Veronica Gutierrez has made a name for herself as a skilled cosmologist. Yet, she’s best known for being Devin Booker’s mother and number-one fan of Devin Booker.
Nevertheless, even before her son became a celebrated NBA star, Veronica has always led a private life. Somehow, despite having a professional basketballer for a son, she’s continued to avoid staying away from the spotlight.
In this post, we’ll get to know more about Veronica, her early life, and her relationship status.
About Veronica Gutierrez
We rounded up as much information about the cosmetologist and mother of Devin Booker. Take a look.
Biography
Young Veronica Gutierrez Image source: Instagram
Little is known about Veronica Gutierrez’s early life. All we know is that she was born in Puerto Rico and that her father is from Los Nogales in Mexico.
Although we don’t know when exactly she was born, various reports claim that she’s anywhere in her mid-to-late 40s or early 50s at the latest, but the exact details are unknown.
The Mexican-American cosmetologist currently stands at an average of about 5 feet, 5 inches tall, and weighs around 121 pounds.
Occupation
Veronica Gutierrez has reached her status of fame and stardom mainly because she’s Devin Booker’s mother. Yet, ask anyone who knows her and they’ll tell you, she’s an exceptionally talented cosmetologist.
Relationship Status
As we mentioned earlier, Veronica Gutierrez isn’t big on letting the public in on her personal life or relationships. Though, we managed to find a source who told us that she’s currently not married.
We also found out a bit of background information on one of her past relationships in particular with the father of her NBA player son, Devin.
About Melvin Booker
It’s common knowledge that Devin Booker’s father is Melvin Booker. It may come as a nice surprise to know that Melvin was also a professional basketball player himself back in the 1990s.
What we know is that Veronica and Melvin met sometime in 1995. They quickly hit it off and soon became romantically involved.
Then, a few short months later, Veronica became pregnant with Devin.
Because both of them were still starting their careers, the couple decided not to get married. They remained together for a while until they ultimately went their separate ways.
At the time, the 6-foot-1-inch point guard was playing for the Grand Rapids Mackers during the 1995–96 Continental Basketball Association (CBA) season and had high hopes for playing for the NBA. Even though Melvin was never drafted, he was still able to achieve his dreams and soon found himself playing for the Houston Rockets during the 1995–96 season.
For the following 1996–97 season, he left the Rockets to go play for the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors.
Unfortunately, Melvin only enjoyed a short-lived career with the NBA, where he played a mere 32 games before retiring in 2008. However, before Melvin left the courts for good, he played several tournaments with the EuroLeague, where he mainly represented three European countries, including Italy, Russia, and Turkey.
Here’s a brief timeline of Melvin Booker’s career as a professional basketball player:
- From 1990 until 1994: college basketball at the University of Missouri
- The 1994–95 season: the Hartford Hellcats, CBA
- In late 1994: the Pittsburgh Piranhas, CBA
- For the 1995–96 season: the Grand Rapids Hoops, CBA
- In early 1996: the Houston Rockets, NBA
- Late 1996: the Denver Nuggets, NBA
- In March, 1997: the Golden State Warriors, NBA
- For the 1997–98 season: US Victoria Libertas Pesaro, Italy
- For the 1998–99 season: Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, Italy
- The 1999–00 season: US Victoria Libertas Pesaro, Italy
- For the 2002–03 season: Ulker Istanbul, Turkey
- For the 2004–07 season: BC Khimki Moscow, Russia
- For the 2007–08 (Melvin’s final season): Olimpia Milan, Italy
Children
Veronica has three children. From oldest to youngest, they are Davon Wade, Mya Powell, and Devin Booker. There’s little information available on Davon and Mya. All we know is that, like their mom, they prefer to stay out of the limelight and away from the public eye.
As for the third, being a pro-NBA player has forced him to step out of the shadows and step into the spotlight. Luckily, there’s no shortage of information on him.
About Devin Booker
Devin Booker was born on October 30, 1996, in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Veronica Gutierrez and Melvin Booker who was also a renowned basketball player in his day.
The NBA star weighs around 206 pounds and reaches a height of 6 feet 6 inches tall.
Devin’s natural position is shooting guard. He’s also played as a point guard with the Phoenix Suns and has proven to be one of the best point guards in the league.
In 2020, Devin was given the title ‘Special Olympics Global Ambassador.’ His sister, Mya, suffers from DiGeorge syndrome, and it’s one of the reasons why he has sought out this organization whose mission is to “spread awareness about the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities.”
He’s currently a three-time All-Star and, thanks to his ability to keep growing and improving on the court, the majority of his coaches and peers believe he deserves to be in the running for MVP for 2024.
Their support is certainly one of the driving forces behind his MVP candidacy. Along with Booker’s impressive ability to score and the ever-present media coverage, it’s helping further the momentum, which will hopefully result in Devin being crowned the highly coveted title in the NBA: Most Valuable Player.
Father and Son Duo
While Devin’s father, Melvin Booker, never made it far in his career as a professional NBA player, he was still considered a pretty solid contender.
As a father, Melvin may not have been there when Devin was a young boy. But, he’s been by his son’s side ever since Veronica finally agreed for Devin to move from Michigan down to Mississippi to live with his father during his sophomore year in high school.
Besides helping him catch up on all those times he missed with his son, Melvin also used this time to hone Devin’s basketball skills, both mentally and physically, and help take him to the next level.
Interestingly, Melvin and Devin have both played against the iconic Kobe Bryant, who also went by his alter-ego nickname ‘Black Mamba.’ The context of the Melvin-Devin-Bryant matchup is pretty interesting.
For starters, Melvin played against Kobe for only one game. It was on April 8th, 1997, and marked Kobe’s first season as an NBA player. The game ended with the Lakers scoring 109 points and beating the Golden State Warriors score of 85.
Alternatively, Devin has played against Kobe’s rival team, the LA Lakers, four times. Yet, it’s his last game against Kobe that would prove to be the most interesting. This particular match took place on March 23rd, 2016 with the Phoenix Suns defeating the Lakers 119 to 107.
Ironically, it was to be Kobe’s final season with the NBA and the basketball star retired a few weeks after that game.
A Final Note
Veronica Gutierrez may be the mother of one of the best players in the NBA. But, more importantly, she’s a dedicated mother to her three children, a loyal friend, and a successful cosmetologist.
