Marilyn Nault (1950–2009) was the third wife of Boston Celtics great Bill Russell. Frank Deford’s 1999 Sports Illustrated profile says she was the saleswoman at a Seattle jewelry store that Russell walked into shortly after he arrived in the city in 1973. The two stayed friends for more than 20 years before becoming a couple in 1995. They were married until she died of cancer on January 21, 2009, at age 59. Sources disagree on the wedding date: one gives 1996, another February 17, 2000.
Almost everything publicly known about her comes from three places. Deford’s magazine profile, written while she and Russell were living together, is the main account of their relationship. Her death notice in The Seattle Times supplies her family background and the key dates. Associated Press coverage from February 2009 records how Russell spoke about losing her a few weeks after her death.
Marilyn Nault profile summary
- Full name: Marilyn Ruth Nault Russell
- Born: January 15, 1950, in Concordia, Kansas, to Quentin and Helen Nault, according to her Seattle Times death notice
- Upbringing: Raised in Concordia, where she attended Catholic grade school and high school, according to the death notice
- Known for: Third wife of Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell
- How they met: She was the saleswoman at a Seattle jewelry store Russell visited around 1973 (Sports Illustrated, 1999)
- Became a couple: 1995 (Sports Illustrated, 1999)
- Married: 1996 according to Russell’s Wikipedia biography; February 17, 2000 according to her death notice
- Children of the marriage: None recorded
- Died: January 21, 2009, at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, aged 59
- Cause of death: Cancer (Associated Press, February 2009)
How Marilyn Nault met Bill Russell
Marilyn Nault met Bill Russell at her job. In “The Ring Leader,” published in Sports Illustrated’s May 10, 1999 issue, Deford wrote that “shortly after arriving in Seattle in 1973, he had gone into a jewelry store, where he hit it off with the saleswoman. Her name is Marilyn Nault.”
She was 23 that year, a Kansas native working in Seattle. Deford quoted her own wry view of the setting: “Let me tell you,” she said, “working in a jewelry store is the worst place to meet a man, because if one comes in, it’s to buy something for another woman.”
The relationship didn’t turn romantic for a long time. Over the following years, Deford wrote, “skipping through Russell’s next, brief marriage, to a former Miss USA,” Marilyn and Bill “remained friends.” He also recorded something Russell admired in her: “she impressed him as a very competitive dominoes player.”
From friendship to partnership in 1995
The change came in 1995, and it began with practical help. According to Deford, “When Bill’s secretary died in 1995, Marilyn volunteered to give him a hand, and all of a sudden, after more than two decades, they realized they were in love.”
Marilyn came over to help Russell with his accounts, Deford wrote, and “she just stayed on with him in the house on the hill under the tall firs.” His full account is in Sports Illustrated’s republication of “The Ring Leader”.
There was an age gap of about 16 years between them. Russell was born on February 12, 1934, and Marilyn on January 15, 1950.
What their life together looked like in 1999
Deford’s profile is the only first-hand description of the couple’s home life, and it records a handful of specific details:
- Marilyn had learned to sleep with the television on, because Russell was “a terrible night owl.”
- She had come to appreciate long car trips. Deford reported that she and Bill had twice driven across the continent and back.
- The two had an understanding that “at least once a day, he has to make her laugh.”
Russell’s daughter, Karen, gave Deford her own description of the pair: “They’re the ultimate ’50s couple.”
Deford later suggested that Marilyn also mattered to how the profile came about. In a 2014 SI.com interview with Ted Keith, Keith asked whether Russell had been reluctant to cooperate on the story. Deford said he had not been, and added: “I think a lot of it had to do with Marilyn, his new love.” That is Deford’s assessment rather than Russell’s own explanation. It comes from the writer who spent time with the couple at home that year.
When did Marilyn Nault and Bill Russell marry?
Sources disagree on when Marilyn Nault and Bill Russell married, and the public record doesn’t settle it.
