Jeanette Lee (born Lee Jin-Hee, , July 9, 1971) is an American professional

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

player. She was nicknamed the Black Widow because, in spite of her sweet demeanor, she would "eat people alive" when she got to a pool table and always wear black when playing pool.

Career

Lee was born to Korean-immigrant parents in Brooklyn in 1971. She attended the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

before dropping out, finished 2 1/2 years of college, majoring in Early Childhood Development, before deciding to go full time after making a career in billiards, earning money as a teenager by nannying and waitressing to pay for her table time. Lee started playing pool in 1989, after watching pro George Makula at Chelsea Billiards in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. She began her career playing in the local and regional scenes of New York City, including the Howard Beach Billiard Club in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, owned by music producer Gabe Vigorito, who first compared her demeanor to a black widow spider and financed her early tournament expenses. She went on to rank as the No. 1 female pool player in the world during the 1990s, and received the

Women's Professional Billiard Association The Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) is a professional women's pool tour based in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in No ...

(WPBA) Sportsperson of the Year Award in 1998. She was three times runner-up at the World Nine-ball Championships ( women's), from 1993 to 1996. She is also a US Open 9-ball Champion, WPBA National Champion, McDermott 8-ball bar-table world champion, National 3-cushion Billiard Champion, and Trick Shot World Champion. In addition to many top finishes on the WPBA Tour, she won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

for the United States at the

2001 World Games The 2001 World Games (), the sixth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Akita, Japan. Titles 140 titles (invitational sports not included) were awarded in the following official sports. There were five invitational sport ...

in Akita, Japan, and won the ladies' 25,000 winner-take-all Tournament of Champions twice, in 1999 and 2003. Lee also co-wrote ''The Black Widow's Guide to Killer Pool.'' In 2001, Lee challenged

Efren Reyes Efren Manalang Reyes (born August 26, 1954) is a Filipino professional pool player. A winner of over 100 international titles, Reyes was the first player to win world championships in two different pool disciplines. Among his numerous title ...

to a -to-13

exhibition match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

nine-ball Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball) is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with at each of the four corners and in the middle o ...

, in

Manila, Philippines Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is ...

, but lost 4-13. In 2013, Lee was inducted into the

Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame This is the list of people inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's hall of fame to honor outstanding people who, through their competitive skills and dedication, have enriched the sport and industry. Two categories have been established in ...

. In 2015, was inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame based in Seattle, WA. In 2017, was inducted into the Women’s Professional Billiards Association Hall of Fame. In 2022, ESPN made a 30 for 30 documentary on Jeanette’s story, called “Jeanette Lee Vs”, sharing her beginnings, her journey with Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer, and how her experiences have built her into who she is today.

Outside competition

As someone who has suffered from

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

, Lee is a strong supporter of those affected by the disease, and now serves as the national spokesperson for the ''Scoliosis Association''. Lee appeared on

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by the Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

's ''

Sport Science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

'', where she 12 balls in one

trick shot A trick shot (also trickshot or trick-shot) is a shot played on a billiards table (most often a pool table, though snooker tables are also used) which seems unlikely or impossible or requires significant skill. Trick shots frequently involve ...

, on March 30, 2008.

Orange County Choppers Orange County Choppers (OCC) is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand company based in the town of Newburgh, located in Orange County, New York, ''OCC'' was founded in 1999 by Paul Teutul Sr. The company was featured on '' ...

built the Black Widow Bike in Lee's honor on the TV show ''

American Chopper ''American Chopper'' is an American reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul Sr. (frequently called ''Senior''), and his son Paul Teutul Jr. (also know ...

''.

Personal life

Lee lives in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, with her three daughters and

foster Foster may refer to: People * Foster (surname) * Foster Brooks (1912–2001), American actor * Foster Moreau (born 1997), American football player * Foster Sarell (born 1998), American football player * John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), America ...

