Wide receiver Hines Ward on Sunday was named Most Valuable Player as his Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XL, 21-10, over the Seattle Seahawks.

The half-Korean, half African-American Ward had five catches for 123 yards and a 43-yard touchdown reception that sealed his team's fifth championship.

He was born in 1976 in Seoul to an African-American serviceman and a Korean woman. The couple divorced soon after they moved to the United States.

Joining the Steelers in 1998 after a stellar career at the University of Georgia, he has made the Pro Bowl, the National Football League's all-star game, four times and led his team in catches for six straight seasons.

Ward says his success comes from the work ethic he learned from his mother, who raised him by working three to four jobs despite little English ability.