American tennis star Jessica Pegula is currently one of the biggest names in women’s tennis. Her parents, Terry and Kim Pegula, are well-known figures in American sports as team owners and business leaders, and her husband, Taylor Gahagen, is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Here’s a closer look at Pegula’s family.
Jessica Pegula’s Childhood and Parents
Jessica Pegula was born in Buffalo, New York, to Terry and Kim. To support her growth in tennis, the family later moved between Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Florida.
Who Are Terry and Kim Pegula?
Terrence, aka Terry Pegula, was born in 1951 in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and grew up in a working-class family. His father worked in mining and trucking, while his mother was originally from Canada. Kim Pegula was born on June 7, 1969, in Seoul, South Korea, and was adopted at age five by a Canadian-born couple in Fairport, New York. She later became a U.S. citizen and is of Korean descent.
According to Democrat and Chronicle, Kim was found near a police station. She then spent part of her early childhood in an orphanage. She later got a degree in communications from Houghton College and was looking to make a career in broadcast journalism.
That’s when she met Terry Pegula. The latter was having lunch at the restaurant where Kim was applying, and he offered her a role at his oil and gas production company, East Resources.
One of my favourite parts of Break Point was Jessica Pegula telling the story of her parents and debunking the nepo baby claims:
‘Some people get this image that it’s really easy for me because my dad’s very wealthy, but that didn’t happen until I was 17 or 18. (…) [My… pic.twitter.com/E4dlTm5GIZ
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) January 13, 2024
The two got married in 1993 and have three children. Kim is also stepmother to Terry’s kids from his first marriage.
The Pegula Business Empire
Terry Pegula graduated in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State University. After working for some time at Felmont Oil Co., he founded East Resources Inc. in 1983. He built his empire and eventually sold the majority share worth $4.7 billion to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 (as per Forbes). He later sold some assets to American Energy Partners in 2014.
After that, he expanded into sports and real estate and created Pegula Sports and Entertainment. Terry and Kim bought the Buffalo Sabres in 2011 and later bought the Buffalo Bills in 2014 for $1.4 billion (as per The New York Times).
Over the years, they have also owned teams like the Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks in lacrosse, the Rochester Americans in AHL hockey, along with other sports and entertainment ventures.
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As per Forbes, Terry Pegula’s net worth at around $9.3 billion in 2025, making him one of the richest people in the world.
Kim Pegula’s Health Crisis
Pegula’s mother went into sudden cardiac arrest at home on her birthday in 2022. Her daughter Kelly gave her CPR that she learned just three months before the incident and kept her alive until paramedics restored her heartbeat.
At the time, the current World No. 4 had just returned to Florida from the French Open, where she made it to the quarterfinals. She talked about the incident in her column for The Players’ Tribune.
“We lived in that hospital for basically two weeks. We took shifts, we brought each other food, we knew all the nurses and doctors, we even knew their schedules. We had to force my dad to go home and sleep, but most of the time he didn’t,” Pegula wrote.
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Doctors initially warned the family that Kim might have brain damage due to the lack of oxygen. She spent two weeks in intensive care. Her recovery has taken time, as she faced speech and memory challenges.
Jessica Pegula’s Husband, Taylor Gahagen
Jessica Pegula is married to Taylor Gahagen, a wealth management specialist and philanthropist. Gahagen was born in New York and he went to Williamsville North High School. He then studied business administration at SUNY Fredonia and later earned his MBA from Canisius College. Gahagen worked in leadership roles at Pegula Sports and Entertainment and now serves as a managing partner at Agarwood Wealth and Dragos Capital.
Pegula and Gahagen met through their shared interests in business and community work. They were publicly linked in 2015, and after dating for a few years, they tied the knot in late 2021 at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.
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Together, the couple run an NGO named A Lending Paw that rescues and trains service dogs. Gahagen is also the vice president of Pegula’s skincare company, Ready 24.
