Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired American competitive
figure skater
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...
and diplomat who served as
United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025. In figure skating Kwan is a two-time
Olympic medalist (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002), a five-time
world champion (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003) and a nine-time
U.S. champion (1996, 1998–2005). She is tied with
Maribel Vinson for the all-time National Championship record.
She competed at the senior level for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history.
[Athlete bio at usfigureskating.org]
, accessed September 8, 2006. Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, she is widely considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all time.
For well over a decade, Kwan maintained her status not only as America's most popular figure skater but as one of America's most popular female athletes.
Kwan landed numerous major endorsement deals, starred in multiple TV specials and was the subject of extensive media coverage. From 1997 to 2005, she was the
U.S. Figure Skating Association's top-paid skater in appearance fees and prize money,
as well as one of the highest paid
Winter Olympic athletes in endorsements.
Kwan was also the highest-paid skater on the
Champions on Ice tours.
Following her figure skating career, Kwan became active in politics, particularly with the
Democratic Party. In January 2022, President
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
nominated Kwan to be U.S. Ambassador to
Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
. She was confirmed by the Senate on September 29, 2022, took the oath of office on October 22, and presented her credentials on December 5.
Early life and education
Born in
Torrance, California
Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...
, Kwan was the third child of Danny Kwan and Estella Kwan, immigrants from
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. Her father was a native of
Canton and emigrated from Hong Kong to California in 1971. Kwan grew up speaking both
Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
and
English at home.
Kwan's interest in figure skating began at the age of five when she followed her two older siblings (
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
player Ron and figure skater
Karen) onto the ice.
Karen and Michelle began serious training when Michelle was about eight years old. They practiced three to four hours a day, waking up at 4:30am and arriving at the rink at 5:00am to skate before school, and then going back to the rink right after school to skate again. Paying for their increased skating-rink time led to financial hardship for Kwan's
working-class
The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
family. When Kwan was ten years old, her family could no longer afford a coach, but they were offered financial assistance by a fellow member of the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club that allowed them to train at the Ice Castle International Training Center in
Lake Arrowhead, California.
Kwan attended Soleado Elementary School in
Palos Verdes, California, but left public school to be homeschooled in 1994, when she was in the 8th grade.
After graduation from
Rim of the World High School in 1998, Kwan attended
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(UCLA) for one year.
In the fall of 2006, she transferred to the
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...
(DU).
Kwan mentioned that her attendance at DU marked a significant "turning point" in her life. She made the shift from having tutors since 7th grade and being a full-time skater to becoming a full-time student. During her initial weeks at DU, she had to use crutches due to hip surgery.
Shortly after her arrival at DU, Kwan engaged in an international studies internship.
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...
, the former
Secretary of State, appointed Kwan as the inaugural American Public Diplomacy Envoy. Her role was to foster a better understanding of America by sharing her personal story through cross-cultural dialogues with international students.
Kwan mentioned the challenges of balancing travel and school, recounting instances when she had to take exams on campus shortly after returning from a 15-hour flight. She applied the knowledge gained in her classroom to her international endeavors.
In June 2009, she graduated from Denver's
Josef Korbel School of International Studies with a bachelor's degree in international studies and a minor in political science.
In 2009, she began graduate studies in international relations at
the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...
and graduated in 2011.
On May 8, 2010, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from
Southern Vermont College.
Career

Kwan won five
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
(1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003), tying her with
Carol Heiss
Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins (born January 20, 1940) is an American former figure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the Figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics – Women's singles, 1960 Olympic champion, the Figure ...
(1956–1960) for the most world titles by an American. Kwan's nine world medals overall is the all-time record for an American skater in any discipline. The only ladies' singles skater with more world titles or medals is
Sonia Henie of Norway. Kwan won nine
U.S. Championships (1996, 1998–2005), tying the record for most wins set by
Maribel Vinson-Owen (1928–1933, 1935–1937). She holds the record for the most consecutive U.S. titles (eight) and most consecutive U.S. Championship medals (twelve). She also earned the silver medal at the
1998 Nagano Olympics and the bronze medal in the
2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Kwan has received a combined total of 57 perfect marks (6.0s) at major competitions, the singles record under the former
6.0 judging system.
