Gail Marquis was born in New York City in 1954 and grew up in St. Albans, Queens, NY. She grew up in a large family in a small home. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom, and her father worked as a postal worker for the U.S. Postal Service.
Gail played the clarinet beginning in the second grade. She attended Andrew Jackson High School where she began playing basketball. She also played basketball with the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). She always felt drawn to women.
In 1972, Gail graduated from high school and began playing college basketball at Queens College in Flushing, NY. As a member of the Queens College Women’s Basketball team, she was part of the first women’s team to play at Madison Square Garden in 1975. She attended an open call for the Olympics and was selected for the team. Gail won a Silver Medal as part of the 1976 U.S.A. Olympic Team in Montreal, Canada. It was the first time women competed in basketball at the Olympic Games.
Upon returning from the Olympics Games, Gail moved to Nice, France, to play professional basketball in the French Federation of Basketball. She competed for Olympique d’Antibes Juan-les-Pins in 1976. She studied French at the Université de Nice. In 1977, she represented Team U.S.A. at the World University Games in Sofia, Bulgaria, earning another silver medal.
Returning to the U.S., Gail played for the New York Stars of the Women’s Basketball League (WBL), the first women’s pro team to call Madison Square Garden their home court. When the league folded, she decided to pursue a career in financial services on Wall Street. Despite lacking a business degree, Gail entered the financial services industry, working for firms such as Dean Witter Reynolds, PaineWebber, UBS PaineWebber, Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase in various roles including sales and wealth management.
In May 1999, Gail met Audrey Smaltz at a life seminar, and they started dating. Gail and Audrey were wed in New York’s Central Park on November 11, 2011. Gail and Audrey were featured in the 2013 documentary The Devotion Project: Foremost on My Mind.
In 2009, Gail became the first woman of color inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Years later, her 1972-73 Queens College Women’s Basketball Team was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame – the first women’s team to receive a team induction honor. In 2013, Gail launched her own company, G. Marquis~World Financial Services, and was featured in the Out100 with her wife Audrey. Gail also worked as a broadcast color commentator and sports analyst for NCAA Division I games and the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association).
Gail Marquis is a 13-time Hall of Famer, including the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for her 1976 Olympics team. She is part of the inaugural induction class into the Queens College Athletic Hall of Fame (2012) and has received numerous awards, including the Inaugural Title IX-Trailblazer Award from the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health.
Gail is an advocate for women and has served as trustee and representative to various organizations, including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and The Women’s Sports Foundation. She served as the Director of Development for the William J. Maxwell College of Arts & Sciences at New Jersey City University.
Today, Gail and Audrey live in Delaware. She closes her OUTWORDS interview by reflecting on the many people who approach her and tell her how much she’s impacted their lives: “People were always looking at me. I am pleased I put my best foot forward. It has impacted so many others who now feel comfortable.”
