The Story of "Women Who Shatter Barriers" 

Billie Jean King

I continue my “Women Who Shatter Barriers” seres as a tribute to women I admire for their courage, contribution, brilliance, and heart.

Billie Jean King has been on my list of “to-do” for a while! I played tennis as a kid and she was the hero of all the young female tennis players. A fearless player, she won 39 Grand Slam titles! 29 of those championships at Wimbledon!

Billie Jean King is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. She held the world #1 ranking in women’s tennis for six of the ten years from 1966 through 1975. Always an advocate of gender equality, in 1973, Billie Jean accepted a challenge to play a match against Bobby Riggs, a 55-year old former number 1 ranked tennis player, he claimed he could beat any female tennis player! Not so!

Billie Jean was the victor of the winner-take-all match 6-4, 6-3, 6-3! In addition to the cash, Billie Jean won new respect for women's tennis! Known as the "Battle of the Sexes," The match is one of the most-watched televised sporting events of all time, no tennis match before or since has been seen by so many. Perhaps no other sporting event has played a more significant role in developing greater respect and recognition for women athletes than the Battle of the Sexes.

Billie Jean fought relentlessly for equal pay in women's tennis. In 2009, Billie Jean was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for work on behalf of women and the LGBTQ community. Billie Jean has been one of my personal heroes since I was a young girl. I hope her spirit, courage and bravery continue to inspire young women everywhere!

I use the highest quality artist oil paint.

I create the background images of the portraits digitally with photoshop. I then print, adhere, and prime the background on a canvas panel. I paint the subject of the portrait with oil paint over the primed background. 

I take every step to ensure the image is as accurate as possible to the original painting. However, variations in color may occur due to monitor differences. 

For inquiries and purchases, contact me at christina@christinatarkoff.com.