All About Jordan Love's Parents, Anna and Orbin Love

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love thinks the world of his parents, Anna and Orbin Love.

Anna and Orbin, who both worked in the police force, raised Jordan and his three sisters — Kami, Emily and Alexis — in Bakersfield, Calif. Growing up, it was always Orbin’s dream for Jordan to become a professional football player. Despite the naysayers, Jordan’s dad, a former player himself, believed early on that his son was destined for greatness in the sport.

As NFL fans know, Orbin’s instincts turned out to be right: Jordan was drafted in the first round by the Packers in 2020 as the backup quarterback to Aaron Rodgers. In the 2023 season, which marked his first as the team’s starting quarterback, Jordan led them to the playoffs and completed 32 touchdown passes, the second most in the league behind Dak Prescott.

Sadly, Orbin died by suicide on July 13, 2013, when Jordan was only 14 years old. After his death, Jordan debated quitting football altogether — but Anna encouraged the young athlete to continue pursuing the dream he and his father had shared together.

“I was a backup quarterback, playing wide receiver, [and] stuff wasn’t really going my way, and I was like, man, I might have to give it up,” Jordan recalled on The Pivot Podcast. “My mom ... she’s the one that really pushed me [to] stick it out another year and see what happens.”

Here’s everything to know about Jordan Love’s parents, Anna and Orbin Love.

Anna and Orbin named Jordan after a sports legend

Anna and Obrin welcomed their son Jordan Alexander Love on Nov. 2, 1998.

The Athletic reports that Orbin was keen on naming his son Michael Jordan after the iconic basketball star, but Anna wasn’t as excited about the idea.

Eventually, the couple landed on only using the professional basketball player's last name, still paying tribute to the six-time Chicago Bulls champion.

Ironically, the Packers star has since drawn comparisons amongst fans to the NBA legend because of the football player’s drive and talent and occasional tongue wagging when throwing a pass — a similar move that Michael was known for on the court.

Anna and Orbin served their community

Working on the police force and raising four children was not an easy feat for the couple.

Orbin was a police sergeant, Sunday school teacher and youth pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church, while Anna worked as a Highway Patrol officer. Despite the challenge, they both made a huge impact on the city of Bakersfield through their work.

On the day of Orbin’s death in 2013, the Bakersfield Police Department posted a moving Instagram tribute to the police sergeant, detective and officer who served on the force for 27 years.

“Orbin’s name certainly exemplified the way his fellow coworkers and community members felt about him because he was truly loved,” the post read. “He will always be remembered for his beautiful smile and as a man of faith."

Anna’s time on Highway Patrol was also greatly commended. On Facebook in 2019, the California Highway Patrol for Bakersfield congratulated her and two other officers on their retirement and thanked them for their 78 years of combined service to the community.

Orbin was tremendously proud of Jordan

Growing up, Jordan told NFL.com that he and his dad did everything together.

Orbin volunteered to be an assistant coach on his various sports teams, helped him warm up before a big game and even brought his son to pick-up basketball games with his police friends.

Whoever would listen, Orbin would tell them that his son was going to be a star quarterback.

"If you knew him, he was the happiest dude you would ever see," Jordan told the outlet. "He was always smiling. Even if things in his life got him down, he never showed that."

Jordan's dad Obrin died in 2013

When Ordin died by suicide at age 51 on July 13, 2013, Jordan and his family were left reeling.

During an interview with NFL.com, the Packers quarterback opened up about his father's demeanor changing shortly after a doctor switched his blood pressure medication a few days prior.

In particular, Anna recounted different instances of Orbin "acting strange," and she knew something was wrong when he uncharacteristically missed one of Jordan's games. After Anna found Orbin, a family member broke the news to Jordan, who later called it the "darkest moment" of his life.

Since then, the professional football player has touched on what led to the tragedy that took away his best friend and coach.

"Our family knew it was the medication messing with his head, not acting like himself, not acting right," he told the outlet. "If people make assumptions about depression that aren't right, there's nothing that can be done about that. It's good enough for me to know it was the medication."

Anna refuses to miss any of Jordan’s games

As one of Jordan’s biggest fans, Anna has made it her mission to attend all his football games. It’s a tradition he remembers starting when he was playing college football at Utah State.

“She’s been doing that since college when I was redshirting as a freshman, knowing I’m not even suiting up to see the field, she was there," Jordan told The Athletic in 2021. "I tell her, ‘You know I’m not playing, you don’t have to go out of your way to come to these games.’ She’s like, ‘No, I’m going to be there. I want to see you.’ So, that’s been awesome.”

He continued, “She’s been at every game. It’s nice to know she’s there. I try to look for her in the stands. It’s an awesome feeling. She’s great. She’s amazing. Just shows how much she loves me and cares about me to be there.”

Today, Anna still refuses to break with her commitment, even if that means sitting in the nosebleeds like she did a few years back when Jordan made his first career start against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In what quickly became a viral moment of the 2021 season, NFL fans expressed outrage after the Fox broadcast of the Packers-Chiefs game revealed that Anna and Jordan’s now-fiancée Ronika Stone had to sit in the last row of Arrowhead Stadium in the designated away team’s seating section.

Thankfully, Anna has since enjoyed much better seats to watch her son’s games.

They are both Jordan’s role models

While many young athletes and NFL fans look up to Jordan, the Utah State alum says his mom and dad have always been his shining examples in life.

“My parents are my superheroes,” he said on The Pivot Podcast. “They both were police officers, so I’ve heard stories about my dad fighting crime ... and then to lose him was tough.”

Despite suffering the loss of his father, Jordan went on to say that the tragedy “emotionally matured” him and instilled in him an important lesson.

“It taught me at a young age that adversity happens in life,” he explained. “You want life to be perfect, you want to think it’s this dream, a fairytale that everything’s going to be happy and everybody’s going to be healthy. But life goes on, and things happen, and it’s not that way.”

Still, on the night he was drafted to the Packers, Jordan gave Anna, Orbin and his community of friends and football players a heartfelt shout-out for helping make his dream a reality.

"For me, I got through it with my family and also my friends and teammates and football," he shared. "I was able to lean on them, and it helped me get through it. But I know if my dad was here, he'd be super proud and just have a lot of good things to say right now."

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.