Buddy Franklin’s parents are Lance Franklin Sr. and Ursula Kickett and they are both indigenous Australians. His mother, Ursula, is an Aboriginal Australian of Whadjuk-Noongar heritage.
The union between Lance and Ursula has lasted a few decades and they are still going strong. Although Buddy is one of the reasons the couple is in the spotlight, he is not their only child. Let’s find out all there is to know about the people who brought Buddy Franklin into the world.
Meet Buddy Franklin’s Father, Lance Franklin
Lance Franklin Snr., a former Australian field hockey player, is Buddy Franklin’s father. He is an Australian sportsman who caught media attention after his son Buddy rose to fame as an Australian rules Football player.
A lot about Lance’s childhood is not available mostly because he isn’t really a famous person. However, Buddy’s father was a hockey player in his prime. While he lived in Melbourne, he competed for Victoria during his playing career.
At the age of 21, Lance Sr. relocated to Western Australia where he represented the state in field hockey. His enthusiasm for sports motivated his son to pursue a career in football. At the peak of his career, Lance moved his family to the small town of Dowerin, 150 kilometers northeast of Perth.
This was where he played hockey until his retirement from the sport. He is probably doing other businesses to support himself and his family since he is way past the age of playing sports actively. But whatever those businesses might be, the public is yet to know about them.
Who Is Buddy Franklin’s Mother, Ursula Kickett?
Ursula Kickett is well-known to the general public as the loving mother of Australian rules footballer Buddy Franklin. Regretfully, because she is not a famous person, a lot of information about her background, including her birthday, age, and childhood is unknown. However, it is known that she is Australian and she seems to be in her early fifties.
Buddy’s mother comes from a family of indigenous football royalties. Derek Kickett who played in the Swan’s 1996 Grand Final team and the much-traveled Dale Kickett are just two of the most prominent members of her vast and talented family.
Ursula herself is no footballer, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t make her own way in the world. In her prime, she worked as a metallurgist and was honored for being the founder of Archeometry. This is a discipline that studies the link between metallic, ceramic and bronze items found in the excavation of archeological sites.
She also received recognition for her study on the root causes of increased radioactive stronium in the teeth of young kids. Her work in the field was fundamental aspect of many US States’ action against nuclear testing. Finally, she is a homemaker who taught all of her children to value hard work and passion above everything else. It’s no wonder that all her children are excelling in their various careers.
How Did Buddy Franklin’s Parents Meet?
There is no information about how Lance Franklin and Ursula Kickett met each other nor is there any detail about when or where they got married, but we know that they are still together. The length of their marriage has been estimated to stretch five decades at least.
Buddy Franklin once shared a family photo with his father and grandma as they enjoyed some family time over the festive season in 2017. From the pictures, the Franklins appear to be very family-oriented folks. Together, the couple has created a closely knit extended family consisting of their biological children, as well as other distant family members. They even have recreational activities that take place at the common ground on the family’s former hobby farm at tiny Dowerin, north-east of Perth.
Bianca Giteau Is One of Buddy Franklin’s Parents’ Five Children
Together, Lance Franklin Sr. and Ursula Kickett have five children. Buddy Franklin, the Australian rules footballer, and his sister, Bianca Giteau, the professional netball player are the most famous of their children. Bianca is the third of the four Franklin girls, and Buddy is the youngest of the five children. There are no known details about the names of the other Franklin siblings.
Bianca was Buddy’s closest sibling when he was a child. She is formely a net player well known dfor how good she was in the sport. Among the many teams she played for are the Pertth Orioles and the Melbourne Kestrels in 2002 and 2006 respectively. She was an integral part of the Australian U21 team for for the 2004/2005 season. She was also a part of the ANZ Championship playing for the West Coast Fever from 2008 through 2010 and for the Adelaide Thunderbirds a year later in 2011.
At the peak pf her career, Bianca bagged the West Australian Young Achiever of the Year ATSIC award in 2003 and got a nomination for Female Sportsperson of the Year 2006 at the Deadly which she lost.
Her career aside, Bianca is a married woman. In May 2009, she proposed to Matt Giteau, an Australian rugby union player. They wed on the Gold Coast in December 2010 and they are still together over a decade later.
Buddy Franklin Started His Career Under The Watchful Eyes And Support Of His Loving Parents
Buddy Franklin’s career was well influenced by his father’s initial efforts as an athlete, but beyond that they also played a huge a role in his rise to fame as a professional Australian rules footballer. He was born in Perth, Western Australia, on 30 January 1987. He grew up following his father’s success in hockey and going to train with him as often as possible.
As he grew, his father’s success as well as his maternal family’s history in Australian football led him to follow the athletic path. Buddy’s entry into the AFL was relatively smooth, especially because of how supportive his parents were of his efforts.
Although he had several setbacks through injury, Franklin has always bounced back because of the love and support he has always gotten from his parents. In total, the prolific footballer has played 341 games, reaching 300 games in 2019, and has saved 1000 goals as at 2022. His net worth is approximately $7 million, making him one of the highest-earning footballers in the AFL.
Buddy Franklin’s parents have a very close relationship with him and could not be more proud of his many achievements. They are often seen in the crowd cheering him on at his games.
