Laurie Hernandez

Lauren Zoe Hernandez (born June 9, 2000) is an American former artistic gymnast and actress. She gained prominent national recognition as a member of the 2016 U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics team, dubbed the "Final Five," which won the team gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Individually, Hernandez earned a silver medal on the balance beam at the same Games. Outside of athletics, she has built a career spanning television, voice acting, publishing, and stage performance.

Hernandez was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to Wanda and Anthony Hernandez, and her grandparents moved to the United States from Puerto Rico. She grew up alongside two siblings, Jelysa and Marcus. After taking ballet lessons at age four, she asked to transition to gymnastics at age five. She was homeschooled through the Abeka Academy distance-learning program. Later in life, she enrolled at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2023, graduating in May 2026.

Hernandez's competitive progression accelerated in 2012 when she qualified for domestic elite competitions. She was named to the U.S. junior national team in July 2013, winning junior all-around silver medals at the U.S. National Championships and the International Junior Mexican Cup. Despite setbacks in 2014 from a fractured wrist and a dislocated kneecap, she had a dominant 2015 season. That year, she won the junior all-around titles at the City of Jesolo Trophy, the U.S. Classic, the U.S. Championships, and the International Junior Japan Meet.

Making her senior debut in 2016, Hernandez contributed to U.S. team victories at the City of Jesolo Trophy and the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships. She placed third in the all-around at the U.S. Championships and second at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Prior to competing in Rio, she gave up her NCAA eligibility with the University of Florida to turn professional. At the 2016 Olympic Games, she helped secure the team gold medal for the United States and won the silver medal in the individual balance beam final.

After taking a two-year hiatus to rest and pursue media opportunities, Hernandez returned to elite gymnastics training in late 2018 at Gym-Max in California. Her return was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and legal disclosures regarding physical and emotional abuse by her former coach, Maggie Haney. Hernandez returned to competition at the 2021 Winter Cup and U.S. Classic, but after sustaining a knee injury during warm-ups at the 2021 U.S. Championships, she withdrew from the meet and officially retired from competitive gymnastics later that year.

Outside of competition, Hernandez won season 23 of Dancing with the Stars in 2016 with partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy. She hosted the first season of American Ninja Warrior Junior, provided voice work for Middle School Moguls and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, and authored the books I Got This: To Gold and Beyond and She's Got This. Hernandez also served as an NBC gymnastics commentator for the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games, winning a Sports Emmy Award for her 2024 coverage. In 2026, she made her Broadway debut in & Juliet and was cast in the Off-Broadway revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.