If you follow basketball, you know the name Bill Walton. His first wife is far less well known. Her name is Susan Guth, and many people call her Susie. She was married to the NBA star for about ten years and raised four sons with him. This article explains what is known about her, what is still unclear, and why she often stays out of the spotlight.
Quick Bio Table
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Susan Guth (also called Susie Guth Walton) |
| Best known as | First wife of NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton |
| Marriage | Reported as 1979 |
| Divorce | Reported as 1989 |
| Children | Four sons: Adam, Nate, Luke, and Chris |
| Ex-husband | Bill Walton (1952 to 2024) |
| Walton’s second marriage | Lori Matsuoka, in 1991 |
| Work | Reports differ (see below) |
| Public profile | Low. She rarely gives interviews |
| Birth year | Not clearly confirmed |
| Net worth | Not publicly confirmed |
Who Is Susan Guth?
Susan Guth is an American woman who became known to the public through her marriage to Bill Walton. Walton was a basketball star at UCLA and later won two NBA titles. Susan is the mother of his four sons.
Most of what we know about her comes from news stories about her family. Major outlets cover her only in connection with Walton and their sons. For example, the New York Times obituary for Walton in 2024 says only that his first marriage, to Susan Guth, ended in divorce. It then lists the four sons from that marriage.
That means there is no long, official biography of her. Some websites claim to have one, but many of them repeat each other and disagree on basic facts. In this article, I only include details that appear in news reports or that several sources agree on. I also tell you where the facts are unclear.
Her Marriage to Bill Walton
Many sources say Susan and Bill Walton married in February 1979. Some give the date as February 23 and others as February 24, so the exact day is not settled. The year 1979 is the one most sources agree on.
Walton was already famous by then. He had led UCLA to two national titles in 1972 and 1973. He then joined the Portland Trail Blazers in 1974 and won the NBA championship with them in 1977. His career also had a lot of pain, because foot injuries kept him out of many games.
In 2001, The New York Times Magazine wrote about the family. Heavy.com later reported on that story. According to that report, Susan told the magazine that she thought Walton was a geek at first, but she liked his big heart, so she went out with him. She also said she loved being married to him and had fun times.
The same report says Susan described the divorce as hard on her sons for years. The magazine called it a “bitter divorce.” So the picture is not simple. She spoke warmly about the marriage and also openly about the pain that came after it.
The Divorce and Walton’s Second Marriage
Most sources say the couple divorced in 1989, after about ten years of marriage. Reports do not give a single clear reason, and neither of them has laid out a full public explanation in major news stories. It is best not to guess about private family matters.
Two years later, in 1991, Bill Walton married Lori Matsuoka. They stayed married until his death. Walton died on May 27, 2024, at age 71 at his home in San Diego. The NBA said the cause was colon cancer.
Susan Guth is not listed as a current spouse in any reliable source. Some websites say she has not remarried, but this is not confirmed by a strong source, so treat it with care.
Susan Guth’s Four Sons
Susan and Bill Walton have four sons. All four played college basketball. Here is what reports say about them.
Adam Walton is the oldest son. Reports say he played college basketball, and he is not much in the public eye.
Nate Walton also played college basketball at Princeton. Princeton Athletics says he played professionally in France for one season. He later earned an MBA at Stanford and worked in finance.
Luke Walton is the most famous of the four. He won two NBA titles as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers, in 2009 and 2010. After his playing days, he became a coach. He was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors from 2014 to 2016. During the 2015 to 2016 season, he was the Warriors’ acting head coach when the team won its first 24 games. He later coached the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. As of 2024, he was an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Chris Walton is the youngest son. The New York Times named him as the youngest of the four in its reports after Walton’s death.
Sports Illustrated also once wrote about the boys when they were young. It said Luke was seen as the best pure athlete of the four and that his brothers joked about his love of sports. This tells us the family home was full of sports, as you might expect.
What Does Susan Guth Do for Work?
This is where sources disagree, so be careful when you read other websites.
- Heavy.com described her as a parenting coach.
- Some smaller websites say she is a communication consultant or freelance editor.
- Some sites place her in Italy, and others place her in California.
Because these claims do not come from major news outlets, I cannot confirm them. The safest answer is that she has worked outside the spotlight, and her current job is not clearly documented. Her address is also not public, and it should stay that way. A private person’s home is not something a blog should try to find.
Why She Keeps a Low Profile
Susan Guth did talk to The New York Times Magazine in 2001, so she is not a person who has never spoken in public. But since then, she has not been a regular guest in the media. Even when Walton died in 2024, news stories focused on his career and his current family.
There are many reasons a person might choose privacy, and we should not guess at hers. What we can say is that being “the ex-wife of a famous person” is only a small part of any life. She was also a mother who raised four boys who all went on to play college sports.
Quick Timeline
- 1972 and 1973: Bill Walton wins two college titles with UCLA.
- 1974: He joins the Portland Trail Blazers.
- 1977: Portland wins the NBA title.
- 1979: Susan Guth and Bill Walton marry, according to most sources.
- 1989: The couple divorce, according to most sources.
- 1991: Walton marries Lori Matsuoka.
- 2001: Susan speaks with The New York Times Magazine.
- 2009 and 2010: Her son Luke wins two NBA titles with the Lakers.
- 2024: Bill Walton dies on May 27.
Final Thoughts
Susan Guth’s public story is short, because she has chosen a quiet life. What we know for sure is simple: she married Bill Walton, raised four sons with him, and later divorced. Her sons went on to build careers connected to basketball. Beyond that, many details online are unclear or copied between sites. If you want to learn more, stick to trusted news sources and respect her privacy.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Susan Guth? She is an American woman best known as the first wife of basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton and the mother of his four sons.
2. Is Susan Guth the same person as Susie Walton? Yes. News reports use both Susan Guth and Susie Guth Walton for the same person.
3. When did Susan Guth marry Bill Walton? Most sources say they married in February 1979. The exact day varies from source to source.
4. When did they divorce? Most sources say 1989.
5. How many children does Susan Guth have? She has four sons with Bill Walton: Adam, Nate, Luke, and Chris.
6. Is Luke Walton her son? Yes. Luke is a former NBA player and coach. He won two titles with the Lakers as a player.
7. Who did Bill Walton marry after Susan? He married Lori Matsuoka in 1991.
8. What does Susan Guth do now? It is not clear. Some sources call her a parenting coach, and others call her a communication consultant, but none of these claims is firmly confirmed.
9. What is Susan Guth’s net worth? There is no reliable public information about this, so any number you see online is a guess.
10. Where does Susan Guth live? Her current home is not publicly confirmed, and she appears to want privacy.
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