Meet Kay Kinsey, Karl Malone’s Wife of Over 3 Decades

Kay Kinsey (born: August 8th, 1964, Age: 59 years old) is a former American supermodel and current wife of Karl Malone, an American former professional basketball player in the NBA. The couple got married on Christmas Eve in 1990 at the Malone’s home in Salt Lake City. They have 7 children together

While most celebrity marriages are seemingly not built to last, with the glitz and glamour hiding what really goes on between couples in Hollywood due to celebrity status, these unions are rumored to carry a curse that dooms them from the start to crash and burn. While this is the case most of the time, given the numerous examples over the years, some unions have broken the mold, standing the test of time. A relevant instance would be the relationship of ex-supermodel Kay Kinsey with former NBA star Karl Malone.

Despite the latter’s past relationship issues, including fathering children out of wedlock, with one of the mothers of his kids being a minor at the time they were together, Kay and her husband have defied odds to become a long-lasting and widely admired couple. The couple leads a blended family that includes Malone’s three children from his past relationships.

Kay Kinsey Has Filipino Roots

Kay Kinsey (now Kay Malone) was born on August 8th, 1964, to retired US military official Bob Kinsey and his wife, Celestina Kinsey. While not a great deal of information has been provided regarding her parents, it has become public knowledge that the two met in the Philippines, where Celestina was born and raised; the duo was married in 1961.

Bob and Celestina Kinsey moved to the United States in 1962, primarily settling in San Antonio, where Kay was born, moving around the country due to Bob’s position in the military but opting to take residence permanently in Idaho Falls- Idaho.

Throughout her childhood, before settling in Idaho, her family spent some time in Hawaii, California, and Texas. While much info about her childhood has yet to be expounded on, it has been revealed that Kay was rather sporty growing up, quite fond of table tennis and hockey. She is also a former cheerleader and is a lover of American football, a rather big fan of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers and the Dallas Cowboys.

Kinsey attended a local high school, and after graduation, she attended Boise State University, Idaho, where she earned a degree in sociology. While the timeline regarding her education is not certain, it is possible she took home the crown for Miss Idaho after college.  Kay also took part in the Miss USA pageant and later began working as a pageant director.

Asides from Kay, the Kinsey duo also have three other children. However, besides Sharon Kinsey, the identity of the other two is yet to be revealed. It’s hard to say what Sharon does for a living, whether or not she is currently married or any basic information about her because Kay has been rather tight-lipped, choosing to maintain her sister’s privacy.

She Lost Her Mother To Cancer in 2009

While on the topic of family, Kay’s mother, Celestina, sadly passed away in 2009 following a battle with colon cancer, leaving her family shaken and distraught. It was clear Kay was quite close with her mother; this fact was made all the more clear ten years before her mother’s death, in 1999, when Kay opened up about her mother’s cancer struggles, revealing that she saw her mother as her best friend. We figure this must have made the loss all the more upsetting. Her mother lived at the Malone’s old house in Salt Lake City, alongside her husband in the period before her passing.

She Has Been Married to NBA Superstar Karl Malone Since 1990

Kinsey first caught sight of Karl Malone in 1989 during an autograph signing at a shopping mall in Salt Lake City. Her brother-in-law was in line for an autograph, clearly a fan, so Kay asked him about Karl. Seeing Kay’s clear interest in the athlete, her sister, Sharon, helped Kay get in contact with him, sending a picture of Kay to the NBA star along with a letter. In the following weeks, Kay and Karl began sending letters back and forth until they finally met; the two began dating shortly after.

The two tied the knot on Christmas Eve in 1990 at the Malone’s home in Salt Lake City and have been married for 33 years and counting. Kay’s husband, nicknamed “The Mailman,” is the youngest of nine children born to his mother, Shirley. He is famous for his record-breaking career as an NBA superstar and is counted among the ranks of the likes of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Following his draft from Louisianna Tech, his professional career began in 1985 and ended in 2004. Malone is a 14 time NBA all-star athlete and a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, among other awards.

