HomeEntertainmentCelebrity GistHabiba Abdul-Jabbar: Where is She Now?

Habiba Abdul-Jabbar: Where is She Now?

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Habiba Abdul-Jabbar entered the limelight after her union with NBA Legend, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, which produced several controversial, albeit enthralling moments.

She managed to keep a low profile despite being married to a man who was one of the most popular NBA stars of all time.

Having married one of the all-time greats in the NBA, keeping things lowkey isn’t an easy feat. But one must admit that she has done quite well at that.

So, what has she been up to lately?

Before we continue, let’s first dive a little into her bio, family life, net worth, her controversial marriage with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and more.

Who is Habiba Abdul-Jabbar?

Habiba Abdul-Jabbar is the ex-wife of NBA legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They met at a Lakers game during his senior year at UCLA. That encounter eventually led to their marriage and produced three children.

She was born in October 1947. However, her exact date of birth is not clear.

Not to be mistaken with her daughter, who answers the same name and bears a striking resemblance to her mother. We’ll get to that.

Habiba Abdul-Jabbar’s former name

Habiba Abdul Jabbar was born Janice Brown into a Catholic family. However, she changed her name after she converted from Christianity to Islam, and then married Kareem, who was also a young Muslim convert.

Her short marriage to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

She tied the knot with Kareem in 1971 in a controversial fashion.

The first of the series of controversies is that both of their parents were denied entry into the wedding venue because they were Christians. The former NBA star revealed that that decision broke his relationship with their parents, which took him many years to rectify.

Children

Habiba and Kareem gave birth to three children: Two daughters Habiba and Sultana, and a son named Kareem Jr.

Habiba, who is their firstborn child and daughter, is a Journalist who prefers to go by the name Habiba Alcindor. She is an author at Huffington Post, among others.

Their son followed in her ex-husband’s footsteps by becoming a Basketball player as well. Kareem Jr also dabbled in acting and featured in the movie, Weapons.

The rest of their children keep a low profile like their parents.

Why did Kareem and Habiba Abdul-Jabbar get a divorce?

Their marriage in 1971 didn’t turn out to be a happily ever after tale, as their relationship was a bit complicated from the get-go. Kareem told Al Jazeera that their marriage was based on a recommendation by their spiritual leader back then. Owing to the respect he had for his religious leader, he reached the decision to marry her despite having strong feelings for another woman.

Well, that didn’t work out well because less than a decade later, their marriage was rocked by several issues that saw them legally part ways in 1983.

Habiba and her celebrity husband had an unusual relationship. In fact, they had already started living apart in 1973, within two years of their marriage.

Habiba was just three months pregnant for their second daughter when they moved into separate homes. They also bore their only son whilst they lived separately.

In other words, they separated before welcoming two other children, although it wasn’t formal until 1983.

Her then-husband went on to have two other children with two other women.

Although they’ve lived separately for many years, they still catch up every now and then to share adorable family moments, which their first daughter Habiba Alcindor, posts about on her blog.

Left to right: Kareem Jr, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Habiba Abdul-Jabbar (mom), Habiba (daughter), Sultana, and Adam and Sean (stepsons of Habiba Abdul-Jabbar). Image credit: Habiba-alcindor.com.

LA Times revealed that Kareem Abdul Jabbar admitted that Cheryl Pistono Jenkins, the mother of one of his other sons convinced him to get from Habiba.

Kareem and Jenkins were in a relationship then, despite him still being married to Habiba, although living apart.

Habiba Abdul-Jabbar’s net worth

Her net worth is hard to estimate. However, her ex-husband has an estimated net worth of $20 million, according to multiple sources.

Putting that into consideration, she should be worth at least $1 million.

Where is Habiba Abdul-Jabbar now?

She tries to be as far away from the limelight as possible. The only sniff of her anyone gets is from posts her daughter shares on her blog and social media pages.

Habiba appears to enjoy that privacy away from the prying eyes of the media. And especially after enduring a tumultuous marriage, she probably wanted some peace and breather, which she has maintained all these years.

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