Marilyn Nault was an American businesswoman best known as the third wife of Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell.
Married from 2000 until she died in 2009, Marilyn lived much of her life away from the spotlight despite her husband’s status as one of basketball’s greatest champions.
In one of the more touching and well-documented details of her final weeks, former NBA Commissioner David Stern personally called Marilyn shortly before her passing to tell her that the league was renaming its NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy the Bill Russell Award in her husband’s honor.
Table of Contents
Marilyn Nault Biography
She was born on January 15, 1950, in Concordia, Kansas, the daughter of Quentin and Helen Nault. Marilyn Nault was raised in a Catholic family alongside four brothers, Phil, Eric, James, and Kyle.
She attended Catholic elementary and high schools in Kansas before leaving her hometown of Concordia to build a career in Seattle, Washington.
In Seattle, Marilyn worked as a jewelry salesperson, a job that ultimately led to her meeting Bill Russell, who walked into the store where she worked.
Details about her life and any previous relationships before meeting Russell have not been made public, consistent with the couple’s generally private approach to their relationship throughout their marriage.
Bill Russell
Marilyn Nault and Bill Russell met in Seattle in 1996, when Russell visited the jewelry store where she worked.
The two began dating and were together for four years before marrying on February 17, 2000, in a small, private ceremony attended by close family and friends.
Russell was 66 years old at the time of their wedding, having been born on February 12, 1934, while Marilyn was 50.
Marilyn and Bill did not have children together, though she became a stepmother to Russell’s three children from his first marriage to Rose Swisher: William Jr., born in 1957, Jacob, born in 1959, and Karen, born in 1962.
The couple remained married for nearly nine years, during which they frequently traveled together and were known among friends as devoted companions until her death.
Death
Marilyn Nault died on January 21, 2009, at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington, at the age of 59, just weeks before what would have been Bill Russell’s birthday and the couple’s ninth wedding anniversary.
The family has kept many details of her illness private, a decision consistent with how quietly they conducted their relationship throughout their marriage.
A private funeral service was held in Seattle, and she was laid to rest at Lake View Cemetery in King County, Washington.
In one of the most meaningful moments of her final weeks, Bill Russell later recounted in an NBA interview that former Commissioner David Stern called Marilyn directly, just weeks before her death, to inform her that the league was renaming the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy the Bill Russell Award, a lasting tribute to her husband’s legacy that she was able to hear about before she passed away.
Marilyn’s death had a significant and lasting impact on Bill Russell, who remained unmarried for several years afterward.
In the years following her passing, Russell dedicated a meaningful part of his life to supporting cancer research, partnering with the Harold and Carol Pump Foundation, an organization committed to funding cancer research, a cause closely tied to the disease that claimed Marilyn’s life.
Russell eventually remarried in 2018 to Jeannine Fiorito, a retired professional golfer who was named Player of the Year on the Canadian Women’s Tour in 2010.
Jeannine remained married to Russell until his death on July 31, 2022, at the age of 88, at his home on Mercer Island, Washington.