think of it to themselves. But, Iāve never heard it to my face,” he explained toĀ Dallas News.
āGrowing up in Germany, and basketball, weāve always grown up around all sorts of races. I played with the national team where half of my teammates were from Yugoslavia.
Colour or race for me never really mattered, and thatās also the beauty of sports. Youāre a team. Same with marriage. Youāre a team,ā he told the American news outlet.
Jessica is the firstborn in a family of three. She has twin brothers, Martin Waikwa Olsson and Marcus Munuhe Olsson.
The duo play their trade as footballers in England. Martin plays for Swansea City FC while Marcus plays for Derby County FC.
ByĀ
Source-kenyans.co.ke