Habiba Abdul-Jabbar is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s first wife and mother of his three older children. Having married in 1971, and changed her religion to Islam, she became a divorcee 6 years later. As it is now, Habiba pursues a business career in the fashion industry.
Despite once being the wife of the basketball legend who played for teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers in a 2-decade career, the former celebrity wife is notorious for keeping a private life away from the spotlight.
Facts You Never Knew About Habiba Abdul-Jabbar
1. A Look Into Her Early Life
Habiba was born Janice Brown in the US. However, she has managed to keep details about her life vague. Thus, it is probable that she is from New York following the manner and place where her parents lived at the time she met Kareem.
As to her education, Janice attended school at California state university.
2. She Converted To Islam
Janice Brown was born into a Christian home yet in later life she changed her religion to be with her love interest. During her conversion, she trained under Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, leader of the Hanafi Movement, a black Muslim group.
Subsequently, she dropped her birth name as a symbol of her newfound faith and picked up Habiba which means love or beloved in Arabic. She was named Habiba by Hamaas who himself was a convert to Islam before he started the Hanafi movement.
3. How She Met And Married Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Habiba and Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor now known as Abdul Kareem-Jabbar met during a UCLA game after which they started dating. Prior to this, Habiba who at this point was still known by her birth name, Janice Brown was dating someone else but when Abdul Jabbar turned his attention to her, she fell for him.
Their blossoming love soon became strained due to his social circle leading to a brief breakup. Fortunately for them, they met again and picked up the relationship.
Shortly after, they got married on May 28 1971 in an Islamic ceremony. The highlight of it was that Kareem had initially wanted to marry someone else but after Hamaas suggested Habiba, he chose her.
Their marriage which reflected their deep love for Islam was not witnessed by Kareem’s parents who were Catholics.
4. The Truth About Her Divorce From Her Famous Ex-husband
Habiba’s marriage with the now-retired basketball player lasted a few years before it came crashing down. A closer look into their divorce reveals that their marriage started having cracks as far back as 1973. The relationship was so broken that they were no longer living together.
Moreso, their final split was aided by Kareem’s love interest Cheryl Pistono, a former passer-by at Hugh Hefner’s playboy mansion. As the story goes, Habiba and Kareem’s marriage was approved by his teacher and as such, he had to leave another relationship that he had invested in.
Moving on, when his marriage had problems, he met Cheryl, a girl that was 10 years younger than him in 1977. At first, she did not recognize him because she did not have an interest in sports. Yet, they got attracted to each other following her conversion to Buddhism and Kareem’s Islam. In the course of time, she convinced Kareem to divorce Habiba.
5. She Owns A Fashion Outfit
The former wife of the former basketball player now turned writer and activist owns a clothing outfit called Tutu Glam. It specializes in making tutu skirts won by a wide range of people from cheerleaders, children, ballerinas, and other athletes.
She shares the brand’s collections on its Facebook page.
6. The Business Woman Is Also A Fitness Enthusiast
Going by an inactive Facebook page named Run Habiba Run, it gives sheds light on the other activities that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s ex-wife does. Obviously, she did not only marry a world-renowned athlete, but she also loves to keep fit from the sidelines.
7. Habiba Abdul-Kareem Shares Three Children With The Former Basketballer
Her marriage which lasted only six years produced her three children. Apparently, her two youngest children were conceived at a time when she and Kareem’s marital issues forced them to stay apart. Let us meet her three children:
Habiba Abdul-Jabar
She is the oldest daughter and first child of Habiba with her ex-husband. Habiba was born on May 15, 1972, a year after her parents tied the knot.
The celebrity child is also known as Habiba Alcindor after her father’s real surname before he was converted to Islam. Like her parents, she was also named by Hamaas. Shortly before she enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, she legally changed her name to Alcindor.
At the moment, she is a writer, producer, director, social justice activist, and journalist. She worked at Oberlin, Scholastic Inc, and The Nation in the past. Some of her writings appeared in The Huffington Post. Her last known work was as a development and marketing officer at LA Goldrush.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar Jr.
He was born in 1976 at a time when his parent’s marriage was having challenges. Habiba’s second child followed in his father’s footsteps and went into basketball. He played for the Western Kentucky University team, the Hilltoppers.
Jabbar Jr. is no longer a basketballer. He has shifted his attention to an acting career and so far, he appeared on Half And Half as well as hosted shows like The Drop.
Sultana Abdul Jabar
She is the youngest of Habiba’s children with Jabbar. Habiba was only three months pregnant with Sultana when Jabbar insisted on their divorce.
Hence, Habiba gave birth to her as a newly divorced woman in 1979.
8. Her Ex-husband Had A Successful Basketball Career
Kareem is a very famous athlete in the sports industry following his twenty-year career as a professional basketball with teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and the Lakers. He started out as a basketball player in high school and led the Power Memorial team to many championships that they won.
Later on, he played at UCLA where his fame and popularity also increased. This only laid the basis for a successful career in the NBA following his draft in 1969
As it is the towering Alcindor now known as Kareem won 6 MVP awards and an All-Star nineteen times among many other records.
After 20 seasons in the NBA, he retired in 1989. Habiba’s ex-husband took up writing and promoting racial equality in the years after basketball. Apart from activism, he appeared in many television programs and movies.
9. She Is Shorter Than Her Ex-husband
Considering the height of Habiba’s ex-husband, Kareem who stands at a height of 7ft2inches, there is so much curiosity about her own height.
As it is, there is no verified height for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s ex-wife. Looking at the tall man’s height which contributed to his success and dunking, it is not surprising to see that he holds some of the records in the game’s history.
See Also: LaDonna Hughley – Her Family Life With D.L Hughley, 7 Other Interesting Facts
10. How Rich Is Habiba Abdul-Jabar
After staying away from the media’s attention for a long time, her net worth is still unclear. Nonetheless, her ex-husband has a fortune of $20 million which he amassed from his basketball career, writings, and movie roles.
Looking at her different businesses, Habiba is not doing badly herself.
Habiba Abdul-Jabbar was born into a catholic family but later changed her faith to Islam to be with her now ex-husband, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. By virtue of marriage, she had three children.
Though now divorced for over forty years, his successful career continues to add to her popularity.
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