Savannah and LeBron James have been lauded by their peers for the sense of midwestern realness that they emote. Through LeBron’s I Promise School and Savannah’s girls' mentorship program, the pair has made it clear that for them, home is a place to invest in.
Here are six things to know about Savannah:
1. Savannah and LeBron are high school sweethearts.
Savannah and LeBron began their relationship in Akron, where Savannah spent her high school years cheering for Buchtel’s sports teams, rivals of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, where The New York Times reported LeBron was emerging as a superstar. The Ohio native, who learned she was carrying the couple’s first child in the rookie year of LeBron’s NBA career, admits she was worried by the news because she and LeBron were 18 and 19.
“What am I going to tell my parents? What’s going to happen to his career?” Savannah said according to Business Insider. “I was very scared. But he said ‘It’s not going to slow you down. … We’re going to keep doing what we have to do.’”
The couple welcomed LeBron James, Jr. on October 6, 2004.
2. The couple has three children.
Today, LeBron Jr., more commonly known as Bronny, is 15. And he’s a big brother to two younger siblings: Zhuri, 5, and Bryce, 12. While her big brothers take after King James, finding themselves on the basketball court of their California school, Zhuri is leaning into a lane of her own. Last year, Savannah and LeBron launched All Things Zhuri, the October baby’s YouTube channel.
3. She launched a mentorship program at her alma mater.
In step with LeBron’s philanthropic efforts, Savannah launched Akron’s very own Women of Our Future, a mentorship program dedicated to the development of 16 high school girls at Buchtel Community High School, Savannah’s alma mater. In a conversation with Vogue, Savannah explained that it was her mother who inspired her.
“Growing up, my mom took in three or four kids just because they needed a place to go,” she said.
Still, the mother of three explains the choice to launch her program in Akron was no coincidence.
"These are the kids of the neighborhood kids who we saw every day at school. … They just [need] the right push.”
4. Beyoncé and Jay-Z reportedly performed at Savannah and LeBron's wedding.
Although there were nearly no photos of the 2013 wedding, RadarOnline reported that Beyoncé and Jay-Z performed “Crazy In Love” at the James’ star-studded ceremony.
5. NBA rookies call her “Auntie Savannah.”
"One of them said … 'Thank you Auntie Savannah.' … She didn't like that because you know, my wife has been 21 for the last 20 years."
These rookies have @KingJames and Savannah feeling old ???? pic.twitter.com/JoT6wdRA9v
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 1, 2020
Per a conversation with Sports Center, Savannah, 33, was less than flattered by rookie players' show of deference. The G.OA.T. joked with reporters that his “wife has been 21 for the last 20 years.”
6. She’s always in the picture.
In a video widely circulated online — and oftentimes under the tag #BlackLove — LeBron and Savannah demonstrate the authentic, down-to-earth love that their peers, Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade, have described.
“Me and Dwayne, our biggest takeaway about Savannah and LeBron, is that they’re real,” Union told Vogue. “What you see is what you get. [Savannah] is a woman who really has that Midwestern ethic. … Say what you do and you do what you say.”
In the clip, LeBron pauses before blowing out his 35th birthday candles and inquires: “Where’s my wife at?” unable to cast his wish without Savannah at his side.
