Heather Van Norman is a track and field coach and a six-time NCAA All-American track and field event athlete who is best known as Odell Beckham Jr.’s mother.
Heather Van Norman’s son, Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ) is an American football wide receiver who has played for teams like New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, and Los Angeles Rams. OBJ credits his mother, Heather Can Norman for being a very strong support system for him.
Summary of Heather Van Norman’s Biography
- Full name: Heather Van Norman
- Gender: Female
- Ethnicity: Mixed
- Nationality: American
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Married
- Heather Van Norman’s Husband: Derek Mills
- Heather Van Norman’s Children: 2 (Odell Beckham Jr. and Jasmine Mills)
- Heather Van Norman’s Parents: Don Van Norman (father) and Millie Van Norman (mother)
- Heather Van Norman’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 6 inches
- Heather Van Norman’s Height in Centimeters: 168cm
- Hair Color: Dark Brown (dyed blonde)
- Eye Color: Dark Brown
- Heather Van Norman’s Net worth: $700,000
- Famous for: Being Odell Beckham Jr’s mother
- Heather Van Norman’s Instagram: @heathervannorman
Heather Van Norman is Half Black and Half Caucasian
Heather Van Norman was born in Windom, Minnesota, USA into the family of Don Van Norman (father) and Millie Van Norman (mother). She has a mixed ethnicity of African American and Caucasian and is an American citizen.
Detail about the exact date when Heather was born are not available via the media, however, there are speculations that judging from her pictures on social media, she may be around her 50s. However, until that is confirmed, we cannot say for sure.
On the same note, details about the type of family she was born into and the number of siblings she has is not available.
She was a Track and Field Star During her College DaysÂ
Heather Van Norman was born and raised in Minnesota where she attended elementary school and began her high school education at Minnesota high school. However, she did not complete her high school education at Minnesota high school seeing that she relocated to New Orleans. She got her high school diploma from New Orleans High School.
On completing high school, she got accepted into Louisiana State University, unfortunately, details about what she studied in college are also not available. As a college student at Louisiana State University, Heather took part in track and field events as a runner.
She took part in the All-American track Louisiana State University games between 1991 to 1993. Although full details about her performance at Louisiana State University games are yet to be established, there are reports that she had an outstanding performance.
Heather Van Norman Began Dating Odell Beckham Jr.’s Father in College
College was not only a place where Heather expressed her passion for running, but it also offered her the chance to meet Odell Beckham Sr. and to fall in love seeing that they both attended the same university.
In college, both Beckham and Heather were involved in sports. While Heather was actively involved in track and field events, Odell Beckham Sr. was actively involved in football. Unfortunately, we do not have details about the exact circumstances surrounding how Heather and Odell met. However, since they were both involved in sports, sports may have played a role in bringing them together.
What we know is that after they got to meet each other, they got to a point where they wanted to be more than acquaintances or just casual friends, so they started dating. Unfortunately, details about when they started dating are not available to the media.
They Had a Child Together But Never Got Married
As the relationship between Heather Van Norman and Odell Beckham Sr. continued to blossom, Heather realized she had fallen pregnant. Unfortunately, we cannot say how the news about the pregnancy met both Heather and Odell Sr. seeing that they were still in college.
Notwithstanding, the child was born on the 5th of November 1992 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and they both decided to name him after his father. The media is yet to establish how long after the birth of Odell Jr. his parents’ relationship lasted. However, what we know is that his father went on to have another child named Kordell Beckham who was born on the 27th of May 2002.
There are reports that the relationship between Heather Van Norman and Odell Beckham Sr lasted for as long as 10 years and during this time, they had Odell Beckham Jr. but, their relationship never resulted in marriage. There was never news that the two were even engaged at any point.
Although they did not get married, they maintained their friendship and according to available reports, Odell Sr. and Heather Van Norman co-parented Odell Jr. and there was never any news of scandal between them.
Heather Van Norman is Married to Derek Mills
At some point, Heather Van Norman may have thought Odell Beckham Sr was her soulmate, but life had other plans for her. After her relationship with Odell Beckham Sr. failed and she had a child, she did not hurry to go back into her love life.
Notwithstanding, she gave love a chance again and this time it was with Derek Wills, a former Olympic gold medalist in the 1996 Olympics. However, nothing is known about their time together. The finer details about how they met, started dating and when they got married are not available to the public.
What we do know is that Derek Wills is Heather Van Norman’s husband and they share a daughter named Jasmyne Wills (also referred to as ‘Jasmine Beckham’ by other online media). According to reports, Derek took Odell Jr. as his biological son and has looked after him on that note.
Odell Beckham Jr.’s Mother Currently Works as a Coach
Heather Van Norman is a track and field coach and uses her athletic skills and prowess to train the younger generation. She started her career as an athletic coach at Rice University, then moved to Georgia Tech.
She also served as the assistant coach to the Atlanta team for four years and after that, she became Tulane University coach. Heather Van Norman currently serves as the coach of the Nicholls State University team.
Odell Beckham has Praised His Mother as a Source of Encouragement
Odell Beckham Jr. is full of praise for his mother who he credits for being a major support to his NFL career. He also appreciates her for all the sacrifices she has made for him.
According to Beckham Jr, his mother has supported him emotionally, physically, and in several other ways. It is noteworthy to add that emotional and motherly support is not all that Odell Beckham Jr received from his mother, he also got good genes.
Odell Beckham Jr is regarded as one of the biggest American football players of his time and he sure got his athletic genes from his parents seeing that his mother was a runner and his father a footballer.
