Everything About Larry Bird’s Wife, Dinah Mattingly!

Dinah Mattingly is the wife of an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the NBA, Larry Bird. He is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

Larry, nicknamed the “Hick From French Lick” and “Larry Legend,” is the only person in NBA history to have been named Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.

Larry’s personal life is generally not in the limelight. For example, his wife and kids are rarely seen in the media.

As of 2024, the NBA legend is married to Dinah Mattingly. However, he has been married once before as well; his first marriage lasted for a short time.

In this article, let’s learn about this greatest former player’s wife’s life in detail. Before we go on with all the details, let’s check out interesting quick facts about Dinah:

Quick Facts

Early Life & Family

Dinah was born on November 16, 1954, in Vigo County, Indiana, to her parents, whose information is missing at the moment.

There is no information about her personal life before she gained fame.

However, she grew up in a loving and supportive family. Unfortunately, we do not have any information about her high school.

It is said that Dinah was a sports enthusiast during her college days.

Even though she was also involved in sports, she has not shared which sport it was it was or the level of success she achieved.

Similar to Larry, she also attended Indiana State University. But they did not date each other at the time.

It is presumed that Larry and Dinah must have gotten closer to each other after Larry’s failed relationship with Janet.

Dinah is two years older than Larry, which might also be another reason they did not hit it off immediately.

Wedding

Larry and Dinah wed in 1989, marking Larry’s second marriage.

There is very little information about Dinah on the internet as she likes to keep it private. She came into the limelight after getting hitched to the NBA legend.

The wedding occurred in a friend’s home in Terre Haute, Indiana. Besides the bride and groom, just five of the closest friends and family witnessed the marriage.

It is also said that the couple wore stonewashed jeans to the ceremony.

Media Focused On Their Age Difference

The media focused on their two-year age difference during their wedding, but the couple seemed unbothered.

Dinah is a beautiful woman with golden locks that she likes to style in a bob cut.

Compared to Larry, she might seem like a short woman, but her height is average, around 1.67 meters.

Dinah and Larry have been married for almost four decades. Primarily, she has supported him abundantly during his transition from NBA to coaching.

While most players find it hard to transition from playing to coaching, Larry pulled it through very exquisitely.

But, of course, most of it happened because of undying support from Dinah.

Even though they don’t show off their love and support, their bond is strong. Their married life has stood the test of time.

Larry has meddled in many controversies over the years. Many media outlets have accused him of cheating on his wife. But Dinah has stuck with him throughout the difficult times.

Around 2014, the media started rumors about Larry cheating on her with a young woman.

The news portals were full of a mystery woman putting her hand on Larry’s leg, whom everyone believed to be his mistress.

However, he revealed that the mystery woman was his daughter, and the infidelity rumors were untrue.

Children

Larry and Dinah do not have any biological children. However, they have adopted two kids, Conner and Mariah.

They adopted Mariah in 1991 and Conner in 1992. The exact reason why they went for adoption is not known.

Also, the age of the children is unknown, but both are in their 20s. They are independent and pursue their interests.

Their daughter Mariah Bird graduated from Indiana University, studying Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management.

After graduation, she interned with PS&E. Later, she officially joined their team as an event coordinator.

Besides being an excellent event manager, Mariah has also obtained a real estate license. Therefore, we can say that she is very hardworking and talented.

Nonetheless, their son Conner has made headlines for primarily negative reasons. As a child, fans used to spot him with his parents at Larry’s games.

It was reason enough to believe he might follow in his father’s footsteps to be an athlete.

Unfortunately, in 2011 he was arrested for underage drinking and misconduct and imprisoned in 2013 after being charged with attempted murder and possession of marijuana.

The charges stemmed from some altercations with his ex-girlfriend. Reportedly, Conner was 22 when he drove his car at her.

He pleaded guilty to some charges, which shortened his sentence, while some charges were dropped.

Larry and Dinah have refused to make any comments on the matter.

Net Worth

Dinah has collected a net worth of around $1 million as of 2024 from her different ventures.