Early competition
In 1991, Michelle Kwan and her sister
Karen began training with
Frank Carroll in Lake Arrowhead, California. After one year of coaching by Carroll, 11-year-old Michelle placed 9th at the junior level at the United States Figure Skating Championships. At the age of 12 in 1992, Michelle passed the gold test to become a senior-level figure skater despite the disapproval of her coach. In 1993, Kwan finished sixth at her first senior U.S. championships. The next season, she won the
1994 World Junior Championships.
In 1994, Kwan finished second to
Tonya Harding at the U.S. Championships, which ordinarily would have placed her on the U.S. team to the
1994 Olympic Games in
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...
, Norway. That place was instead given to 1993 national champion
Nancy Kerrigan
Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is an American former figure skating, figure skater. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, 1991 World Championships and the Figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics, 19 ...
, who had been sidelined by an
assault and battery (eventually connected to Harding's ex-husband
Jeff Gillooly) after a practice session at those championships. The 13-year-old Kwan went to Norway as an alternate but did not compete. Kerrigan and Harding both dropped out of eligible competition before the 1994 World Championships. Because of this (and teammate
Nicole Bobek not making it out of the qualifying round), Kwan had the sole responsibility to ensure two entries for the U.S. at the
1995 World Championships by placing in the top ten. Kwan had an unusual mistake in the short program and placed eleventh in that portion of the competition, but skated a strong freestyle program and finished eighth overall.
At the 1995 U.S. Championships,
Nicole Bobek won the gold medal, while Kwan again placed second after struggling with her
lutz jump in both the short program and free skate. At the
1995 World Championships, Kwan was in fifth place after the short program. She skated last in the free skate, giving the best performance of her career up to that point, completing all seven of her triple jumps, and "exuding joy and enthusiasm". She finished in third place in the free skate, behind
Chen Lu from China, who came in first place, and French skater
Surya Bonaly, who came in second. Kwan came in fourth place overall, behind American
Nicole Bobek, who came in third place overall, even though she came in fourth place in the free skate and despite Kwan's successful execution of her jumps, which were second in difficulty behind Bonaly's.
Artistic development and 1998 Olympics
Kwan began to develop a more mature style during the 1995 season. She used "Romanza" for her short program and in her free skate, music from "Salome's dance" from the film score ''
King of Kings
King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...
'' by
Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa (; April 18, 1907 – July 27, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer trained in Germany (1925–1931) and active in France (1931–1935), the United Kingdom (1935–1940), and the United States (1940–1995), with extensi ...
and "The Dance of the Seven Veils" from the
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
opera
''Salome'', both pieces depicting the Biblical story of
Salome
Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...
seducing
King Herod. She also improved her extension, speed and jump technique, and performed to more difficult choreography. Carroll defended their decision to make Kwan appear more mature by stating that they were giving the judges what they wanted, saying, "The judges were looking for the ladies' champion of the world, not the girls' champion of the world".
In both her practices and during her performance at
Skate America
Skate America is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The first Skate America was in held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, as a test event fo ...
, Kwan wore her hair in a bun instead of a ponytail and wore heavy theatrical makeup, including rhinestones pasted near the corner of her eyes. Her costume consisted of "a short-sleeved rich purple dress with rhinestone-studded flesh-colored fabric across the midriff and deep front and black necklines, ornamated with elaborate sequined floral patterns in gold and bright pastels". According to writer Ellyn Kestnbaum, Kwan was inspired more to the music than to the narrative, which as Kestnbaum criticized, revealed Kwan as "a sexual being". Kestnbaum stated, however, that she found it difficult to construct a linear narrative about the seductive Salome, but that Kwan's moves "might better represent a young woman venturing confidently into the world, encountering loss and confusion, but ultimately finding peace and triumph". Kestnbaum also stated that Kwan's movements in the program evoked "images of a sensual, luxurious, exotic Middle East".
