Tennis great Billie Jean King will preside over the 136th Rose Parade as grand marshal next year.

King, who turns 81 next month, was introduced Monday in a shower of confetti on the lawn of Tournament House as “Philadelphia Freedom,” the hit song Elton John wrote for her, blared.

“I’m still kicking,” she said, smiling.

King will ride the route through the streets of Pasadena on Jan. 1 and be part of the coin toss for the 111th Rose Bowl football game later that day.

“We looked forward to it every year,” she said, recalling her childhood in Long Beach. “My mother and I always loved parades.”

The parade’s theme of “Best Day Ever!” celebrates life’s best moments.

“I love it,” she said. “I have a whole new saying the rest of my life now. It reminds us of living in the present every single day.”

She has long advocated for gender equity, LGBTQIA+ rights and other social justice issues.

The 39-time major champion’s haul includes 20 Wimbledon titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

Swift passes Rihanna as richest female musician: Taylor Swift got that Eras Tour money, and it has launched her to the top of Forbes’ 2024 list of wealthiest female musicians.

The “Anti-Hero” singer has surpassed Rihanna on the outlet’s list of the richest female musicians, racking up an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion.

Forbes reported that Swift snared the top spot because of her earnings from her blockbuster Eras Tour and the value of her catalog. Swift, 34, is the first musician to become a billionaire primarily based on her songs and performances, the financial publication said.

“Umbrella” hitmaker and Fenty Beauty founder Rihanna, who last year held the No. 1 spot on the list, is still shining bright. The singer has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, thanks in part to her successful cosmetics line and her Savage x Fenty lingerie brand.

Winfrey selects Presley memoir for book club: Oprah Winfrey has chosen Lisa Marie Presley’s posthumous memoir as her new book club pick and made a trip to the famed Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, to meet with Presley’s daughter and Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s granddaughter, actor Riley Keough.

Lisa Marie Presley’s “From Here to the Great Unknown,” completed by Keough after Presley died unexpectedly in 2023, was published Tuesday.

“I have great love and admiration for Lisa Marie Presley, and was so moved that her daughter Riley, through her grief, was able to help her finish a beautifully touching memoir that allows us to see her mother at her most honest and vulnerable,” Winfrey said.

Keough said that upon being told by Winfrey she had selected the memoir she thought of how proud her mother would have been “to know her story was going to be read and discussed with such empathy, thought and grace.”

Oct. 9 birthdays: Singer Nona Hendryx is 80. Singer Jackson Browne is 76. Actor Tony Shalhoub is 71. Actor Scott Bakula is 70. Director Guillermo del Toro is 60. Singer P.J. Harvey is 55. Director Steve McQueen is 55. Singer Sean Lennon is 49. Comedian Melissa Villaseñor is 37. Actor Tyler James Williams is 32.