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Breanna Stewart
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Breanna Stewart
WNBA Superstar
b. August 27, 1994
“Everything doesn't happen in one day or at the snap of your finger.”
Breanna Stewart is among the most accomplished professional women’s basketball stars in history. A five-time WNBA All-Star, a two-time WNBA MVP, and a two-time FIBA World Cup MVP, she has won three U.S. Olympic basketball gold medals and three FIBA World Cups.
Born Breanna Baldwin in Syracuse, New York, to a single mother, Stewart was adopted by her stepfather and given his surname. Between the ages of 9 and 11, Stewart was sexually abused by an uncle—a fact she disclosed in 2017. He later confessed and served prison time.
Stewart’s stepfather encouraged her to play basketball at an early age. A talented forward, she joined the team at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. Before graduating in 2012, she was named National Gatorade Player of the Year, Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, and a McDonald’s All-American. She earned MVP honors at the WBCA High School All-America Game.
Emerging as the top recruit in the country, Stewart committed to the University of Connecticut, where she led the Huskies to four straight national championships. She was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player each time—a first for any athlete of any gender. She was named Naismith College Player of the Year three times and the Wooden Award winner twice.
In 2016, Stewart who was drafted first overall by the Seattle Storm, earned the WNBA Rookie of the Year title, and participated in her first Olympics, capturing the gold with the U.S. women’s national team. With the U.S. team, she went on to win two more Olympic gold medals and three FIBA World Cups.
In Stewart’s third season with the Storm, she led the team to the 2018 WNBA title and swept both the regular season and Finals MVP honors. Sidelined from the Storm in 2019 by an injury, she secured a spot with the Dynamo Kursk in the Russian Premier League. There, she began a romantic relationship with the Spanish player Marta Xargay Casademont. Stewart returned to the Storm in 2020, leading the team to another championship and earning her second Finals MVP title.
In 2023, Stewart signed with the New York Liberty and set a new WNBA single-season scoring record. She also cofounded Unrivaled, a new 3-on-3 professional women’s basketball league. In 2024, she helped lead the Liberty to their first WNBA Championship and earned her second WNBA MVP title.
Stewart and Xargay married in 2021 and are the parents of two children. In 2025, TIME magazine named Stewart to its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