Kwan's free skate consisted of seven successfully-executed triple jumps, including two triple Lutz jumps, one of which was done in combination and was debuted at Skate America and the other preceded by intricate steps. Other elements, such as the complexity of her steps that connected these elements and her spin positions' originality and variety, also contributed to the program's difficulty and artistry. Kestnbaum insists that Kwan's increased speed, the strong debut of her triple-triple jump, and her improved poise, precision, and posture "say more than her hairstyle or makeup about her new maturity as a skater". Kestnbaum states that Kwan's fellow competitors were better in how they executed flow across the ice, speed, and height of their jumps and that although Kwan exhibited more caution and control than her competitors, she skated with "new power and excitement compared to her younger self". Kestnbaum credits the success of the ''Salome'' program to Kwan's intricate choreography, which featured emotional depth during the program's heavier moments and frequent reversals of direction that often unexpectedly led to spins or jumps. Kwan ended up winning Skate America in 1995.
Kwan won both the U.S. Championships and the World Championships in 1996. In the later event, she edged out defending champion
Chen Lu in a very close competition in which both competitors garnered two perfect 6.0s for
Presentation
A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...
in the free skate. She was the third youngest figure skater to hold both titles. The1996-97 season marked the beginning of a winning streak for Kwan that lasted more than a year, from the fall of 1995 to the fall of 1996. As Kestnbaum put it, Kwan became "the most consistent and well-rounded skater in the
omen'sfield, taking on an almost legendary mystique as she continued to mature as a feminine artistic skater emphasizing beauty, musicality, and dramatic storylines concerned with love and death".
[Kestnbaum, p. 155]
In the 1996–97 season, Kwan skated to "Dream of Desdemona" (short program) and "Taj Mahal" (free skate). During this season, Kwan struggled with her
jumps because of a growth spurt, which affected her balance on her jump, and problems with new skating boots which she wore for an endorsement contract with the manufacturer.
[Kestnbaum, p. 155][Se]
The tragedy of turning 20
by Christine Brennan, July 12, 1999, USA Today accessed October 9, 2006. She won the short program at the
1997 U.S. Nationals, but fell early in her free skate and as she later stated, "panicked" and made several more errors. She lost to
Tara Lipinski
Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator, and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the 1998 Olympic champion, the 1997 Worl ...
, who came in first place in her free skate. Three weeks later, at the
Champion Series Final, she again lost to Lipinski, who completed more successful jumps than Kwan in both the short program and free skate.
At the
1997 World Championships, Kwan came in second place, behind Lipinski, who won the gold medal. Kwan came in fourth place in her short program due to an unsuccessful jump combination while Lipinski came in first place and Irina Slutskaya, who missed her combination jump, came in sixth place. All three skaters performed well during their free skates, each earning first-place ordinals from three of the nine judges. Kwan won the free skate, with Lipinski coming in second place and Slutskaya coming in third place. Kwan's jumps in her free skate were not as difficult as Lipinski and Slutskaya's, but her skating between her jumps was more complex and demonstrated "more polished refinement". Overall, Lipinski came in first place, Kwan came in second place, and Slutskaya came in fourth place behind
Vanessa Gusmeroli of France.
Going into the 1997—98 Olympic season, the American press "play
dup the Kwan-Lipinski rivalry for all it was worth".
[Kestnbaum, p. 158] According to Kestnbaum, Kwan's programs emphasized sophistication and pure skating, which Kestnbaum called "a change of pace"
from her previous two seasons, which featured dramatic storylines. Kestbaum also called both Kwan's programs "carefully choreographed expressions of joy".
For Kwan's short program, she chose piano music by
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...
