“While your little teammates celebrated together, you were stuck watching them watch you. You were stuck on their joy. Their pride. You were stuck on the lesson you learned: if scoring made them happy, you’d keep scoring. In fact, you’d never stop.” —  That’s Christen Press for you, ladies and gentlemen, quoting in a heartfelt letter for The Athletic, addressed to her younger self.

It was never about goals, the trophies, or the spotlight. It was about the selfless joy for the sake of others, the kind that touches the hearts of fans and automatically defines legacies. Anyone who has watched the American forward surely admits that she plays as though joy itself borrowed her form for ninety minutes. Every touch, every run, every finish seemed to carry the weight of purpose and poetry.

But sadly, the soccer world had only fifteen incredible years to witness the greatness of the American forward as the year 2025 marked the last time Press kicked a ball professionally. “Thank you, football — for this beautiful life,” she wrote in her retirement announcement. Then again, one can’t help but wonder what built the foundation of this beautiful life? Let’s know the other side of Christen Press, outside the pitch.

What Is Christen Press’s Age, Height, and Weight?

Christen Annemarie Press was born on December 29, 1998, making it one of the most important dates in the history of the beautiful game for obvious reasons. This means that as of October 2025, she is 36 years old and is in the running to turn 37, just around the end of the year. And mind you, her decision to step away from the game has nothing to do with the so-called “age factor” in sports. Nor is it about the physical aspect.

By the way, she stands 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) tall and weighs 130 lbs (59 kg), an average, if not slightly better-than-average, build for a female professional soccer player. Rather, it was simply a call she had been pondering for quite some time. That inner voice within her — the one that asked every day, “Do you want to play today?” — had always answered yes. Until one day, it finally said no. But for all the days, the answer was a big yes; her physical attributes surely helped her score many goals.

What Is Christen Press’s Ethnicity?

Christen Press was born and raised in Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles, California. It has always been her home, no matter how many places she has stayed for quite a time. Not many are aware of this fact, but the iconic forward shares some part of an African-American heritage through her maternal family line. Sadly, that became one of the reasons for her to face intense scrutiny, especially on online portals.

Her professional journey has been shaped by countless challenges. Be it working in a toxic workplace where she was once traded without even her own consent, or even navigating the typical challenges the women’s game often endures, both on the domestic and international front, Press went through a lot.

Through it all, she fought for control over her own career while constantly pushing back against the notion that she was only looking out for herself. “Sometimes you have to take all the criticism as a sign that you’re going in the right direction,” she said to The Athletic.

Who Are Christen Press’s Parents and Family?

CP23 was born to father Cody and mother Stacy. Both first met at a Howard University picnic in the early 1980s. Stacy was a student there, while Cody was a Wharton School of Business graduate. As their eyes locked in for each other, the two married on New Year’s Eve in 1982 and went on to have three daughters, Tyler, Christen, and Channing, in that order. Stacy became the heart of the family, even being nicknamed “The General” for the way she kept everything running smoothly at home.

No wonder Press turned out to be a great professional athlete, as both of her parents hailed from a sporting background. Cody Press was a former American football player who played for Dartmouth. But leaving the touch from the sport, his education paid him well to become an investment banker for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Meanwhile, Stacy Press was a tennis athlete. Ironically, it was her mother who introduced Christen Press to soccer at the age of just three.

Consider it one of the best gifts she could have received from her mother, at least before her unfortunate passing on January 23, 2019, at the age of 58. Unfortunately, there were signs a year before her sudden demise, as just two days after the Press family gathered to celebrate Christen’s 100th international cap during the U.S. team’s win over Chile in Los Angeles on August 31, 2018, Stacy unexpectedly suffered a seizure.

At the hospital, doctors found a mass on her brain, which was later diagnosed as Stage IV glioblastoma — a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, similar to the one that affected John McCain and Ted Kennedy. A surgery took place, but the complications tied to it only caused a stroke, leaving her partially paralyzed. Despite her condition, she faced rehabilitation and chemotherapy with immense courage.

Around January 22, 2019, after Christen returned home by scoring a stunning solo goal in the U.S.’s 1–0 win over Spain, her mother suffered a brain aneurysm and was placed on life support. When Christen and Tobin Heath arrived at the hospital, her father, Cody, and sister, Tyler, made the difficult decision to take her off life support.

Then again, just like her mother, her father, too, fostered true love for the beautiful game. Once recalling her fondest memory, after every youth game, Cody Press would carefully clean and polish her tiny soccer cleats with his own leather shoe cleaner, laying them out neatly for her the next day. Sometimes, when she returned home from practice at just six or seven years old, Cody would wrap her in a tearful hug and tell her, “You’re the greatest player to ever lace up the boots.”

Who Is Christen Press’s Wife?

Thankfully, pursuing her passion for the beautiful game also saw Christen Press discover the love of her life, none other than Tobin Heath. Interestingly, the rumors regarding the two popped up as early as 2015. However, it was finally in July 2024 that the pair officially confirmed on the Watch with Alex Cooper podcast that they had been together since 2016.

