Liz Cambage was already 6ft tall at just ten years old, and she was destined for basketball greatness. This record-breaking Australian athlete is a WNBA "All Star" who dominates the court with her skills. This proud activist uses her celebrity to speak up against racial inequality and body shaming and has caused a stir with her passionate statements.
This two-time Olympian is most famous for being the tallest WNBA star and one of the highest-paid WNBA athletes. Find out how she rose to success and the struggles she faced to get there. We also discusses this basketball star's involvement in activism.
Liz Cambage's Profile
- Full Name: Elizabeth Cambage
- Nickname: Liz
- Gender: Female
- Date of Birth: 18 August 1991
- Liz Cambage's age: 30 in 2021
- Zodiac: Leo
- Place of birth: London, UK
- Nationality: Australian
- Ethnicity: Mixed
- Sexuality: Straight
- Eye colour: Brown
- Hair colour: Black
- Liz Cambage's weight: 216lbs (98kg)
- Liz Cambage's height in ft: 6'8 (2.03m)
- Body measurements: 38-26-41 inch
- Body build: Tall and athletic
- Liz Cambage's parents: Julia Cambage (mother)
- Siblings: none
- Marital Status: single
- Dependant: none
- School: Australian Institute of Sport
- Occupation: Professional athlete
- Sport: Basketball
- Olympic Event: Women's 5x5
- Team: Australian Opals / Las Vegas Aces
- Famous for: The tallest WNBA player and one of the highest-paid ones
- Liz Cambage's net worth: $3 million
- Liz Cambage's salary: $221,450
- Facebook: @Elizabeth Cambage
- Liz Cambage's Instagram: @eCambage
- Liz Cambage's Twitter: @eCambage
- Followers: 741k
Where is Liz Cambage from?
The WMBA star was born in London, but she grew up in Melbourne, Australia. Cambage crossed the ocean when she was three months old to return to her mother's hometown.
She attended Padua College in Mornington before accepting a scholarship to the Australian Sports Institute in 2007. With her international debut in 2008 at the WMBA, Liz Cambage made an impression and established herself within the AIS team.
Who is Liz Cambage's mother?
Liz was raised by her mother, Julia Cambage, and her Nana, Aileen. Her parents split, and not much is known about Liz Cambage's father other than the fact that he is of Nigerian descent. Her mother encouraged her to join basketball when she was nine in an attempt to help her embrace her height and make new friends.
Liz Cambage's stats and achievements
At 18 years old, Cambage led the WNBL points scoreboard with her average of 22.3 points per game. Then, she joined Australia's Olympic Team for the London Olympics 2012, where she proceeded to make history. Liz Cambage's dunk broke records, as she became the first female player in Olympic history to slam dunk the ball. Cambage led her team to victory against Russia and took home a Bronze medal.
Shortly afterwards, she signed with the Chinese team, Zheijang Chouzhou, where she became one of the top paid female athletes worldwide and reportedly made 400k Australian dollars in the deal.
After returning to play for Australia for the Rio Olympics 2016, the acclaimed basketball star joined the Dallas Wings in 2018. Here, she broke the WNBA record by scoring 53 points in a single game and was subsequently voted onto the WNBA's "All-Star" Team. She scored a further 35 points during that game, leading her team to victory and breaking yet another record as the highest two-game total points score in the league's history.
She currently plays for the Las Vegas Aces, and Liz Cambage's salary is an average of $221,450, with an estimated net worth of $3 million.
Liz Cambage in Playboy
In 2020, this statuesque athlete posed for Playboy magazine, and she claims that her motivation behind this was to embrace her unique beauty and show off a more feminine side. She further states that nudity is over-sexualized, and if she was lucky enough to be blessed with such tanned skin, she might as well show it off.
"Me doing Playboy is me celebrating my sexuality like, 'Yeah, I am a straight six-foot-eight woman who likes to have sex."Cambage also graced the covers of ESPN's "The Body" issue in 2012; a body-positive campaign focused on celebrating athletes. Other big names involved in this campaign are Katelyn Ohashi, Kelley O'Hara and Scout Bassett.
Liz Cambage and BLM
She was bullied for her body type and also struggled with racial issues. This mixed-race athlete states that she grew up in a "white-washed- Australia and lacked role models of colour with whom she could connect.
"Being told I looked dirty so I wasn't able to play with certain kids in primary school. Things like that I didn't really understand until I was older."She claims that her move to America helped her significantly to embrace her "blackness" and subsequently joined the BLM movement.
The two time Olympian made a very passionate statement in June 2020 that brought tears to her eyes as she discussed her personal experiences with racial discrimination. She called out her fellow athletes and Australians, accusing them of lacking in compassion for the BLM campaign. She claimed that there are more keyboard warriors than physical protests, and the fact that activists use their words in place of actions infuriates her.
'You're all full of f**king sh*t. You're all fake! Australia, you're fake as f**k! You do not give a f**k about black lives Australia, at all!'Her video statement was posted on Liz Cambage's Instagram and can be viewed below.
Is Liz Cambage competing in the Tokyo Olympics?
This WMBL Champion was in China in 2019 at the beginning of the Covid 19 outbreak. In December of that year, she fell terribly ill, and was wheelchair bound for three days. She states that she felt severely weak and warned her mother that she might have to bring her home in a body bag. She took over a month to recover, but the case was not confirmed as Covid.
Upon her return to Australia, Elizabeth was very careful to self-isolate and quarantined alone in Melbourne. When it came time to travel to the Tokyo Olympics, however, she was overwhelmed with panic attacks and anxiety. The thought of heading into yet another "Covid bubble" was very unsettling for the star. Lockdown fatigue has caused this record-breaking athlete to withdraw from playing with the Opals at the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
"I know myself, and I know I can't be the Liz everyone deserves to see compete for the Opals. Not right now at least. I need to take care of myself mentally and physically."We do not doubt that Cambage will return to the basketball courts as soon as she is able. Meanwhile, she owns a gym, a vitamin company, and a career as a music DJ to keep her busy. Elizabeth retains her contract with the Las Vegas Aces and continues to cause a stir with her passionate involvement in both body positive and racial equality campaigns.
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