-son. Lee has three additional adult children, two of whom are her step-daughters from her marriage to George Breedlove, a professional pool player nicknamed "the Flamethrower". Lee and Breedlove married in 1996, but have since separated. In February 2021, she announced that she had been diagnosed with stage IV

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

. In May 2022, it was reported that her

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

treatments were "successful" A documentary about her life directed by

Ursula Liang Ursula Liang is an American filmmaker, film and television producer, and story consultant known for her work in Documentary film, documentary cinema. Liang's career had its beginnings in journalism, transitioning into filmmaking with a focus on s ...

, ''Jeanette Lee Vs.'', premiered at the

Doc NYC Doc NYC (stylized as DOC NYC) is an annual documentary film festival in New York City. Co-founded by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, the festival is the country's largest documentary film festival with over 300 films and events and 250 specia ...

film festival on November 12, 2022. The film is part of the acclaimed ESPN series ''

30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series und ...

''. The film had its television debut on December 13, 2022, on ESPN. The film was also shown at the 2024 Freep Film Festival as part of the Asian American Pacific Islander Film Series.

Titles and achievements

* 2020 BCA President’s Award * 2015 Asian Hall of Fame * 2013

* 2013 WPBA Hall of Fame * 2013 Four Bears Classic 8-Ball * 2007 Billiards Digest Sports Most Powerful Person * 2007 Skins Billiards Championship Scotch Doubles * 2007 Empress Cup Championship * 2005 Billiards Digest Sports Most Powerful Person * 2005 China Invitational Championship * 2004 Atlanta Women's Open * 2004 ESPN Ultimate Challenge * 2004 Mohegan Trick Shot Challenge * 2004 WPBA Florida Classic Hard Rock Casino * 2003 Billiards Digest Sports Most Powerful Person * 2003 Tournament of Champions * 2001 Billiards Digest Sports Most Powerful Person * 2001 World Games Nine-ball Singles * 2001 BCA Open Nine-ball Championship * 1999 WPBA Southern California Classic * 1999 WPBA Gentleman Jack Shootout * 1999

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

Ultimate Champions Shootout * 1999 Tournament of Champions * 1998 WPBA Sportsperson of the Year * 1998 Camel 9-Ball Shootout Scotch Doubles - with (

Steve Mizerak Stephen Mizerak Jr. (October 12, 1944 – May 29, 2006) was an American pool player, who was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Mizerak is considered one of the best straight pool players of all time, dominant in the game during the 1970s, winning ...

) * 1998

Ultimate 9-Ball Challenge * 1998

Ultimate Champions Shootout * 1998 WPBA Penn Ray Classic * 1998 WPBA Cuetec Cues Hawaii Classic * 1997 WPBA Huebler Classic * 1997 WPBA Olhausen Classic * 1996 WPBA Charlotte Classic * 1995 WPBA Olhausen Classic * 1995 WPBA Brunswick Classic * 1995 McDermott 9-Ball Bar Table Championship * 1994 Billiards Digest Player of the Year * 1994

Mosconi Cup The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested since 1994 between teams representing Europe and the United States. Named after American pool player Willie Mosconi, the event is comparable to the Ryder Cup in golf and the We ...

* 1994 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship * 1994 WPBA Baltimore Billiards Classic * 1994 WPBA Kasson Classic * 1994 WPBA San Francisco Classic * 1994 WPBA National Championship * 1994 Connecticut State Championship * 1993 North East Regional * 1993 WPBA Connecticut Classic

References

External links

Pan American Billiards & Snooker Association

Jeanette Lee's Official Website (Korea)

Jeanette Lee the Black Widow

Jeanette Lee TBW

WPBA Profile

Video of Jeanette Lee on Xtreme Presbox (exclusive)

Press Release on the birth of her daughter Savannah

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jeanette 1971 births 21st-century American sportswomen American pool players American sportspeople of Korean descent The Bronx High School of Science alumni Female pool players Living people Medalists at the 2001 World Games Sportspeople from Brooklyn Trick shot artists World Games gold medalists for the United States World Games medalists in cue sports