Bruce Jenner captivated the world when he broke the world record by scoring 8,634 points in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympic games in Montreal and earned the title, “World’s Greatest Athlete.” “I love life and I want to LIVE it! Activity, variety and the next challenge around the bend—keep me excited and inspired. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The years since his athletic achievements made him world famous, Bruce has become a highly respected motivational speaker, sports commentator, entrepreneur, commercial spokesperson, television personality, actor, producer and author. A devoted father and husband, Bruce is also a loyal supporter of many non profit and charitable organizations and serves on numerous advisory boards such as the Special Olympics, where he serves on the Council of Champions, The National Dyslexia Research Foundation, and an avid supporter of Athletes and Entertainers for Kids. Bruce and his wife Kris serve on the board of The Dream Foundation, an organization that grants wishes to terminally ill adults, and C.O.A.C.H. for Kids, a mobile medical unit providing quality health care to under privileged families throughout Los Angeles.
Public appearances and endorsements on behalf of a wide variety of corporate sponsors are a major part of Bruce’s busy schedule. His first corporate relationship put him on the Wheaties cereal box for 7 successful years. Wheaties has just commemorated its 75th Anniversary and finds Bruce Jenner back on the front of the Wheaties box, along with other superstar athletes Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, for their new advertising campaign. Truly another priceless collectible.
Bruce’s passion as a motivational speaker has gained him national attention. He is in demand for companies such as Merck, Coca Cola, VISA, Anheuser Busch, MCI, Toyota, Kawasaki, Maytag, Mack Trucks, Chrysler and IBM Corporation just to name a few. He enjoys and encourages corporate involvement on many levels, whether it’s a media tour, appearances at company meetings or full scale advertising campaigns.
Corporate and community audiences are captivated by Bruce’s unique Olympic, personal and professional success story, which he highlights in speeches around the world. His message, “Finding the Champion Within,” is relevant to people everywhere, whether they’re high school athletes or corporate Vice Presidents. Bruce’s energy translates easily into his presentations and audiences are visibly moved by his story and the lessons that have made him a success. Bruce relates easily to a corporate audience because he’s been there. His first experience in the corporate arena was during his early athletic days, when he sold insurance while training. Today he’s a corporate President.
Over the years Bruce has had his name on many things, including The Bruce Jenner Board Game by Parker Brothers, numerous clothing lines and of course, shoes. Hasbro Inc. has created a Bruce Jenner doll…..and yes, Bruce Jenner is even a CD-ROM game! Interactive Magic’s “Bruce Jenner’s World Class Decathlon” is available in stores and even has its own WEB.SITE, and The Franklin Mint has released The Bruce Jenner Gold series collectible ring.
As one might imagine, sports continues to be an important part of life in the Jenner household. A typical day might find Bruce riding mountain bikes, or working on his current passion, GOLF (he’s a 4 handicap). Whether golfing with corporate clients or playing on the Celebrity Players Tour, he’s happy as long as he’s on the golf course. He’s a commercially rated pilot who flies his own jet and he races cars professionally in Grand Prix events around the world. Bruce’s passion for car racing has landed him a role as a race car driver for the Senior Championship Racing Association. This is a professional organization in which Bruce will compete with other drivers like Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, Parnelli Jones and Danny Sullivan.
Television was a very natural step for Bruce after the Olympics. A guest host and special correspondent on “Good Morning America” for seven years, he cut his teeth on morning network television and exploded from there. Over the years, Bruce has been a commentator for a wide variety of shows for NBC Sports, ABC Sports, and Fox Sports, to name a few-covering track and field, surfing, motocross, and the CART Indy car races…and of course commentating for NBC at the Olympics in various countries. His expertise in this area landed him an Outstanding International Sportscaster of the Year award.
Gifted in front of the camera, Bruce can be seen frequently in guest starring roles on many prime time television series, as a presenter and Emcee on numerous awards shows working with producers like Dick Clark, and as a guest on Talk Shows like Oprah and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He finds time to appear on shows like “The Weakest Link” and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” on behalf of his favorite charities. He has hosted his own 26-segment health show called “Healthy Lifestyles” and along with his wife Kris, he has gained international attention on their own enormously successful infomercials.
Television exposure is only one offshoot of Bruce’s international fame. He’s been the subject of countless feature stories in magazines and newspapers around the world and his face is a familiar feature on the covers of magazines such as GQ, People, and, of course, Sports Illustrated. Bruce and Kris have together done hundreds of magazine and book interviews…one of their favorites is Robin Leach’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Cookbook highlighting “the most extraordinary people in the world”. They recently completed a new video together entitled, “Women’s Self Defense and Fitness Program” and also appear in the video series entitled, “Let’s Play Sports.”
In 1980, Bruce made his feature film debut in “Can’t Stop the Music,” starring Valerie Perrine. He went on to form Jenner Productions and starred in its first production, “Grambling’s White Tiger,” which aired on NBC-TV. “The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid,” another Jenner Productions project for NBC, followed, as did a series of Olympic minutes for syndication called “America’s Hopefuls”.
Bruce is also a highly regarded and successful author. His most recent release entitled “Finding the Champion Within” is a motivational book for Simon and Schuster. His first book, Decathlon Challenge: Bruce Jenner’s Story, appeared on the 1977 “Best Books for Young Adults” list put together by the American Library Association. In 1980, he authored Bruce Jenner’s Viewers Guide to the Olympics, a handbook to the games, which was updated for the 1984 Summer Olympics. In 1984, he completed The Teenage Guide to Fitness.
He’s always had a firm commitment to youth, including the physically and mentally handicapped. Given his own battle with dyslexia, Bruce strives to further the efforts of agencies connected with learning disabilities. He has been one of several prominent Americans honored at The White House by the Washington D.C. based Lab School for Learning Disabilities. He is the recipient of the Celebrity Outreach Award for his continued extensive work assisting and aiding in charity fundraisers.
A Sullivan Award winner for his outstanding performance as an amateur athlete and the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, Bruce is continually recognized for his varied and extensive achievements. He was inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame in 1986 as well as the Bay Area Hall of Fame and Connecticut Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. He is also a member of the Track and Field Hall of Fame.
He has been named one of the U.S. Jaycee’s Ten Outstanding Young Men in America and voted “Father of the Year”. He has also received “Father of the Year” honors from the Southern California Father’s Day Committee.
Born in Mount Kisco, New York, Bruce was raised in the Westchester County area. In high school he excelled in football and basketball as well as on the track, where he was an all-state pole vault and high jump champion. He was also the Eastern United States water skiing champion. Bruce later accepted a track scholarship from Graceland College in Iowa. It was at Graceland that his track coach, L. D. Weldon, recognized Bruce’s great athletic potential. Weldon, himself a world class javelin thrower, convinced Bruce that he should begin to train for the Olympic Decathlon.
When he’s not being a great dad, husband, entrepreneur or speaker, Bruce is most likely flying his own plane, working on his golf game, or looking for new and interesting elements to add to an already full and versatile lifestyle. Bruce resides in Lake Sherwood, California with his wife Kris, and their six children Kourtney, Kimberly, Khloe, Robert, Kendall and Kylie.
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