Jody Allen has a lot of responsibility on her head. And this is not just the responsibility of her own family and household or career. It is about the future of the NFL. Yes, she is the mind behind the Seattle Seahawks’ success and leads the trust that controls the team while keeping a low profile. 

When many multimillionaire team owners live in the limelight, the 66-year-old chooses to live behind it while working extremely hard. So let’s see where she grew up and how her upbringing shaped her into a spectacular leader.

Who is Jody Allen’s Father, Kenneth Sam Allen?

Jody Allen was born on February 3, 1959, in Seattle, Washington. She grew up with her big brother, Paul Allen, in Seattle. The siblings co-founded Vulcan Inc. to manage investments, projects, and philanthropy. Years later, that dedication became a primary responsibility. Unfortunately, Paul passed away in 2018, and Jody took over as executor and trustee of his estate. And this trust holds the future of the  Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers, placing her at the core of two famous sports franchises.

But let’s not look at her million-dollar worth and philanthropy just yet. Let’s see where she grew up and who her parents were first. Allen was actually born as Jo Lyn Allen to Edna Faye Allen and Kenneth Sam Allen. 

Her father was the director of the University of Washington libraries. So it is clear where she got her work ethic and leadership from. Jody and Paul attended private schools because clearly their dad was very particular about their academics. But Kenneth was also keen for his children to learn about sports. He took Paul to games at Husky Stadium when he was a kid, and that is how Jody’s brother fell in love with football. The love grew over the years, and in 1997, Allen purchased the Seahawks after a private partnership was approved by the Washington state voters. He took this decision because he was requested by the community leaders to help keep the Seattle Seahawks in the home turf.

“As an owner who was born and raised here, it’s a very special moment and the fulfillment of a dream, not just for me, but for everyone on the team,” Allen told several cheering fans after the Seahawks’ 43-8 Super Bowl victory over the Denver Broncos. Clearly, Kenneth had a huge contribution to this because he was the reason his children loved football. 

Who is Jody Allen’s Mother, Edna Faye Allen?

Jody Allen’s mother, Edna, is a force to be reckoned with. She was a school teacher, so she taught both of her children the essence of academics and leadership. She passed away in 2012 when she was 90 after a severe battle with Alzheimer’s for more than a decade. 

Paul and Jody both were devastated after her demise since she was the rock that held the family together. “No one could have been a better and more supportive mother to me and my sister, Jody,” Paul Allen said per Blazers Edge. “She had many friends with whom she shared her love of books, sports, and pets. She was a shining light for everyone who knew her.”

Paul even wrote about his mother at length in the book Idea Man. He and Jody have always shared a lot about their mom and how she contributed to their life with love and discipline.

Jody Allen’s Early Life and Family Roots: Inside Her Parents’ Influence 

Jody was raised in Seattle with Paul Allen, and both of them had an amazing world growing up with each other and their parents. She attended Lakeside School and later studied drama at Whitman College, graduating in 1980. Long before NFL ownership entered the scene, her life revolved around family, creative interests, and behind-the-scenes business work.

Jody and Paul both wrote about their mother in the book Idea Man and said that Allen voted “All-Around Girl” in the 1940 Anadarko High School yearbook and that she loved hosting a book club.

Paul also said in the book, “After I was born, in 1953, my mother went back to teaching fourth grade at Ravenna School in north Seattle,” Allen wrote. “Curious and friendly, with an easy laugh, Faye Allen was the kind of teacher whose former students stopped her in the street ten years later for a hug.” Her loving and disciplined influence was a driving force not only for Jody and Paul, but alsofor herr students.

Her diction and drama while she read stories to Jody and Paul were the reasons that they developed a fascination for the larger-than-life things and a grit for success.

Paul said, as per Blazers Edge, “She read aloud with perfect diction, pausing dramatically at points of maximum suspense to leave the children panting for the next day’s installment. I’d feel the same way at bedtime, when I’d beg for more chapters of The Swiss Family Robinson.”

Paul Allen credited his mother with introducing him to a book that sparked his interest in engineering, and he wrote proudly of her massive home library. So, both their parents not only instilled the value of academics and scholarly excellence in them but also the love of sports. 

What is Jody Allen’s Parents’ Ethnicity And Nationality? 

The Allens are Caucasian, and both Paul and Jody were born in Seattle. She is a prominent businesswoman and philanthropist, just like her brother, and was influenced by the hard work and prestigious position her parents held in society. From reading Jane Austen and Lin Yu-t’ang to attending football matches, Jody did everything thanks to her parents.

The family’s culture of hard work and honing one’s intelligence was more important than where they came from. As per Blazers Edge, Paul wrote in his book,  “She was an avid sports fan, particularly of her son’s Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers, as well as University of Washington Husky football. (In Portland, a basketball player once fell on her during a game, breaking her wrist. She wouldn’t leave, though, until the game was over.”

This is the rich environment that Paul and Jody Allen grew up in and that made them millionaires. Today, Jody Allen is a businesswoman and philanthropist with a net worth of billions.