Kay Kinsey Oversees Her Husband’s Businesses

Kay Kinsey owns and has operated the Wolfe Krest Bed and Breakfast in Salt Lake City and has done so since 1999. While she runs her businesses here and there, she is also very involved in running all of her husband’s businesses. Throughout his career, asides from amassing a great deal of wealth, Karl Malone was also able to acquire several businesses in the town he resides- Ruston, Louisiana.

Malone owns Arby’s franchises in the area, Eskimoe’s Ice Cream and the Teriyaki Grill, and one car dealership. Outside of town, he also owns two car dealerships in Utah, along with three Jiffy Lube franchises, one Burger King franchise in Utah, and one more in Idaho. Kay Kinsey has taken responsibility for running the businesses, most especially the grill.

Though her net worth is estimated to be just over $300,000 with all the pies she currently has her fingers in, it is probably much more. Her husband, on the other hand, boasts a net worth of $75 million. Karl and Kay currently reside in a six-bedroom mansion in Ruston, Louisiana.

Kay Kinsey and Her Husband Have Seven Children

Together they share seven children; however, three out of the seven are products of Karl’s previous entanglements while the other four, the couple had, biologically. Meet them below.

Kadee Malone

• Born: November 8th, 1991
• Age: 32 years old
• Spouse: Cedric Johnson
• Occupation: Businesswoman

Kay and Karl Malone’s first child was born on November 8th, 1991, and goes by the name Kadee. She currently runs a staples business selling Dominican cigars, homemade vape juices, and hemp oils. According to her LinkedIn profile, she is the General Manager of Legends cigar and vape, which runs from Garland, Texas, United States. She got engaged to her boyfriend, Cedric Johnson, in November 2020.

Kylee Malone

• Born: April 7th, 1993
• Age: 31 years old
• Occupation: Businesswoman
• Marital Status: Engaged to Joey Lopez

Kylee came second and was born on April 7th, 1993. Like her older sibling, she has also ventured into business and is currently the proud owner of Smile Kylee Tooth Gem, an establishment specializing in fitting pricey gems on clients’ teeth. Unlike her other siblings, she loves to live privately off the prying eyes of the media and public, though she maintains an active Instagram page, she has set the same to private. It is, however, known that she is engaged to be married to Joey Lopez, and together, they are parents to at least one child.

Karl Malone Jnr.

• Born: May 8th, 1995
• Age: 28 years old
• Occupation: U. S Marshall, Former footballer

Their third child, Karl Jnr (K.J), was born on May 8th, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. To differentiate between him and his dad, Karl Malone is referred to as K J Malone, the J, which stands for “Junior.” Following in daddy’s footsteps, he attended and played not basketball but football for Louisiana State University. He played as an offensive lineman but quit after suffering a knee injury in 2018.

The injury that would end his career was sustained during his senior year in 2016 and saw him sit out many games as a senior. Regardless, Malone kept pushing and even had a taste of the NFL when he was accepted into the Houston Texans rookie minicamp as an undrafted free agent. Unfortunately, he could not make it through and released a statement via Twitter in May of 2018 announcing his retirement. He is currently pursuing a career in law enforcement and is said to be dating Kaitlyn Walker, a former LSU track and field high jumper.

Karlee Malone

• Born: May 29th, 1998
• Age: 25 years old
• Occupation: Aspiring Model

Their youngest child Karlee was born in 1998 and is an aspiring model. From a birthday post put out by her mother to celebrate her in 2020, it seems as though Kay might have subconsciously influenced her daughter to love modeling and the fashion world. She shared in the post how she used to dress young Karlee up as a child and that she has grown up to be a fashion guru advising her fashion choices. In addition to modeling and fashion, Karlee Malone’s other interests are mental health, lifestyle, and traveling. She is engaged to Milwaukee Brewers player Brent Diaz.

Kay Kinsey’s Three Stepkids joined the Malone family following a Court Ruling

Cheryl and Darryl Ford (Twins)

• Born: June 6th, 1981
• Age: 42 years old
• Mother: Bonita Ford

Karl Malone already had three children before he married Kay Kinsey. The first two, who are twins, were born on June 6th, 1981, when Malone was just 17 years old. Their mother, Bonita Ford, had a relationship with Malone and was also 17 at the time of their birth.

