Lauren Jackson - Personal

Personal

Lauren Elizabeth Jackson, whose nicknames include "Loz", "Jacko" and "LJ", was born in Albury, New South Wales, on 11 May 1981, the oldest of two children of Gary Jackson and his wife Maree Bennie. Both her parents played for Australia's national basketball teams. Jackson inherited her height from her father, Gary, who played for the Boomers in 1975, while her mother, Maree, played for the Opals from 1974 to 1982. She played in two World Championships, and for the women's basketball team at Louisiana State in the late 1970s, wearing the number 15, the number Jackson wears in her mother's honour. She was one of the first Australians to play in the American collegiate system, where she was known for her aggressive style of play and was nicknamed "the assassin". Her parents continued to play basketball locally on the social level when Lauren and her brother were young, and her family had a basketball court in their backyard when Jackson was growing up. Her grandfather played for the Western Suburbs Magpies.

Jackson grew up in Albury, where she attended Murray High School. She earned her Higher School Certificate in Canberra while she was training with the Australian Institute of Sport. Jackson studied for a psychology degree at Lomonosov Moscow State University and continued via correspondence from America. In 2007 she was working on a university course in business management. When she finishes her playing career, Jackson wants to become a basketball administrator. She said "Where I put my time and energy is now crucial. I want to get involved in the political side of sport rather than the media and I need to learn from the people who have been there before." In 2010, she was taking classes at Macquarie University in Sydney. Her course work was centred in cultural studies and included topics like women's rights and racism. Injuries have prevented her from studying around 2010, but in 2012, she was back working on a degree from Macquarie University in Sydney, and her aspirations have included becoming a UN Diplomat. She has also considered becoming an advocate for women.

As a youngster, Jackson also tried athletics at school. She also played tennis as a youngster, but gave it up because tennis competitions were on Saturday and it conflicted with her ability to play basketball. At school, she played on the netball team, but quit the sport when she was 14 years old because of basketball commitments. In the off season, Jackson trains by pumping weights.

Jackson is 195 centimetres (77 in) tall. She was this tall by the time she turned 16, after she gained 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in height when she was 15 years old.