Who is Élodie de Fautereau, and why is there so much interest in her life? Was Victor Wembanyama’s mother really a professional basketball player? How tall is she? Who is her husband? And how much influence did she have on the development of one of basketball’s biggest stars?
Élodie de Fautereau is a French former basketball player and youth coach who is also the mother of NBA star Victor Wembanyama. Born on August 12, 1971, she turned 55 in August 2026. Her own basketball background is more substantial than many short celebrity profiles suggest: FIBA records show that she competed for Mosa Jambes in European competition, while historical French sources place her with Le Chesnay-Versailles.
She later became heavily involved in youth basketball. An archived page from Entente Le Chesnay Versailles 78 Basket lists her as the person responsible for the club’s Mini-Basket school and records her BE1 coaching qualification.
Today, Élodie is often introduced simply as “Victor Wembanyama’s mother.” However, her own playing career, coaching experience and multigenerational basketball family make her story much broader than that.
Élodie de Fautereau Profile
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Élodie de Fautereau; also recorded as Élodie de Fautereau-Vassel / Élodie Wembanyama |
| Date of birth | August 12, 1971 |
| Age in 2026 | 55 |
| Nationality | French |
| Height | Around 1.91 m / 6 ft 3 in |
| Profession | Former basketball player, youth basketball coach |
| Known clubs | Le Chesnay-Versailles, Mosa Jambes |
| European competition | Ronchetti Cup |
| Husband | Félix Wembanyama |
| Children | Ève, Victor and Oscar Wembanyama |
| Best known for | Her basketball career and being Victor Wembanyama’s mother |
FIBA directly confirms Élodie’s date of birth, French nationality and European club record. Her FIBA profile does not currently list an official height, although French basketball reporting has described her as approximately 1.91 metres tall.
Who Is Élodie de Fautereau?
Élodie de Fautereau comes from a family with deep basketball roots.
Her parents, Michel de Fautereau and Marie-Christine, were both involved in basketball. Basket Europe reports that Michel played for Paris University Club at the highest level of French basketball, while Marie-Christine also played the sport.
That matters because Victor Wembanyama’s basketball background did not begin with his mother alone. Basketball was already part of the maternal side of the family before Élodie became a player herself.
Élodie then continued that tradition as a player and later as a youth coach. Her three children also entered competitive sport, creating one of the most distinctive sporting families in modern French basketball.
Élodie de Fautereau’s Basketball Career
Unlike Victor Wembanyama’s career, Élodie’s playing history is not documented game by game across easily accessible modern databases. Still, several important parts can be verified.
Basket Europe reports that she played for Le Chesnay and Le Chesnay-Versailles, reaching Nationale 1 Féminine during her career.
There is also valuable contemporary evidence.
A June 2000 report from Le Parisien listed Élodie de Fautereau in the Le Chesnay-Versailles Nationale 2 women’s squad. Another article from the same date explained that the team had recently been relegated and that Élodie remained with the club during its rebuilding phase.
This historical material is useful because it confirms her playing career through a source published while she was still active rather than relying only on later biographies.
Did Élodie de Fautereau Play in European Competition?
Yes.
The strongest statistical evidence for Élodie de Fautereau’s basketball career comes directly from FIBA.
FIBA’s archive records her playing for Belgian club Mosa Jambes in the 1999 Ronchetti Cup, a European women’s club competition.
Her recorded averages were:
| Statistic | Average |
|---|---|
| Games | 6 |
| Points | 10.2 |
| Rebounds | 4.7 |
| Assists | 0.2 |
| Efficiency | 9.0 |
She scored 61 points across six games and averaged 19.7 minutes. FIBA also records a 51 percent field-goal percentage across those appearances.
These numbers are significant because they provide direct evidence that Élodie competed at European club level rather than merely playing recreational or local basketball.
Was Élodie de Fautereau a French National Team Player?
This is one area where articles about Élodie need careful wording.
Several mainstream publications describe her as a former French national basketball player. Town & Country, for example, identifies her as a former French national-team player, while other family profiles make similar claims.
However, her current FIBA profile leaves the “National Team” section blank and only displays her documented club competition record.
That does not necessarily prove that she never represented France. Older records can be incomplete, particularly for players whose careers predate today’s digital databases.
Still, the most accurate wording is:
Élodie de Fautereau has been described by several established publications as a former French national-team basketball player, although her current FIBA profile does not display senior national-team statistics.
That is more reliable than presenting an undocumented number of international appearances as fact.
Élodie de Fautereau as a Basketball Coach
Élodie remained involved in basketball after her playing career.
An archived page from Entente Le Chesnay Versailles 78 Basket provides unusually strong evidence about this part of her life.
The club lists:
- Élodie de Fautereau as “Resp. Ecole de Mini-Basket”
- her coaching qualification as BE1
- Félix Wembanyama among the Mini-Basket staff
- Élodie as a member of the Mini-Basket commission
The archived page describes a large youth program with around 160 children.
