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Name: Jeanie Marie Buss
Lifetime: September 26, 1961 – present
What She’s Known For: Buss is the controlling owner of basketball’s iconic Los Angeles Lakers. Her father Jerry Buss had owned the team for many years and when he died, in 2013, his ownership passed to his six children. His succession plan was to have Jeanie handle the business decisions of the Lakers while her brother Jim handled the basketball side. But poor results on the court led to sibling tensions. In Feb. 2017, Jeanie replaced Jim as head of basketball operations with Lakers legend Magic Johnson. Jim Buss responded the next month with a takeover attempt to remove his sister as a Lakers director but that failed and she remains firmly at the helm of the franchise.
Why We Love Her: She has become one of the most respected and influential figures in the National Basketball Association thanks to her brain for business and passion for sport. Jeanie majored in business at the University of Southern California and graduated with honors. She went on to run roller hockey team the Los Angeles Blades and was president of Los Angeles sports and concert arena the Great Western Forum before going to work at the Lakers. Her marriage to volleyball player Steve Timmons ended in divorce after three years and she admits, “I never put my marriage first … It was always business which attracted me.” Despite a long running romance with former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, she has not married again. She also co-owns Women of Wrestling, which showcases top female fighters.
Fun fact: Jeanie spent some of teenage years living at Pickfair, the famous Beverly Hills home originally designed for Hollywood golden age stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Big names to have been hosted at parties there over the years include Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Jeanie’s father Jerry Buss bought the property in 1979. She became so well versed in its history that Jeanie led guided tours of the 18-acre estate for a number of years.
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