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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →LeBron James’ mother is Gloria James. In his 2014 account of growing up in Akron, Ohio, LeBron described her raising him as a working single mother through housing instability; a 2024 PBS interview also captured Gloria speaking about her family and her son’s community work.
Who is Gloria James?
Gloria James is LeBron James’ mother. She confirmed their relationship in a 2024 PBS interview, where she said, “It’s an honor to be his mother.”
LeBron wrote that Gloria had him when she was 16 and raised him as a working single mother. A 2009 CBS News profile likewise reported that she was 16 and unmarried when he was born. The fuller account of their early circumstances comes from LeBron’s own retrospective essay, so those details are best understood as his recollection.
What was LeBron’s childhood like with his mother?
Housing instability in Akron
In his 2014 essay, LeBron said he and Gloria lived in his maternal grandmother’s house in Akron. After his grandmother died, he wrote, they lost the home and moved repeatedly while his mother worked to make ends meet. He remembered that she did not have a car and that he could not be sure where he would live from one day to the next.
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A year with coach Frank Walker’s family
LeBron wrote that, at age nine, he temporarily moved in with his pee-wee football coach, Frank Walker, and Walker’s family so he could have a stable home and school year. He said he stayed for a year, saw his mother on weekends, and later moved back in with her when she was able to rent an apartment. LeBron described the love and reassurance he felt from Gloria despite their hardships: “I went without a lot of things, but never for one second did I feel unimportant or unloved.”
School and the reported 83 absences
LeBron’s essay says he missed 83 days of school in fourth grade; NBA.com repeated that figure in a 2018 account of his childhood. It is a biographical figure attributed to LeBron’s account, not a population statistic.
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What has Gloria said about her son and his community work?
In a 2024 PBS interview, Gloria praised LeBron as “a great advocate for his community and people of color.” The episode discussed the LeBron James Family Foundation’s relationship with Akron Public Schools and the I PROMISE School.
Gloria also spoke to students at the I PROMISE School. NBA.com reported that, at a 2022 foundation event, she shared her experience as a single mother who grew up in poverty in Akron with 105 seventh-grade students. The article quoted foundation executive director Michele Campbell describing the message as encouragement for students not to be ashamed to ask for help.
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Where does Gloria James live?
In the 2024 PBS interview, Gloria said, “I reside in Akron, and I travel to L.A. to visit the family.” That is a statement about where she lived at the time of the interview; it does not establish her current residence.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Sources and the limits of what is known
The most detailed account of Gloria and LeBron’s early life is LeBron’s first-person essay, published in 2014 by the Center for American Progress. It is a personal recollection, rather than an independently documented biography. CBS News’ 2009 profile, NBA.com’s 2018 and 2022 reports, and the 2024 PBS interview provide additional reporting and dated context.
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The cited sources establish Gloria’s role as LeBron’s mother and describe her participation in foundation and school events. They do not establish her exact date of birth or a detailed professional career history, so those details are not included here.
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