However, her collective net worth with her husband is higher than that.

As of 2024, Larry Bird has a net worth of $75 million.

This wealth makes him one of the wealthiest people in the NBA. The couple owns multiple houses and lives a luxurious life of their own.

Larry Bird’s First Wife, Janet Condra

In 1975, Larry married Janet Condra, the lucky lady who was his high school sweetheart.

The couple first met at Spring Valley Highschool, where they shared classes. The classmates quickly became friends, and it eventually blossomed into romance.

But the romance did not last long following the marriage, and they divorced after a year.

Though the exact reason for this marriage failure is unknown, we can guess that the differences were raised from Bird moving to Indiana.

Whatever the differences were, they were significant because the couple did not stay on good terms afterward.

The divorce was finalized on October 31, 1976. Surprisingly, they reconciled and lived together.

Biological Daughter, Corrie

The new union resulted in a child, a daughter named Corrie, born on August 4, 1977.

But this reunion also did not last long; consequently, the couple ended their relationship.

Initially, Larry denied that Corrie was his kid and rejected Janet’s request for child support.

The paternity test confirmed that he was the father. After that, he sent monthly checks for child support.

He set up an account from which Corrie could draw monthly support checks until she turned 18.

Janet later mentioned that she single-handedly raised Corrie because Larry was never interested in meeting his daughter.

His newfound success with the Celtics made him a busy person. Corrie, his biological daughter, asked for him, but he never had time to be with her.

Larry, As A Father

The mother-daughter duo tried their best to stay in touch with their father. Corrie used to write him letters, and Janet included school pictures and her report cards.

They tried to send the letters via certified mail to ensure that Larry received them, but to no avail. They still did not hear back from him.

Janet appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1998, revealing more about the father-daughter relationship.

She shared with Oprah that she was always excused from Corrie for not having her father around.

Similarly, Janet also acknowledged how hurt Corrie felt by his actions. “I couldn’t protect her from the hurt caused by her dad.”

“I could protect her from everything else, but not that,” she expressed.

Janet continued to be an exceptional mother to her child and raised her in the best way possible.

Corrie met Larry later when her step-mom (Dinah) invited her to a Pacers game.

Oprah Winfrey Show

In the same show with Oprah, Corrie also appeared alongside her mother. Oprah asked her why she couldn’t move on from her father even after 20 years.

Corrie replied that she had moved on in some ways. She said, “But I still have hope that he can be a part of my life.” 

She got some athletic skills from her father and played basketball during high school. Then, she went to Indiana University and continued playing basketball there too.

Corrie was terrific at it. However, she did not continue it professionally. Corrie married in May 2008, raising her own family and working as a clinic manager.

About Larry Bird

Larry Bird is a former NBA player born in West Baden, Indiana, on December 7, 1956, to Georgia (nee Kerns) and Claude Joseph “Joe Birds.”

His father was a veteran of the Korean War. His parents were of Irish, Scottish, and some Native American descent.

The former basketball player divorced mom single-handedly raised Larry, his three brothers, and a sister. Soon after the divorce, his dad committed suicide.

Larry played basketball to escape his family troubles and soon got good at it.

He had an outstanding collegiate career and was a strong prospect for the NBA draft.

Boston Celtics drafted him in 1978 as a sixth overall pick in round 1. During that time, he was the highest-paid rookie in sports history.

Larry had an extraordinary career overall, with three NBA titles and 3 NBA MVPs.

Larry said, “The corner shot and the one out the top…that really at the top of the key, they’re the shots I like to take.” In an interview which was taken in 2020 by Boston Celtics legend Kevin McHale.

Lary didn’t even practice three-point shooting, but the irony is he is one of the greatest three-point shooters of all time.

He retired in 1992; however, the Celtics kept him as a special assistant in the front office till 1997. Larry then moved to Indiana Pacers as a coach.

Despite no prior coaching experience, he gave the best results and received the ” NBA Coach of the Year ” award. However, he gave up coaching in 2000.

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