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Report nowSir David Beckham becomes the first soccer player ever to receive a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. While movie star Tom Cruise delivers a speech, one member of the Beckham family is missing.
Champions League winner, six-time English champion (Manchester United), Spanish (Real Madrid) and French (PSG) champion, three-time World Cup participant with England – as a soccer player, David Beckham has achieved a great deal. His fame grew far beyond the world of soccer after his athletic career.
On the one hand, the 51-year-old is married to Victoria Beckham, who conquered the music world in the late 1990s with the girl group Spice Girls and drew her husband into the world of glitz and glamour.
On the other hand, Beckham has made a name for himself as a brand ambassador. On top of that, the couple has mostly stayed out of major scandals. It was only last year that their image began to crumble when a family feud with son Brooklyn made its way into the public eye.
This row apparently shook the Beckham family—David and Victoria have four children in total—so much that Brooklyn was absent from a special tribute to his father.
On June 12, the 51-year-old received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. An honor that has been bestowed on only a few athletes to date. Among them are legends like Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, and Magic Johnson—and now, as the first soccer player, David Beckham.
“I’ve experienced some incredible moments in my career, but receiving a star here in Los Angeles on the world-famous Walk of Fame is truly incredible,” said Beckham, who was accompanied by his wife and their three other children, in his speech.
He said he had always been a dreamer, but he never could have imagined that a working-class English soccer player would be honored with such an award. “I feel honored and happy to be living the American dream.”
“Every chapter of his life is based on the principle of hard work and dedication,” said Tom Cruise, who also gave a speech during the ceremony. “Long before the trophies, the sold-out stadiums, the worldwide fame, and the recognition, there was a little boy with a dream and the determination and discipline to earn everything that came after. That’s why this feels like the perfect place to celebrate him.”