, and for her free skating program, she chose music from the concerto ''Lyra Angelica'' by
William Alwyn
William Alwyn (born William Alwyn Smith; 7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was a prolific English composer, Conducting, conductor, and music teacher who composed over 200 cinematic scores, of which some 70 were for full-length features, ...
. She came in first place at Skate America, winning both the short program and free skate, while Lipinski came in second place.
She also won
Skate Canada, but suffered a stress fracture on her foot and was forced to withdraw from her third
Champions Series Final. Kwan regained her U.S. title from Lipinski at the 1998 National Championships, despite her fractured toe. Her injury prevented her from attempting her triple toe-triple toe combination, but she completed all seven jumps in her free program earning 6.0s from eight of the nine judges. As Kestnbaum put it, Kwan "skated with a transcendent floating quality that was becoming her trademark". Many people consider her performances at the 1998 U.S. Championships to be the high point of her career from both a technical and artistic standpoint. Both performances earned her fifteen perfect 6.0s and left two judges in tears.
Kwan and Lipinski were co-favorites to win the
1998 Olympic Games in
Nagano, Japan. Kwan placed first in the short program, winning eight first place votes out of nine judges, while Lipinski came in second place. In the free skate, Kwan, who skated first in the final group, executed a clean seven-triple performance but placed behind Lipinski, who also did seven triples including a triple loop/triple loop combination and a triple toe-loop/half-loop/triple Salchow. Kwan's performance was "graceful and well-measured, filled with complex edging and unusual moves such as a sequence of spins in both directions".
[Kestnbaum, p. 162] Kestnbaum called Kwan's free skate "tentative and slow" as compared to her performance at Nationals. Her jumps were more difficult and bigger than Lipinski's, but Kwan's were not as high and did not cover as much ice as her competitors' jumps.
Lipinski's spins were faster than Kwan's. The judges awarded Lipinski with higher technical scores and gave both Lipinski and Kwan the same presentation scores, mostly 5.9s, although Lipinski won the free skate.
[Kestnbaum, p. 163] Kwan ended up winning the silver medal, with the gold medal going to Lipinski and the bronze medal to
Chen Lu.
Lipinski and Chen both retired from competitive skating shortly after the Olympics, while Kwan went on to win the 1998 World Championships in Minneapolis.
From 1998 to 2002 Olympics

Kwan continued to compete as an eligible skater in the 1998–99 season, although she bypassed the fall Grand Prix season and instead chose to skate in a series of made-for-television pro-am events. Her "regular" competitive programs that season were "Fate of Carmen" (short program) and "Lamento D'Ariane" (free skate). Kwan won her third national title at the 1999 U.S. Championships, competing against a weak field. At the 1999 World Championships, Kwan did not skate her best, and placed second behind Russian competitor
Maria Butyrskaya.
Kwan's win at the 2000 U.S. Nationals was controversial to some. She was criticized for planning an easier solo jump in her short program than some of her competitors (a triple
toe loop rather than a triple
flip), and fell on this element in the competition. The judges nevertheless placed her third in that segment behind younger challengers
Sasha Cohen and
Sarah Hughes; however, the placement still kept her in contention for the title. Ultimately, she won the free skate with the best performance of the night, capturing 8 of the 9 first-place ordinals. At the 2000 World Championships, Kwan was again in third place after the short program, behind
Maria Butyrskaya and
Irina Slutskaya. In her free skate, Kwan landed seven triple jumps, including a triple toe loop/triple toe loop combination, and won that segment of the competition. Butyrskaya lost her commanding lead by finishing third behind Slutskaya in the free skate, allowing Kwan to win the overall title as well.
During the 2000–2001 season, Kwan began working with the famed designer (and former figure skater)
Vera Wang, who designed most of her competition and exhibition costumes for the next six years. Kwan was only the second figure skater Wang designed for, following
Nancy Kerrigan
Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is an American former figure skating, figure skater. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, 1991 World Championships and the Figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics, 19 ...
