Laurel D’Antoni Quick Facts & Wiki
Birthday | N/A |
Place of Birth | San Diego, California, the United States |
Nationality | American |
Residency | New Orleans, Louisiana, the United States |
Husband | Mike D’Antoni |
Job | Philanthropist |
Laurel isn’t on social media | |
Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) |
Weight | 57 kg (126 lbs) |
Tattoos | Laurel currently has no tattoos |
Smoking | No, never |
Sister / Brother | Unknown |
Father & Mother | Unknown |
Religion | Christianity |
Hair Color | Dirty Blonde |
Eye Color | Green |
Net Worth (approx.) | $30 Million |
Laurel D’Antoni Biography
Laurel D’Antoni is an exquisite woman. A well-travelled beauty, she is the wife of New Orleans Pelicans’ coaching advisor Mike D’Antoni. Join us as we reveal some exciting and unknown information about this fine lady and her life with Mike.
Biography of a former model and a present-day philanthropist
Laurel D’Antoni (née Leibel) was born in San Diego, California, the USA. This young lady grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but moved back to the mainland to complete her education. Laurel attended the University of Washington and majored in Communications.
Laurel’s early years as a model
Laurel used to work as a model before meeting Mike. In fact, she was recruited whilst she was still at university. Laurel, a Ford Modeling agency hand-picked recruit, travelled globally during her career, landing in Tokyo, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. It was in Italy she’d meet the man of her dreams.
Mike D’Antoni’s meeting with Laurel – The buildup
The Italian/American basketball player who was playing in Milan met the woman in 1984. If you ask Laurel now, she’d recall it like it was yesterday. A successful model, on her first trip to Europe, ran into a girlfriend and her Italian League basketball player boyfriend, Wally Walker, on a Milan street corner. Whilst waiting for the No. 54 bus in front of the Benetton store, she saw Mary and Wally walking down the street just before it arrived. After chatting for a few minutes, the couple invited Laurel out for pizza. They were hoping to set her up with one of Walker’s then teammates.
All is fair in love and war!
As expected, Wally Walker invited two of his Milan teammates – Mike D’Antoni and Russ Schoene. He and Mary believed Russ and Laurel would get along because they were close in age. Mike was older at the time and was dating too. He did, however, enjoy pizza. That evening, Mike drove both Russ and Laurel home. Mike travelled roughly 30 minutes out of his way to drive Russ home first, even though Laurel’s hotel was only five minutes away. He was struck by her beauty and needed the extra time with her. He took advantage of it and asked her to come to watch him play.
Laurel D’Antoni didn’t know what she was getting into
Laurel thought she was going to a pickup game at the YMCA or something. But Mike took her to this enormous arena, where 18,000 people were yelling for him. What more did a man have to do to impress a young model? He was enamoured of her beauty, and she liked his athletic abilities. Nothing was stopping their union.
Laurel’s marriage to Mike D’Antoni
For a few weeks after their meeting, Laurel was scheduled to be in Italy. She didn’t go anywhere. Within days, the pair had decided and was planning to marry within a month. But to calm the concerns of some anxious parents, the couple waited almost two years. Travels back to America had to be arranged to meet and get to know the relatives. In June 1986, they married. “We did it for them, but we knew what we wanted.” Laurel has been quoted saying.
How many kids do Mike and Laurel have?
Laurel and Mike have been married for a long time now. However, they have just one son named Michael. It must be noted that these two weren’t keen on building a big family together.
Laurel and Mike D’Antoni are more than simply roommates.
This couple frequently shares a car. In the world of high-pressure professional coaches and their spouses, this makes them a lot odder. When Mike was the coach of the Rockets, the husband and wife duo at the heart of the NBA’s finest team drove together to the home games. On these drives, they occasionally discussed prospective difficulties with the team. The outings were also being used to decompress or debrief. They’d occasionally speak about other stuff too, but it was mostly about the sport they love. This has to be the secret to their lasting marriage.
There’s a lot more to this woman than what we could compress into this tiny article. Nonetheless, she is a gorgeous lady who has built a wonderful life with her husband. All we can say is they don’t make like her anymore.
** All images in this post are from Instagram/External sources. We do not own these pictures **