(Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for BMI)
Grant Hill, who is calling the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship with Bill Raftery, Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson, is married to Canadian singer Tamia Marilyn Hill. Known professionally as just Tamia, the two have been married since 1999 and have two children.
The 44-year-old Hill is a retired basketball star, with a gold medal from the 1996 Summer Olympics and was a seven-time NBA All-Star. He played with the Pistons, Magic, Suns and Clippers and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. Hill and business partner Tony Ressler have owned the Atlanta Hawks since 2015, the same year he joined CBS Sports’ NCAA Men’s Basketball broadcast team.
You can follow Tamia on Instagram and on Twitter.
Here’s what you need to know about Tamia and the Hill family.
1. She Has an Estimated Net Worth of $10 Million
The 41-year-old Tamia has an estimated net worth of $10 million, Celebrity Net Worth estimates. The same site estimates that Hill has a net worth of $180 million. Hill joined forces with a group led by Anthony Ressler, who Forbes estimates has a net worth of $1.36 billion, to buy the Atlanta Haws in 2010. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that the team was sold for $850 million.
Tamia’s own fortune comes from her music career, which kicked off with her self-titled 1998 album. Tamia was released on Quincy Jones’ Quest Records label and featured the hit singles “Imagination.” and “So Into You.”
Since the release of Tamia, Tamia has recorded five more albums. Her most recent release is 2015’s Love Life, which was released by Def Jam Recordings. It was her highest-charting album on Billboard, reaching #1 on the R&B Albums chart with 16,000 copies sold.
Love Life includes the singles “Sandwich and a Soda,” “Stuck with Me” and “Love Falls Over Me.”
2. The Couple Have Been Married For 18 Years
Hill and Tamia’s 18-year marriage has lasted much longer than the typical marriage between sports and entertainment stars. In an interview with The Undefeated, Hill said he “married up” and they have a “very cool relationship.”
“I guess to the folks on the outside looking in, considering the worlds we kind of work in or live in, it seems like we got it right or we are doing great or whatever the case may be. Family is a priority. Communication,” Hill told The Undefeated. “You know we have a very normal life, but we try to make it normal. Our life really at this point in time revolves around our kids. But when it’s a priority, you work at it, you know, and relationships, they require effort and communication.”
Tamia’s website even has a page called “A Love Story Worth Honoring: Grant And Tamia’s Journey.” As her site notes, R&B singer Anita Baker told Tamia at the Soul Train Music Awards that Hill was the perfect man for her, but they didn’t meet until six months later. When they finally did meet, it was “love at first sight.”
Three years after meeting, they got married on July 24, 1999. They are now the parents of Myla Grace, 15; and Lael Rose, 9. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Hill and his family live in Isleworth, a community in Orange County, Florida.
3. She Was Diagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis in 2003
In 2003, Hill and Tamia faced the toughest challenges of their lives together. In 2003, Hill contracted MRSA in his ankle, according to Tamia’s website. That same year, she was also diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Since then, the two have raised awareness for both conditions. Thankfully, Tamia has been able to control her MS through medication, diet and exercise.
“I’m feeling well,” Tamia said in a 2015 interview with Cafe Mocha. “One thing that I think is very important is women’s health and making sure that we listen to our bodies and take care of ourselves. I also think it’s important how you approach life as well.”
She also told Cafe Mocha that her health is one reason why she would never do a reality TV show. “One of the reasons why I don’t do reality TV is because I do believe that drama and stress and all of those things can have a negative effect on your health. I have two kids and a wonderful husband and I don’t have time for that,” she explained.
“That’s been harder to deal with than dealing with my own situation,” Hill said of his wife’s diagnosis in a 2004 New York Times interview. “I’ve always looked at the ankle as a bone that will heal or won’t heal. It doesn’t affect whether you live or die. You can still walk and resume a normal lifestyle with a bad ankle.”
4. She Recorded Her 2015 Album ‘Love Life’ in Just 10 Days
When Love Life came out, it was Tamia’s first album since 2012’s Beautiful Surprise. It was also her first album released by a major label since 2004’s More. The album took just 10 days to record, in part because Hill reminded her that it only took Jay Z a weekend to make Blueprint.
“I finished this project in 10 days, which was pretty scary and exciting — I didn’t really know how to feel about that,” Tamia told Billboard. “I came home and told my husband [basketball star Grant Hill], ‘I’m a little nervous because I know I’m finished, but it’s crazy to say I finished this in 10 days.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, Jay Z did Blueprint in a weekend.’ So I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m done.'”
She told Billboard that it was definitely the fastest she’d ever recorded an album.
“For me to hear a song, write it, record it, and do a little bit of nitpicking — but to really have something done that I’m proud of in a short period of time, it’s like Quincy [Jones] used to say: There’s just magic that happens when you’re writing music sometimes,” Tamia explained to Billboard. “You’re like touched by God and everything just kind of works. And this is what happened with Love Life.”
In an interview with YouKnowIGotSoul, Tamia said that the album was recorded in two studios in Atlanta.
5. She Created Her Own Record Label to Release ‘Between Friends’ & ‘Beautiful Surprise’
Before Love Life, Tamia released Between Friends (2006) and Beautiful Surprise (2012) on Plus One Music Group, a label she created for her own music. As Billboard notes, these releases were distributed by Capitol/EMI.
Tamia has earned six Grammy nominations in her career. In 1997, she was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for “Missing You” with Brandy, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight; Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “You Put a Move on My Heart”; and Best R&B PErformance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for “Slow James” with Quincy Jones, Babyface, Barry White and Portrait.
In 2000, she picked up a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for “Spend My Life With You” with Eric Benet. The song also won Outstanding Song at the NAACP Image Awards.
In 2013, she picked up nominations for Best R&B Album for Beautiful Surprise and Best R&B Song for the album’s title track.