. At that year's national championships, Kwan again won the title, receiving first-place ordinals from all 9 judges in both the short program and free skate. At the 2001 World Championships, Kwan was second behind Slutskaya in the short program. Kwan won the title with her "Song of the Black Swan" free skate, executing 7 triples, including a triple toe loop/triple toe loop combination.

Kwan and Carroll decided to end their coaching relationship two days before the start of the
2001 Skate America competition.
In interviews, Kwan said she needed to "take responsibility" for her skating. Coachless, Kwan arrived at the 2002 U.S. Championships in Los Angeles amid the media's scrutiny over her separation with Carroll and her season's inconsistencies. Kwan won the competition with a revived "Rachmaninoff" short program and a new "
Scheherazade
Scheherazade () is a major character and the storyteller in the frame story, frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''.
Name
According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade ...
" program for her free skate, securing a place on the
2002 Olympic team. Joining her on the team were
Sasha Cohen (second) and
Sarah Hughes (third). The 21-year-old Kwan and Russia's
Irina Slutskaya were favorites to win the gold. Kwan led after the short program, followed by Slutskaya, Cohen, and Hughes. In the free skate, Kwan two-footed her triple
toe loop combination and fell on her
triple flip, while
Sarah Hughes skated a clean program. Kwan won the bronze medal behind Hughes and Slutskaya.
[Se]
Hughes Edges Slutskaya, Kwan for Gold
Hughes Edges Kwan and Slutskaya to win gold, CNN Sports Illustrated, February 21, 2002 accessed October 9, 2006. Kwan's final event of the season was the
2002 Worlds, where she won the silver medal behind Slutskaya.
2002–2006

Kwan began working with coach
Scott Williams in the summer of 2002.
She continued to compete on the Olympic-eligible circuit, although in a more limited way. During the fall seasons of 2002 to 2004, Kwan competed in only one
Grand Prix event,
Skate America
Skate America is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The first Skate America was in held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York, as a test event fo ...
in the fall of 2002, which she entered as a last-minute replacement. She won the event and qualified for the
Grand Prix Final but chose not to compete in it. Kwan chose to not compete in Grand Prix events in the 2003 and 2004 seasons where the
new judging system was being used. Kwan won all phases of every competition she entered in the 2002–2003 competitive season with her programs: Peter Gabriel's "The Feeling Begins" from ''
The Last Temptation of Christ'' (short program) and "
Concierto de Aranjuez" (free skate). She won the U.S. Championships again and regained her World title.
In autumn 2003, she hired the noted technician
Rafael Arutyunyan as her coach,
with whom she attempted to increase the technical difficulty of her programs and hone her jump technique. In the 2003–2004 competitive season, she skated again to "The Feeling Begins" for her short program, and Puccini's "
Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...
" for her long program. Again, Kwan won the U.S. Championships, earning seven more 6.0s for presentation during the free skating. At the
2004 World Championships, after a difficult qualifying round, Kwan was penalized in her short program for going two seconds over the time limit. This caused her to place fourth going into the long program, behind American
Sasha Cohen, Japan's
Shizuka Arakawa, and
Miki Ando. Kwan skated a clean performance with five triples and received the last 6.0 marks given at the World Championships. She placed second in the free skating portion (she was one judge short from winning the free skating) and placed third overall, behind Arakawa (who performed seven triples, including two triple-triple combinations) and Cohen.
For the 2004–2005 competitive season, Kwan skated her long program to "
Boléro
''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. It is one of Ravel's most famous compositions. It was also one of his last completed works before illness diminished his ability to write music.
Composition
T ...
", choreographed by British ice dancer
Christopher Dean who had famously skated to the music with
Jayne Torvill two decades before, and debuted a new short program, "Adagio" from
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenians, Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Music of the Soviet Union#Classical music of the Soviet Union, Soviet composers.
Khachaturian was born and rai ...
's ballet ''
Spartacus
Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
Historical accounts o ...
