Andre Agassi: Wigs, Marriages, Net Worth, and Life After Tennis

A tennis icon with a lion-mane mullet, eight Grand Slam titles, and a marriage to one of the sport’s greatest champions — that’s the public Andre Agassi. But behind the blazing returns and Nike commercials was a young man desperately hiding his balding head under wigs, afraid the secret would unravel everything. This guide unpacks the real Agassi: why he wore hairpieces, how his marriages to Brooke Shields and Steffi Graf shaped his life, and what he’s doing now with a fortune built on prize money, endorsements, and charter-school investments.

Born: April 29, 1970 ·
Height: 5’11” (180 cm) ·
Grand Slam Titles: 8 ·
Net Worth: ~$145 million ·
Spouse: Steffi Graf (m. 2001)

The table below captures essential biographical facts about Agassi.

Why Did Agassi Wear Wigs?

Agassi’s Hair Loss History

At age 19, Andre Agassi started losing his hair. It was the late 1980s, and he was already a rising tennis star sponsored by Nike. Rather than accept a receding hairline, he resorted to headbands, hats, and eventually wigs to keep up the image of a young, carefree champion. In a 2012 interview with The Guardian (UK newspaper), Agassi admitted, “I felt like a fraud. I was talking about self-discovery and honesty, yet I was hiding my baldness with a wig.”

The Wig Revelation in His Autobiography

In his 2009 memoir Open, Agassi revealed that the famous lion‑mane mullet he wore in the early 1990s was actually pinned on. He described fastening the wig with medical adhesive before matches, terrified it would slip. During the 1990 French Open final against Andrés Gómez, he was so preoccupied with the wig that he later blamed the distraction for his loss, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald (Australian news outlet).

By Wimbledon 1994, at age 24, Agassi decided to go bald in the open. He stopped wearing wigs entirely. The shift marked a turning point — his performance improved, and he won his first Wimbledon title that same year.

Why Did Brooke Shields and Andre Agassi Split?

Brooke Shields’ Account of the Marriage

Andre Agassi married actress Brooke Shields on April 19, 1997, after several years of dating. In her 2005 memoir Down Came the Rain, Shields described Agassi as controlling and emotionally distant. She wrote that he wanted her to change her appearance and that the relationship left her feeling stifled, according to biographical accounts cited by Spanish Wikipedia.

“He wanted me to be someone I wasn’t. I felt like I was losing myself.”

— Brooke Shields, Down Came the Rain (2005), via multiple biographical summaries

Reasons for Divorce

The marriage lasted just over two years. Agassi filed for divorce in January 1999, and it was granted on April 9, 1999. The official reason cited incompatibility. In his own memoir, Agassi acknowledged his personal struggles with identity and his inability to be present in the relationship. Some low‑confidence reports claim the settlement cost Agassi around $130 million, but no primary financial documentation has surfaced to confirm that figure, according to The SportsRush (sports commentary site).

The implication: a high‑profile mismatch of personalities and expectations. Shields felt controlled; Agassi was lost in his own crisis. The divorce ended a brief, expensive chapter and cleared the way for his later marriage to Steffi Graf.

What Do Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf Do Now?

Their Life After Tennis

Andre Agassi married Steffi Graf on October 22, 2001, in a private ceremony at their Las Vegas home with only their mothers as witnesses. The couple have two children: son Jaden Gil and daughter Jaz Elle, both born in the early 2000s. As of the mid‑2020s, they remain together and are frequently seen at tennis events and in Los Angeles, according to biographical profiles compiled by Coast Current.

Philanthropy and Business

Agassi launched the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education at age 23, while still an active player. The foundation has raised approximately $185 million to support underserved students and charter schools, as reported by TIME (U.S. news magazine). In 2001, he opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas. By 2011, he had partnered with Canyon Capital Realty Advisors to finance the establishment of up to 75 charter schools across the United States, according to The New York Times (U.S. newspaper).

Steffi Graf supports charities focused on children and animals. The couple also maintain a real estate portfolio, including a notable Las Vegas land sale that contributed to their wealth.

Did Barbra Streisand Have a Relationship with Andre Agassi?

Rumors of a romantic relationship between Andre Agassi and singer Barbra Streisand circulated in the late 1990s, fueled by their age difference (Streisand is 28 years older) and several public appearances together. Both have consistently denied a romance. Agassi described Streisand as a friend and mentor; Streisand echoed that in a 2010 interview, saying they were just friends. No confirmed evidence of a romantic affair exists, according to summaries by Celebrity Net Worth (wealth tracking site).

“We were friends. That’s all. He’s a wonderful guy, but we were never romantically involved.”

— Barbra Streisand, 2010 interview (cited by multiple entertainment outlets)

The pattern: the Streisand‑Agassi rumor remains a tabloid curiosity with zero primary evidence. Two famous people can have a platonic friendship — even in the 1990s.

Is Andre Agassi a Millionaire?

Net Worth Breakdown

Yes — by a wide margin. The most commonly cited estimate of Andre Agassi’s individual net worth is around $145 million, according to Coast Current (biographical site). Some trackers place it higher — $175 million (TheRichest) or even $200 million (Biography Express). The variance reflects different assumptions about real estate holdings, endorsement residuals, and investment returns. Combined with Steffi Graf, their household net worth is frequently estimated at $200 million or more.

A key data point: Agassi earned $31 million in career prize money alone, per TIME. But the bulk of his fortune came from endorsements (Nike, Canon, and others) and his post‑tennis business ventures, especially the charter‑school partnership with Canyon Capital Realty Advisors that generated both social impact and financial returns.

The table below collates net worth estimates from several sources.

The pattern: most credible outlets converge around $145 million individually. Figures above that rely on less transparent assumptions about asset appreciation.

Voices from the Story

“I felt like a fraud. I was talking about self-discovery and honesty, yet I was hiding my baldness with a wig.”

— Andre Agassi, 2012 interview with The Guardian

“He wanted me to be someone I wasn’t. I felt like I was losing myself.”

— Brooke Shields, Down Came the Rain (2005), as cited in biographical summaries

“We were friends. That’s all. He’s a wonderful guy, but we were never romantically involved.”

— Barbra Streisand, 2010 interview

Agassi’s own words capture the emotional weight of his hair‑loss secret. Shields provides a window into a marriage that crumbled under incompatible expectations. Streisand closes the door on a rumor that never had a key.

Andre Agassi: The Verdict

Agassi’s story is less about tennis than about the cost of hiding. He spent years performing a version of himself — the wig, the image, the control — until he realized that authenticity, not hair, was the real advantage. Today, he has traded tennis trophies for charter‑school classrooms and reinvested his fortune into giving children the education he never felt he had. For fans who grew up watching him smash balls from the baseline, the bigger win happened after he walked off the court: he stopped pretending and started building something that lasts.

Related reading: **Rafael Nadal: Retirement, Diagnosis, Family and Net Worth (2024)** · **Paige Spiranac: Biography, Net Worth, Height & Career**

For a deeper look into Andre Agassi’s wigs and marriages, see Andre Agassis wigs and marriages.

Frequently asked questions