Charles Wade Barkley is a one-of-a-kind personality. The former NBA player can crack jokes with the best of them alongside Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson Jr. on TNT's "Inside the NBA." On the court, Sir Charles was a dominating presences for the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets despite never winning an NBA Finals. The 1993 NBA MVP, 11-time NBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time All-NBA First Team power forward became the "Round Mound of Rebound" (one of the greatest NBA nicknames of all-time) at Alabama's Leeds High School and Auburn University before becoming the fifth overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. But none of that matters to Charles Barkley's wife, Maureen.
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Off the court, he had some serious swagger. He starred in Nike commercials, had his own line of shoes, dabbled in Hollywood by acting in "Space Jam" with Bulls superstar Michael Jordan and even hooped head-to-head with Godzilla. His eye-popping net worth is evidence of his influence as one of the more well-known NBA players of all time.
Barkley's life is well-documented, but not much is known about his personal life and family. He's been married to the same woman since 1989 and had one kid with her. Who is the mystery woman who found the Mound Round?
Charles Barkley's Wife Maureen Blumhardt
.@cjbycookie & I partied all night long with Hall of Famer and my Dream Team teammate Charles Barkley and his wife at the White House! pic.twitter.com/ROUgRhVGHr
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 8, 2017
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Barkley's longtime wife is Maureen Blumhardt. She was born in 1960 and met her professional basketball player husband in the 1980s at Pennsylvania restaurant City Avenue, according to Cheatsheet. They were both reportedly lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania at the time.
She was reportedly working as a legal aide. Barkley, meanwhile, was becoming a basketball star on the 76ers in Philadelphia. Who doesn't love the classic "Black NBA star meets Caucasian legal assistant" love story? The two tied the knot in 1989 and have been going strong ever since. If he's a jokester at home, I'm not sure how she's put up with him for so long.
Charles & Maureen Live in a Mansion
Johnny Nunez / Contributor / Getty Images
The Barkleys reside in Scottsdale, Arizona.
According to records found on the Maricopa County Property Appraiser website, they own a piece of property that is almost three acres large — 106,013 square feet to be exact. It's worth nearly $2.8 million, according to the county's website, and was last bought in 1998 for $2 million.
A quick search on Google Earth reveals the mansion comes with a tennis court, pool, guest house and even a putting green and sand trap. Judging from the Basketball Hall-of-Fame member's golf swing, it looks like Chuck needs to hang out in the back yard a bit more.
Maureen is a Former Model
A model back in the day, Maureen Blumhardt's net worth probably didn't match that of her NBA legend husband. One of her endorsements was the Noblerex K-1, a whole-body vibrating exercise machine, at one point in her career. There's even video evidence on Youtube of Maureen swearing by the machine.
Maureen Roasts Her Husband Online
My husband told me our dryer was shrinking his clothing. I told him that I think it's our refrigerator.
— Maureen Barkley (@MaureenBarkley) July 8, 2019
Fans of "dad jokes" will enjoy Maureen's active comedy-infused Twitter account.
"I bought some cheese and put it behind a pane of glass, with a sledge hammer close by.......just in queso emergency," she tweeted on last June 14.
"I just found out that I'm colorblind. I had no idea. It came out of the green!" she wrote on March 8, 2020.
She's even made fun of her husband's portly figure on social media: "My husband told me that when he does extreme cardio, he gets sweaty, his heart races & he loses his breath. I told him it's probably an allergic reaction," she tweeted on March 22, 2019.
It appears she's got a great sense of humor like her hilarious husband.
They Have One Child
Fabulous story in today’s NY Times about Charles Barkley’s daughter’s wedding. Funny and very sweet. Can’t find a link, if anyone does please attach. Congratulations to the families, it’s a beautiful story. pic.twitter.com/1FkvcaxSjo
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) March 21, 2021
The American NBA analyst and Maureen have one child, daughter Christiana Barkley. When asked why he chose that name for his daughter, Barkley gave a succinct, yet Barkley-esque answer. As it turns out, Christiana Barkley is named after the Christiana Mall in Delaware. When asked about what makes the Delaware shopping center so special, Barkley simply said, "I just liked the mall." Chuck's reasoning then forced his longtime friend and Inside the NBA host Ernie Johnson, Jr. to say what we were all thinking.
"You're a mess, man."
AP Photo
Their only child graduated from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and attended Columbia University, specifically the Columbia Journalism School. Maybe she's planning on entering the sports media business like her dad?
Barkley told USA Today in 2016 of his daughter's passionate fandom for Villanova basketball.
"My daughter was living and dying with every game for the last three weeks, so I was really more excited for her, to be honest with you... She's been going to a Villanova bar in New York City every game," the former NBA star said when Villanova won the national championship. "She didn't even want to come to the game because she didn't want to jinx the game."
Christiana and her mother have been involved with the Fresh Start Women's Foundation, a non-profit organization that "helps women 18 and up focus on key areas of their lives." Maureen is an honorary member of the organization and was spotted at one of its galas in 2016.
In 2021, she married Ilya Hoffman, the founder of tech company DemandByte. Hoffman said in a New York Times article about their wedding that he wasn't really a sports fan and hilariously only knew Charles Barkley as "the guy from 'Space Jam.'"
Other than that, there isn't a whole lot of info on Sir Charles' family. It's perfectly fine that he prefers to keep them out of the spotlight, too. I'm sure he wouldn't want them to the subject of any jokes from Shaq.
This article was originally published on August 14, 2020, and has been updated since.
