Michelle Kwan

Michelle Kwan is a Chinese American figure skater and the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, dominating her competition throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. She was born in Torrance, California as the youngest child of working-class Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong. Her many accolades include being a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time World champion (tied with Carol Heiss for the most as an American), and nine-time U.S. champion (tied with Maribel Vinson-Owen for the most). Her other accolades include winning the James E. Sullivan Award in (2001) given to the best amateur athlete in the U.S. and she was the only inductee into both the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2012.

In addition, Kwan has the most wins of Skating magazine’s “Readers’ Choice Figure Skater of the Year” such that she was deemed ineligible to continue winning the award even if she continued to skate competitively. This reflected Kwan’s immense popularity on and off the ice.