Valerie Walker is a 73-year-old retired American pilot and mixed Martial Artist who started her career in the aviation industry while training and honing her skills in combat sports.
Walker enjoys pride of place as one of the first female pilots in the world. However, during her early days in the industry, the US military was still bound by its policy of not employing the services of female pilots, but luck smiled on her when she finally landed a job with Western Airlines. From Western Airlines, she went to work with Delta Airlines and retired from the aviation company as a captain.
Summary of Valerie Walker’s Biography
- Full Name: Valerie Walker
- Gender: Female
- Date of Birth: 9th of September 1950
- Valerie Walker’s Age: 73 years old
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Virgo
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Valerie Walker’s Children: One
- Valerie Walker’s Parents: Chris Walker and Verna Garver
- Valerie Walker’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 7 inches
- Valerie Walker’s Height in Centimetres: 170 cm
- Valerie Walker’s Weight: 59 kg
- Valerie Walker’s Net Worth: $2 million
- Famous For: Being a female pilot
How Old is Valerie Walker?
Valerie Walker is a 73 years old. She was born on September 9th, 1950 and is an American by nationality, though her exact place of birth in the United States is not known. Her ethnic background is obviously White.
She has never revealed any information about her academic journey, but it is obvious that she is well educated, which is a prerequisite for her to attain the level she enjoyed in her career life.
Who is Valerie Walker’s Father?
Valerie Walker’s dad is Clint Walker. Clint was a name that was very popular in the entertainment industry both in the movies and the music field.
The American actor and music star first gained public attention in 1955 when he joined the cast of the ABC/Warner Bros. western series entitled, Cheyenne, where he played the title character, cowboy Cheyenne Bodie – a role that lasted from 1955 to 1963. Following his stint in the series, Clint started gaining prominence in his other career endeavors, including music and other acting roles. To date, he has remained a pleasant memory from the 50s and 60s.
Valerie Walker is the product of Clint’s union with Verna Garver. The duo wedded in 1948 and gave birth to Valerie in 1950. Their union went on to last for the ensuing two decades, coming to an end in 1968.
Verna was not the only wife married to the legendary actor and musician, though she was the first one. Clint wedded three times and each of his marriages lasted roughly twenty years.
After he got divorced from Verna, the iconic American actor waited for six years before getting married for the second time. This time around, he found love in the arms of Giselle Hennessy. The duo wedded in 1974 but in the case of Giselle, they never got divorced, it was death that did them apart in 1994.
Following the demise of his second wife, Giselle, Clint Walker remained single for the ensuing three years before deciding to take a third chance at matrimony. He wedded Susan Cavallari in 1997 and they went to put down roots in Grass Valley, California.
What Does Valerie Walker Do for a Living?
During her growing up years, Valerie Walker had always displayed a healthy dose of interest in the aviation industry and her target had always been to become a pilot. However, she attained adulthood during the era when the military wasn’t yet accepting female pilots. Because of this, she went in pursuit of other career endeavors that were very close to her main target.
The female pilot went on to build her flying experience by leveraging available resources with less promising equipment or practical safety margins.
In her twenties, she went on to work as a flight instructor. She spent a while with the police as an aerial pilot in both fixed-wing and helicopters. Valerie worked in Botswana and South Africa as a DC-3 bush pilot and at a point in her career life, she also functioned as a flight test pilot for plane and air progress magazines. On the side, she also took on any available freelance jobs.
Valerie Walker’s dreams came true on the 8th of March 1976 when she finally got employment with Western Airlines where she worked for a very long time. She made the record as the first female pilot ever to be hired by the prestigious aviation company. She later worked with Delta Airlines and by the time she retired, she had attained the rank of a captain and her rating was on the 727, 737, 757, and 767.
It’s not known exactly when Valerie Walker retired from active services and no reason was given for her retirement. However, considering the fact that she is already a septuagenarian, we would not be far from the truth to conclude that old age had something to do with it.
Walker is also a Mixed Martial Artist
While she was busy with her career as a professional pilot, Valerie Walker also diversified her interest into other fields. Her second interest was Mixed Martial Arts, though she had to relegate the craft to the back seat after she started making headway in the aviation industry.
All her adult life, she has been training and honing her skills in MMA and she later tutored others in the craft. Her first degree black belt was earned in Kenpo Karate and she also studied other disciplines of combat sports, including Wing Chun, Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, Hapkido, and Kenpo.
In her line of work, gaining proficient skills in various combat sports is said to be integral to her job. This begins to ring true when you consider the fact that unforeseen life-or-death situations may likely happen in aircraft.
Valerie Walker’s Love Life
Being the daughter of an entertainment giant of Clint Walker’s caliber did not affect Valerie’s lifestyle one bit. She has never been the type that deliberately goes all out to court public attention, and because she lives a private life, getting hold of information about her personal life has proved difficult. To date, no one knows whether she has ever been married.
However, it is common knowledge that she is a mother of one. Her son goes by the name Cory Patton, but like her, nothing is known about Cory. Besides, the identity of his father has remained under wraps to date.