Russell’s Wikipedia biography states that “in 1996, Russell married his third wife, Marilyn Nault; their marriage lasted until her death in January 2009,” and much later coverage repeats 1996. Her death notice in The Seattle Times gives a specific date instead: she married William F. Russell on February 17, 2000. That date fell five days after Russell’s 66th birthday.
The two versions come from different kinds of sources. The 1996 figure appears in reference-style summaries of Russell’s life. The February 2000 date comes from a family-placed notice written at the time of her death, and it gives a full day, month and year.
Deford’s May 1999 profile describes the couple sharing Russell’s Seattle home, but its passages about Marilyn don’t say whether they were married at that point. The accurate summary is that they were together from 1995 and married either in 1996 or on February 17, 2000, depending on the source.
Did Marilyn Nault and Bill Russell have children?
No children of Marilyn Nault and Bill Russell’s marriage are recorded. Russell’s three children, Karen, William Jr. and Jacob, came from his first marriage, to Rose Swisher. Marilyn’s death notice lists Russell among her survivors, along with her mother, Helen, and four brothers.
How Marilyn Nault died
Marilyn Nault Russell died on January 21, 2009, at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, according to her death notice in The Seattle Times. She was 59, having turned 59 six days earlier.
The cause was cancer. In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that “Russell’s wife, Marilyn, recently died of cancer.” The type of cancer has not been made public.
Russell’s “bittersweet” award, 24 days later
Russell’s first public words about her death came at a basketball ceremony. On February 14, 2009, during NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, Commissioner David Stern announced that the NBA Finals MVP award would be named for Russell.
The Associated Press report published by ESPN noted Marilyn’s recent death from cancer and said Russell “was visibly moved as he accepted the honor.” He told the audience: “This is a bittersweet award. I just lost my special person.”
The announcement came 24 days after Marilyn died. Russell’s remarks are the only public statement in the record that directly links his feelings about the honor to her.
Where Marilyn fits among Bill Russell’s four marriages
Bill Russell married four times. Marilyn Nault was his third wife, and the only one whose relationship with him is documented as beginning with a friendship of more than two decades.
- Rose Swisher: His first wife and the mother of Karen, William Jr. and Jacob. The marriage ended in divorce.
- Dorothy Anstett: His second wife, described by Deford as “a former Miss USA.” Deford called that marriage “brief.”
- Marilyn Nault: His third wife. They were friends from about 1973 and a couple from 1995, and they married in 1996 or on February 17, 2000, depending on the source. The marriage lasted until her death in January 2009.
- Jeannine Russell: His fourth wife, to whom he was married when he died on July 31, 2022, on Mercer Island, Washington, aged 88.
A different Marilyn Nault
Searches for the name also turn up a different woman. Marilyn Nault Howell, Ed.D., was born in San Francisco, raised in Marin County, California, and taught biology at Brookline High School in Massachusetts. She died at her home in Brookline on July 6, 2020. She is not Bill Russell’s wife, and her family and career details belong to her alone.
FAQ
How old would Bill Russell be today?
Bill Russell was born on February 12, 1934. Had he lived, he would be 92 as of November 2026. He died on July 31, 2022, aged 88.
Who was Bill Russell married to when he died?
Russell was married to Jeannine Russell at the time of his death in 2022. Marilyn Nault had died more than 13 years earlier, in January 2009.
Conclusion
Marilyn Nault’s story rests on a short but consistent record. She was a Kansas-born woman working at a Seattle jewelry counter when Bill Russell came in around 1973, a friend through his brief second marriage, and his partner from 1995 until her death from cancer in January 2009.
The one question this record leaves open is the wedding date. It should be given as 1996 or February 17, 2000, with its source, rather than as a single settled year.
The clearest public measure of what she meant to Russell is his own statement at the February 2009 ceremony, less than a month after she died. Accepting the award that would carry his name, he called it “a bittersweet award” because he had “just lost my special person.”
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