Who Is Harper Hempel? Her Age, Height, Career and More

Most people find Harper Hempel through a search for Jamal Murray’s girlfriend. That’s the shortest way in, and it’s also the least interesting thing about her.

She walked on to a Southeastern Conference volleyball roster. She started a photography company while she was still in high school. She’s run social media for ice cream brands and craft beer labels. And she has spent close to a decade dating one of the most recognizable guards in the NBA while posting almost nothing about him.

Here’s what’s actually known.

Who is Harper Hempel?

Harper Hempel is an American photographer, social media manager, and former Division I volleyball player from Union, Kentucky. She played three seasons for the Kentucky Wildcats as a defensive specialist and setter, graduated from UK’s Gatton College of Business and Economics, and now works in digital marketing while running her own portrait business.

The wider public knows her as the longtime partner of Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray. They met at Kentucky in 2015, when he was a freshman and she was a sophomore, and they’ve been together on and off ever since.

She’s private about it. Her Instagram is full of travel, work, and friends. Murray’s is basketball. Neither posts much about the other, which is probably why so many people search her name looking for confirmation of things neither of them talks about.

Harper Hempel quick facts

Personal figures like weight and net worth circulate widely online without a verified source. Treat them as estimates.

Harper Hempel age and the Union, Kentucky upbringing

Harper Hempel age is one of the most searched details about her, and the answer comes with a small asterisk. Nearly every outlet lists her birthday as August 31, 1997, which puts her at 28 through the summer of 2026. One older profile lists 1996 instead. Neither she nor her family has publicly settled it.

She grew up in Union, a small town in Boone County about 20 minutes south of Cincinnati. Her father Richard co-founded eCoachSports, a platform selling online coaching instruction from well known basketball names. Her mother is Colleen Hempel.

Her brother Conner played quarterback at Harvard. So the household had two Division I athletes in it, plus a dad whose entire business ran on coaching.

That matters more than the usual “she comes from a sporty family” filler. She grew up around the mechanics of how athletes get trained and marketed, which is roughly the industry she works in now.

Harper Hempel height and what it meant on the court

Harper Hempel height is listed at 5 feet 8 inches, or about 1.73 meters, across most profiles. She’s reported at roughly 128 pounds with the lean build you’d expect from someone who played back row volleyball at a high level.

For context, 5 ft 8 in is tall for the average American woman and short for a Division I volleyball player. SEC middle blockers routinely clear 6 ft 2 in. Which is exactly why Harper Hempel height pushed her toward the defensive specialist and setter roles rather than the front row.

Those jobs reward reaction time, footwork, and hands. Not reach. She was the person digging the ball off the floor and feeding the hitters, and she was good enough at it to earn a spot on a top 25 program.

Ryle High School and a four-year run as a starter

Before Kentucky, she was a four-year starter at Larry A. Ryle High School and a three-time team captain. The Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association named her to the All-State list three times.

She also picked up a Team Leadership Award in 2011 and a District MVP nod during her senior year.

The other thing she did in high school: she started charging money for photos. Harper Hempel Photography traces back to her senior year, which means she was running a small business and playing a varsity sport before she’d finished secondary school.

Walking on at Kentucky

She didn’t arrive at UK on a volleyball scholarship. She walked on, joining the Wildcats during the spring of her freshman year as a defensive specialist and setter.

She told the Northern Kentucky Tribune that putting on the Kentucky jersey felt unreal. That’s the part of her story that gets skipped in most write-ups about Jamal Murray’s girlfriend.

The playing time was modest. She appeared in 13 matches and 27 sets during the 2015 season, then 17 matches and 30 sets as a junior. In her senior year she logged 13 matches and 16 sets, including a match-clinching ace against LSU.

Most of her work happened away from the box score. She ran setter for the scout team, which meant simulating opposing offenses in practice so the starters could prepare. Her coach described her as someone who took whatever role the team handed her without arguing about it.

Kentucky finished 23-8 that junior season and second in the SEC at 15-3. Her senior year, the team took the SEC tournament.

What she studied at Kentucky

She enrolled at the Gatton College of Business and Economics and graduated in May 2018 with a bachelor’s in marketing and a minor in digital media.

Her LinkedIn shows she was already shooting product photos for social media clients before she’d finished the degree. The coursework and the freelance work fed each other.

At the time she told a reporter she wasn’t sure what she’d do with the degree beyond growing her photography business. She figured it out.