This is an important part of her biography because many articles describe Élodie simply as a former player. In reality, she also spent significant time working directly with young basketball players.
Did Élodie de Fautereau Coach Victor Wembanyama?
She introduced Victor to a basketball environment, but she did not appear to control his elite development.
Victor has explained that his mother worked mainly with very young players. As he became more serious about performance basketball, she deliberately avoided becoming too involved in his training.
That distinction is important.
Élodie’s influence was not necessarily about personally training Victor every day. Instead, basketball was already a normal part of family life, and Victor grew up around the game.
Accounts of the family consistently describe his parents as supportive without turning his development into an excessively controlled project.
Élodie de Fautereau and Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama was born on January 4, 2004 and grew up in Le Chesnay, near Paris.
He initially experienced several sports, including football and judo, before basketball became his main focus. His mother’s background naturally gave him early exposure to the sport, while his father’s track-and-field experience contributed another form of athletic knowledge.
Victor has spoken positively about both parents and has indicated that they understood when to provide guidance and when to allow him independence.
That balance may explain why Élodie’s influence is better understood as environmental and educational rather than controlling.
Who Is Élodie de Fautereau’s Husband?
Élodie de Fautereau is married to Félix Wembanyama.
Félix comes from a track-and-field background rather than professional basketball. He competed in jumping events, including the high jump, long jump and triple jump.
His athletic background complemented Élodie’s basketball experience.
The family therefore combined two different sporting traditions:
- Élodie brought basketball knowledge and coaching experience.
- Félix brought expertise connected to movement, running and jumping.
- Their children grew up surrounded by competitive sport.
French business records also connect Élodie Wembanyama and Okongo Wembanyama in joint management roles at companies including V.W FINANCE and V.WHAT IMMO.
How Many Children Do Élodie de Fautereau and Félix Wembanyama Have?
Élodie and Félix have three children: Ève, Victor and Oscar Wembanyama.
Ève Wembanyama
Ève Wembanyama is the eldest of the three children.
Her official FIBA profile lists her date of birth as December 10, 2001. She has represented France at youth level and has played European club basketball.
FIBA records her playing for KBF Peja 03 in the 2025-26 EuroCup Women season, where she averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 rebounds across five games.
Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama was born on January 4, 2004.
He became the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft and joined the San Antonio Spurs. He later won an Olympic silver medal with France at the Paris 2024 Games and has developed into one of the NBA’s most prominent stars.
Oscar Wembanyama
Oscar Wembanyama was born in 2007.
He played handball when he was younger before moving more strongly toward basketball. By 2026, reports identified him as a player in the French basketball system.
Élodie de Fautereau’s Parents and the Wembanyama Family Tree
Understanding the family tree is especially important because several competing biographies have confused the relationships.
Michel de Fautereau and Marie-Christine are Élodie’s parents.
That means:
- Michel de Fautereau is Victor Wembanyama’s maternal grandfather.
- Marie-Christine is Victor’s maternal grandmother.
- Élodie de Fautereau is Victor’s mother.
- Félix Wembanyama is Victor’s father.
Basket Europe specifically identifies Michel as Victor’s grandfather while explaining that Élodie is his daughter.
How Tall Is Élodie de Fautereau?
Élodie de Fautereau is widely reported to be around 1.91 metres, or approximately 6 feet 3 inches tall.
Basket Europe gives her height as 1.91 metres. Sporting News likewise describes her at approximately 6-foot-3.
Her current FIBA profile, however, leaves the height field blank.
For that reason, “around 1.91 m” is more responsible than presenting the measurement as if it came directly from FIBA.
What Does Élodie de Fautereau Do Today?
Élodie maintains a relatively low public profile compared with her son.
She appears at major family and basketball events, but she has not built a public celebrity career around Victor’s success.
There is also a less-covered part of her current professional life.
French corporate database Pappers lists Elodie WEMBANYAMA, born in August 1971 and with the birth name Elodie DE Fautereau-vassel, in management positions connected with several companies.
The database lists her as:
- president of V.W FINANCE
- director general of V.WHAT IMMO
- president of V.WHAT
The companies are associated with financial activities, real estate and advertising/market-research activities.
This is a useful addition because many biographies stop at “former player and coach.”
However, these corporate records should not automatically be interpreted as proof that business management is now her only or primary occupation.
Is Her Full Name Élodie de Fautereau-Vassel?
Different versions of Élodie’s name appear online.
FIBA uses Elodie De Fautereau.
French corporate records identify her as Elodie WEMBANYAMA and list her birth name as Elodie DE Fautereau-vassel.
A company document additionally identifies her as Elodie DE FAUTEREAU-VASSEL, épouse WEMBANYAMA, meaning de Fautereau-Vassel married to Wembanyama.
