Gabby Douglas

Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas is an American artistic gymnast born on December 31, 1995. She is the 2012 Olympic individual all-around gold medalist and the 2015 World all-around silver medalist. Douglas contributed to team gold medal victories for the United States at both the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, where the teams were dubbed the Fierce Five and Final Five by the media. She also won team gold medals at the 2011 and 2015 World Championships, the 2012 U.S. uneven bars title, and the 2016 American Cup all-around title.

Douglas is the first African American gymnast to win an Olympic individual all-around title and the first U.S. gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team events at the same Olympic Games. With six total Olympic and World Championship medals, she ranks as the 11th most decorated U.S. female gymnast of all time.

Born in Newport News, Virginia, to Timothy Douglas and Natalie Hawkins-Douglas, she grew up in Virginia Beach with three older siblings. She began gymnastics training at age six at Excalibur Gymnastics after her sister Arielle encouraged their mother to enroll her. At age eight, she won the Level 4 all-around title at the 2004 Virginia State Championships. In 2010, she moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to train under coach Liang Chow while living with host parents Travis and Missy Parton.

After qualifying for elite competition in 2008, Douglas competed at the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Championships. In 2010, she placed fourth at the Nastia Liukin Cup and won balance beam silver at the U.S. Championships, earning a spot on the junior national team. She made her international debut at the 2010 Pan American Championships, winning team gold and an individual gold medal on uneven bars.

Douglas transitioned to senior competition in 2011, winning team gold at the City of Jesolo Trophy and the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she led the U.S. team to gold and captured the individual all-around gold medal with a total score of 62.232. She also competed in the individual uneven bars and balance beam finals, finishing eighth and seventh, respectively.

After taking time away from competition and changing training locations, Douglas rejoined the U.S. national team in late 2014. At the 2015 World Championships, she helped the U.S. win team gold and earned the individual all-around silver medal. In 2016, she won all-around titles at the American Cup and City of Jesolo Trophy, securing a spot on her second Olympic team. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she helped the Final Five win team gold and placed seventh in the uneven bars final.

Douglas's life inspired the 2014 Lifetime television movie The Gabby Douglas Story and the reality series Douglas Family Gold. She has authored two books, Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith and Raising the Bar. In 2021, she won the first season of the television competition show The Masked Dancer.