Harper Hempel Photography

The company she founded in May 2014 handles portraits, couples sessions, and fashion shoots. She’s shot around Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati, and Lexington.

It’s a genuine small business, not a hobby with a logo. She’s kept it running alongside every full-time job she’s held since graduating, which is a decade of overlap at this point.

The marketing career most people never hear about

After graduation she joined Fact & Fiction as a social media community manager. Through that role she worked on accounts for Halo Top Ice Cream and Voodoo Ranger beer, plus other food and beverage clients.

More recently she’s been listed as Head of Partnerships for The Cold Life, a health and wellness brand.

So the résumé reads: college athlete, then community manager, then partnerships lead, with a photography company running underneath all of it. That’s a normal, unglamorous career built one step at a time.

How Harper Hempel met Jamal Murray

They met at the University of Kentucky during the 2015-16 school year. Murray was a one-and-done freshman under John Calipari. Hempel was a sophomore on the volleyball roster.

He left for the NBA in 2016 as the 7th overall pick by Denver. She stayed at UK and played through the 2017-18 season.

They’ve been linked ever since, which is roughly 10 years. She was around during his ACL rehab, the stretch that cost him the entire 2021-22 season.

Neither of them posts about the relationship. There have been breakup rumors, including a widely repeated one in 2023 when she was in Italy while Murray celebrated Denver’s championship. No confirmation either way has ever come from the couple.

Also Read: Jack Hibbs Net Worth 2026: Age, Family, Salary & Ministry Career

The 2020 Instagram incident

On March 22, 2020, an explicit video involving the couple appeared on Murray’s Instagram Story. His name trended nationally within hours.

Murray said publicly that his account had been hacked and apologized to fans. He deleted the post, then the account. Hempel asked people on Twitter to delete copies of the footage and deactivated her own Instagram.

Both eventually returned to social media. Neither has discussed it since.

It’s the reason a lot of people first typed her name into a search bar, and it’s also the reason she’s careful about what she shares now. Hard to blame her.

Where Harper Hempel stands today

She’s 28, working in brand partnerships, still shooting photography, and still keeping a wide gap between her public feed and her private life.

Net worth numbers float around the internet for her, usually somewhere between a few hundred thousand and low seven figures. None of them come from a verifiable filing or statement. Photographers and marketing managers do fine, and she’s had a decade of both, but any specific number you see is guesswork.

What holds up: the volleyball record, the degree, the business she started at 17, and a relationship she’s declined to perform online for 10 years.

Conclusion

Harper Hempel gets filed under “NBA girlfriend” because that’s the category search engines built for her. It undersells the record.

She walked on to an SEC volleyball program at 5 ft 8 in, played three seasons in roles that never made a highlight reel, earned a marketing degree, and turned a high school side hustle into a business she still runs. The Jamal Murray connection made her searchable. Everything else she did herself.

Also Read: Taj Cross Age, Height, Family, Siblings, and Social Media: Full Bio

Frequently asked questions about Harper Hempel

What Is Harper Hempel’s Age?

Harper Hempel age is 28 as of mid-2026, based on the widely reported birth date of August 31, 1997. A small number of sources list 1996 instead.

How Tall Is Harper Hempel?

Harper Hempel height is listed at 5 feet 8 inches, roughly 1.73 meters, across most published profiles.

Is Harper Hempel Still Dating Jamal Murray?

Harper Hempel and Jamal Murray are still widely reported as a couple. Neither has confirmed or denied the periodic breakup rumors.

What Does Harper Hempel Do For A Living?

Harper Hempel works in social media and brand partnerships and runs her own portrait photography company, Harper Hempel Photography.

Where Is Harper Hempel From?

Harper Hempel is from Union, Kentucky, a town in Boone County just south of Cincinnati. She attended Larry A. Ryle High School there.

Did Harper Hempel Play College Volleyball?

Harper Hempel played three seasons for the Kentucky Wildcats as a walk-on defensive specialist and setter, from the 2015 season through 2017.

What Is Harper Hempel’s Net Worth?

Harper Hempel’s net worth has never been verified. Figures published online are estimates based on typical photography and marketing salaries.

Who Are Harper Hempel’s Parents?

Harper Hempel’s parents are Richard and Colleen Hempel. Her father co-founded eCoachSports, an online basketball coaching platform.