For a general biography or SEO article, Élodie de Fautereau remains the clearest main keyword because that is the name widely used in sports coverage and FIBA records.
What Competing Articles Get Wrong or Leave Unclear
This is where source checking becomes particularly important.
Michel de Fautereau Is Her Father, Not Her Grandfather
One competing Headline Magazine article says Michel de Fautereau was Élodie’s grandfather. It also describes Marie-Christine as her grandmother.
That family relationship is incorrect.
Basket Europe identifies Michel as the father of Élodie and therefore the maternal grandfather of Victor Wembanyama.
Victor Wembanyama Is Her Son, Not Her Grandson
The same competitor also refers to Victor as Élodie’s grandson in its family-history section.
Victor is her son.
This may look like a minor wording error, but it creates confusion in an article specifically designed to explain the Wembanyama family.
Ève Wembanyama Was Not Born in 1999
The competing article lists Ève Wembanyama as being born in 1999.
FIBA’s official player profile gives Ève’s date of birth as December 10, 2001.
The FIBA date should take priority.
The French National Team Claim Needs Better Sourcing
Headline Magazine states directly that Élodie was selected for the French national team.
Several other publications make the same claim, so it should not simply be dismissed.
However, her current FIBA profile contains no national-team entry.
A stronger article should therefore make the distinction clear instead of treating incomplete database information as certainty.
The Claimed 2003 Injury Retirement Is Difficult to Verify
Some online articles state that Élodie’s playing career ended around 2003 because of injury. Headline Magazine repeats that claim.
The problem is that the most authoritative sources available for her career, including FIBA and the contemporary Le Parisien reports, do not establish that specific retirement story.
Until stronger original reporting is available, it is safer to say that her later playing career is not comprehensively documented publicly.
Absolute Claims About Her Privacy Should Be Avoided
Some profiles state that she has never given a public interview.
That is extremely difficult to prove across an entire lifetime.
A more accurate sentence is:
Élodie de Fautereau maintains a low media profile and gives comparatively little public commentary.
That communicates the same useful point without making an unprovable absolute claim.
Why Élodie de Fautereau Is More Than Victor Wembanyama’s Mother
Search interest around Élodie naturally comes from Victor’s NBA career. Still, defining her only through her son misses an important part of the story.
She had a documented basketball career of her own.
She competed in European club basketball.
She remained involved in the game as a youth coach.
She grew up with basketball-playing parents.
And all three of her children became involved in competitive basketball.
FIBA’s competition archive, Le Parisien’s contemporary reporting and Le Chesnay-Versailles’ own archived coaching records provide a much clearer picture than the short celebrity biographies that simply describe her as the mother of an NBA player.
Conclusion
Élodie de Fautereau is a French former basketball player, youth coach and the mother of Ève, Victor and Oscar Wembanyama.
Born on August 12, 1971, she is 55 years old in 2026. Her basketball career included Le Chesnay-Versailles and European competition with Mosa Jambes. FIBA records show that she averaged 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds across six Ronchetti Cup appearances.
She later became closely involved in youth basketball, with club archives confirming her role as head of the Mini-Basket school at Entente Le Chesnay Versailles 78.
Her connection to Victor Wembanyama is unquestionably the reason many readers discover her today. Yet the more complete story is that Élodie had her own competitive basketball career and helped continue a sporting tradition that already existed in her family for generations.
The best biography of Élodie de Fautereau therefore needs to separate verified records from repeated internet claims, especially regarding her national-team career, family relationships and later playing years.
FAQ About Élodie de Fautereau
Élodie de Fautereau is a former French basketball player and youth coach. She is also the mother of San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
Élodie de Fautereau was born on August 12, 1971. She turned 55 years old in August 2026.
She is widely reported to be approximately 1.91 metres or 6 feet 3 inches tall. Her current FIBA profile does not provide a height measurement.
Her husband is Félix Wembanyama, a former track-and-field athlete with experience in jumping events.
Élodie and Félix Wembanyama have three children: Ève, Victor and Oscar Wembanyama.
Yes. FIBA officially records her participation in European club competition with Mosa Jambes in the 1999 Ronchetti Cup.
In six documented Ronchetti Cup games, she averaged 10.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.
Several established publications describe her as a former French national-team player. However, her current FIBA profile does not show senior national-team statistics, so the claim is best presented with that qualification.
Her parents are Michel de Fautereau and Marie-Christine. Both were connected to basketball, and Michel is Victor Wembanyama’s maternal grandfather.
She keeps a relatively private public profile. French business records also list Elodie Wembanyama in executive roles connected with V.WHAT, V.W FINANCE and V.WHAT IMMO.
French corporate records list Elodie DE Fautereau-vassel as her birth name, while sports databases generally use Élodie de Fautereau.
