A father's frustration for not having fulfilled his dreams in life can lead to him taking it out on one of his offspring. In the case of André Agassi (56), this happened because his father, Emmanuel, had been a boxer who represented Iran in two Olympic Games but did not achieve more. He projected his desire for success onto his youngest of four children. To give an idea of what Agassi had to endure, when he was young, his father built a tennis court at home where he created a ball launcher called the Dragon for the young boy to hit 2,500 balls daily.
Violent and controlling, Emmanuel insulted and punished his son because he did not consider him fit enough for the game. Over time, André proved that he could be one of the best in history. In fact, he was the first to win the seven most prestigious titles in the men's individual circuit, including the four Grand Slam tournaments, an Olympic gold medal, the Davis Cup, and the Masters Cup.
Alongside his success on the court, his love life also captured all the headlines because he had romances with some of the most famous women on the planet. After breaking up with a girlfriend, he was soon seen with Barbra Streisand (84), which was not surprising as both were leaders in their respective fields.
When they started attending different events around 1992, and she sat in the stands to watch him play or they dined in discreet restaurants, the alarm was raised. The bad boy of tennis and America's best voice had started a relationship. What caught attention was that the double Oscar winner was 28 years older. But that did not matter to them.
In his biography "Open," Agassi, currently the face of Silvercrest for Lidl, confessed that theirs was "a passionate friendship" and "our company benefits us both. We are compatible, and public scandal only adds salt to our union." The singer, in her memoir "My Name is Barbra," referred to Agassi as "emotionally wise beyond his years." Their different lifestyles ended their love story, although they remain good friends.
On the courts, Agassi continued to be the center of attention for his eccentric way of dressing, always in colorful outfits and sporting his long hair (which was a wig).
In 1993, a friend of the wife of saxophonist Kenny G called Agassi to tell him that she had found a "beautiful, intelligent, sophisticated, and fun" girl who was perfect for him. It was Brooke Shields (60), America's sweetheart who had captivated the world with her role in "The Blue Lagoon."
While she was in South Africa filming "Born to Be Wild," he was in Las Vegas. The actress confessed in her memoir "There Was a Little Girl" that "he had just undergone a wrist operation and didn't know if he could play tennis again; I was desperately trying to revive my faltering career. And we were falling in love by fax."
That kind of epistolary relationship captivated both of them. "I kept Andre's faxes to read them alone in my favorite spot near the river," wrote the actress, while the athlete noted in his biography that "I felt as if I were in a serious relationship with that woman whom I had never spoken to, whom I had never seen."
After a long courtship and subsequent engagement, the couple married on April 19, 1997, in Monterey, California. What seemed like a dream was not so much, as Shields confessed in her memoirs: "The day after getting married, I already knew I had made a mistake." He felt something similar, so gradually the romantic relationship disintegrated until they separated in January 1999.
His great love has been Steffi Graf. In "Open," the tennis player revealed that he was "in love with Steffi before meeting her in person." Who would have thought that in 1992, both were crowned Wimbledon champions in the men's and women's categories.
They respected and admired each other, so in early 1999, their coaches scheduled their agendas to train together. He was still dealing with his relationship with Shields due to the divorce process, but it was not an obstacle. In August of that year, Steffi and Andre started dating.
By then, the tennis player had already retired from the professional circuit, something he would also do in 2006. The couple married on October 22, 2001, in a private ceremony at their Las Vegas residence with only their respective mothers present. Four days later, their firstborn, Jaden Gil, was born. Jaz Elle was born on October 3, 2003.
Undoubtedly, Steffi was his great savior.
This coming October, the couple will celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. The family continues to reside in a fabulous 840-square-meter mansion in Las Vegas, where they enjoy a quiet and practically anonymous life.