Twins Cheryl and Daryl Ford, born in Louisiana, were ruled by the court to be Malone’s children after he violated a court order by declining to submit a DNA test and declining to reveal his assets. However, Malone finally accepted the fatherhood of the twins in autumn of 1998, with Kay even stating publicly that Daryl and Cheryl were part of the family. After this, Kay and Karl began building a relationship with them.

The twins, following in their father’s footsteps after high school, went on to attend his alma mater, Louisiana Tech University, and joined the basketball team. While Cheryl went on to play with the WNBA, her brother Daryl did not go pro but instead finished his degree in Forestry and currently oversees his father’s logging business.

On the other hand, Cheryl is currently retired from the WNBA and leads a rather private life. She is a proud mother to her daughter Camryn. Like her father before her, she also dipped her toe in the Hollywood pool, but unlike him, she worked behind the camera; she is best known for directing and producing the short film; Death Wears a Red Hat.

Demetress Bell

• Born: May 3rd, 1984
• Age: 54 years old
• Mother: Gloria Bell

Demetress Carte Bell is the youngest of the three step kids, he was born on May 3rd, 1984, when Malone was just a sophomore in college, and the athlete was just 20 years old. His mother, Gloria Bell, was just 13 years old when she had him, which constitutes statutory rape given that she was a minor and Malone was a legal adult. Still, her family chose not to pursue criminal charges against the NBA star over the relationship.

However, in 1996, the Bell family pursued a paternity suit against Malone, but the athlete refused to respond to the lawsuit at the time of filing but eventually, both parties reached a settlement out of court. The Bells received an undisclosed single lump sum to guarantee no ongoing child support for young Bell.

Bell attended a high school in Summerfield, Louisiana, after which he enrolled at Northwestern State University, where he played football. He was drafted by the NFL in 2008 and went on to play for the Buffalo Bills. He has been playing ever since. While he became very close to the Ford twins, the NFL star only got close to his father around 2014; the two built a relationship and have been close ever since.

If Kay’s Instagram is anything to go by, it is pretty clear that this blended family has come to be very close.

Quick Facts

1. Who is Kay Kinsey? Kay Kinsey is a retired American supermodel and entrepreneur, famously known as the wife of Karl Malone, a former professional NBA player. She first came into the spotlight after winning the Miss Idaho USA title in 1988.
2. When and where was Kay Kinsey born? Kay Kinsey was born on August 8, 1964, in Idaho, United States.
3. What is Kay Kinsey’s career background? Kay Kinsey started her career as a model and won the Miss Idaho USA title in 1988. However, after marrying Karl Malone, she retired from modeling and opened up several businesses, including the Teriyaki Grill restaurant in Ruston, Louisiana.
4. How did Kay Kinsey and Karl Malone meet? The couple met in Salt Lake City, Utah during an autograph signing session that Karl was conducting. Kay’s brother-in-law was in line and she asked him about the player. Kay’s sister later shared Kay’s photo with Karl, which led to them starting a relationship.
5. When did Kay Kinsey and Karl Malone get married and how many children do they have? The couple got married on December 24, 1990. They have four children: Kadee, Kylee, Karlee, and Karl Jr. “K.J”.
6. What are some of the businesses that Kay Kinsey manages? Apart from the Teriyaki Grill restaurant in Ruston, Louisiana, Kay Malone also runs a few other businesses, such as Eskimoe’s Ice Cream, Breakfast in Salt Lake City, Arby’s in Ruston, and Wolfe Krest Bed.
7. What is Kay Kinsey’s net worth? Her net worth is reported to be around $300,000. However, this is an unverified figure and may not be accurate. Her husband, Karl Malone, has a net worth of $75 million.
8. Who are Kay Kinsey’s parents? Kay Kinsey’s father is Bob Kinsey, a retired United States military officer, and her mother was the late Celestina Kinsey who passed away in 2000 due to colon cancer.
9. What is Kay Kinsey’s education background? She attended a local high school in Idaho and later enrolled at Boise State University, graduating with a degree in sociology.
10. What happened to Kay Kinsey’s modeling career? Kay Kinsey retired from her modeling career after getting married to Karl Malone. She then transitioned into entrepreneurship, running various businesses with her husband.