“Tobin and I were not really friends. We weren’t really running in the same circles, and then as soon as I actually got to know her, there was just like, a magnetism. I was like, That’s what I want and I never looked back. I still feel the exact same way,” said Christen.

But who would have thought they had even secretly taken the next step in their relationship? That’s because Tobin affectionately referred to Christen as “her wife” in an interview, and a representative confirmed in 2025 that the two are legally married, ending years of rumors. Since then, many fans have come to recognize the two as a married couple.

What Is Christen Press’s Net Worth?

Though there are no exact figures available, Celebrity Net Worth reported that Christen Press has a net worth of around $1.4 million. This is a number that the NWSL star has managed to achieve with the decent contracts earned by playing for some notable clubs. For context, several sources reported that after Press signed for Angel City in 2021, she pocketed a paycheck close to $500K to $700K spread throughout her initial three-year deal, before signing another extension last year.

The rest of her earnings come from brand endorsements. Aside from being a Nike athlete, she has promoted other major companies, including Wheaties (2014), Coppertone (May 2015), Genesis Today (Feb 2016), Hydrive Energy Water (2018), Goody (May 2021), and Lakanto, which aligns with her health-focused lifestyle.

Another interesting venture features co-founding Re—Inc. alongside Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe, a lifestyle and fashion brand that challenges traditional norms and embraces gender inclusivity. Launched in 2019, Re—Inc continues to expand its reach, promoting creativity, self-expression, and equality. In fact, both Heath and Press co-host a podcast called The Recap Show, uploading fresh episodes each week.

What Is Christen Press’s Soccer Career?

With time, talent only became her responsibility to grow in the game since childhood, helping her earn a major breakthrough and making her parents proud. Of course, aside from soccer, the then-aspiring forward also had to focus on the other aspects of life. Speaking of her education, she attended Chadwick High School, where she even became the captain of the school’s team, which went by the name Chadwick Dolphins.

Not surprising, to be fair, considering that within the high school level, she achieved major feats, like guiding her team to two Southern Section Division IV championships, even finishing her high school career with 128 goals, earning numerous honors along the way. Heck, the Angel City star was also awarded the Southern Section Division IV Offensive Player of the Year not once but twice, 4x Prep League Offensive MVP, as well as the NSCAA High School All-American honors.

Beyond school competitions, she showcased her skills with Slammers FC, a Newport Beach-based club, where she claimed the Golden Boot at the US Youth Soccer Association’s national championship for scoring the most goals. Later at the collegiate level, aside from pursuing a Double major in Communications and Psychology, CP23 represented the Stanford Cardinal, where she continued to rewrite record books.

She became the all-time leading scorer for Stanford’s women’s soccer team with 71 goals and capped off her senior year by winning the Hermann Trophy. Her impressive run also earned her titles such as Soccer America Player of the Year and Pac-10 Player of the Year. Off the pitch, Press excelled academically, receiving the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

It was finally in 2011 when Press began her professional career with magicJack (formerly Washington Freedom) in the WPS, where she made an immediate impact, scoring 8 goals in 19 appearances and earning Rookie of the Year honors. In 2012, she moved to Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC in Sweden, finishing as the league’s second-highest scorer with 17 goals and helping her team win the Swedish Cup. The following year, she joined Tyreso FF, becoming the league’s top scorer with 25 goals and reaching the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final in 2014.

Then the year 2014 saw Press return to the States and shake hands with the Chicago Red Stars, where she played until 2017, scoring consistently and earning the Golden Boot in her first season. She became the team captain in 2016 and led the team in goals for multiple seasons. After declining a trade to Houston Dash in 2018, CP23 briefly returned to Göteborg FC before joining Utah Royals FC later that year. She played 25 matches with Utah, earning recognition such as NWSL Team of the Month.

Press later signed with Manchester United in 2020, playing under coach Casey Stoney in the Women’s Super League, where the team finished fourth despite pandemic-related challenges. Eventually, the trend of “#BringCP23toLA” helped her join Angel City FC, returning to the NWSL and continuing to contribute even after recovering from a 781-day ACL injury that required four surgeries. By the 2025 season, she mostly appeared as a substitute, leading to her decision to retire.

Even on the international front, Press enjoyed a remarkable international career with the U.S. Women’s National Team, earning 155 caps and scoring 64 goals. She was part of the squads that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019, further helping the team secure a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics.

It’s an unfortunate fact that all good things must come to an end, as Press felt this year was the right time to call it quits from the game, even though her body could still play as she rather focused on welcoming the next chapter of her life. “I chose the rest of my life, and I chose it now,” she shared on The RE—CAP Show.

For those who feel this wasn’t the kind of send-off Christen Press deserved, at least they can always remind themselves of a very special quote that she herself lives by:

“Someday I’ll look into the sky and laugh because everything is perfect the way it already is.”