''. At the U.S. Championships, she won her 9th title, tying the all-time record previously set by
Maribel Vinson-Owen. Vinson-Owen had coached
Frank Carroll, who in turn coached Kwan. At the 2005 World Championship, Kwan competed for the first time under the new judging system. She had a rough qualifying round and placed third in the short program. In the free skate, Kwan fell on her triple
salchow and two-footed a triple
lutz. Although she finished third in both the short and long program portion of the competition, Kwan was edged by
Carolina Kostner for the bronze medal and finished fourth overall, missing third place by 0.37 points. It was the first time since 1995 that Kwan had failed to medal at any international competition, and would be her final competitive event.
2006 Olympics

Kwan looked at the 2005 Worlds as a learning experience in the
ISU Judging System
The ISU Judging System or the International Judging System (IJS), occasionally referred to as the Code of Points (COP) system, is the scoring system that has been used since 2004 to judge the figure skating disciplines of single skating, men's an ...
. She continued to train and stated that she would attempt to qualify for the
2006 Olympic Games in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, Italy.
[ Retrieved July 23, 2007] However, following a hip injury, she was forced to withdraw from her three planned competitions in the fall of 2005. Kwan skated her new short program ("Totentanz") at a made-for-TV event in December 2005, but her performance was well below her usual standard. On January 4, 2006, Kwan withdrew from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships with an abdominal injury incurred in December 2005. One week later, she filed a petition with the USFSA for a medical waiver to be placed on the 2006 Olympic figure skating team.
On January 14, 2006, after the United States ladies' figure skating event, the USFSA's International Committee met and in a 20 to 3 vote approved Kwan's petition under the stipulation that she show her physical and competitive readiness to a five-member monitoring panel by January 27.
Kwan performed her long and short programs for the panel on the stipulated day, and her spot on the Olympic team was established, as the panel felt she was fit to compete. However, on February 12, 2006, the
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...
announced that Kwan had withdrawn from the Games after suffering a new groin injury in her first practice in Turin. Kwan remarked that she "respected the Olympics too much to compete". The Turin organizing committee accepted the USOC's application for
Emily Hughes (who had finished third at the U.S. Championships) to compete as Kwan's replacement.
After her withdrawal from the Olympic team, Kwan turned down an offer to stay in Turin as a figure skating commentator for
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...
. During an interview with
Bob Costas and
Scott Hamilton, Kwan said she was not retiring yet.
Kwan underwent elective
arthroscopic surgery
Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgery, surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted in ...
in August 2006 to repair a torn
labrum in her right hip, an old injury which she traces back to 2002.
According to Kwan, the surgery allowed her to skate pain-free for the first time in four years.
After 2006
Kwan did not compete during the 2006–2007 figure skating season.
Kwan told the Associated Press in October 2007 that she would decide in 2009 if she planned to compete in the
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...
,
but she ultimately decided not to do so, focusing instead on graduate school.
She has said "Representing the United States as an American Public Diplomacy Envoy the past three years has been very rewarding, and I want to do more." After graduating from the University of Denver in 2009, Kwan said "Furthering my education will bring me closer to that goal, and I don't want to wait any longer to continue the journey."
On February 17, 2010, Kwan told
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
in an interview that she was continuing her studies as a graduate student at the Tufts University
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, as well as continuing her work as a Public Diplomacy Envoy. Kwan also said she would be commentating for Good Morning America at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In August 2009, Kwan made her first on-ice appearance in several years, performing at
Ice All Stars, a show headlined by South Korean world champion
Yuna Kim in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. Kim considered Kwan her idol growing up. Kwan also later appeared in Kim's
All That Skate shows in South Korea and Los Angeles.
She was chosen as the guest of honor to help open a new synthetic skating rink at the
Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands is a integrated resort fronting Marina Bay, Singapore, Marina Bay in Singapore and a landmark of the city. At its opening in 2010, it was deemed the world's most expensive standalone casino property at Singapore dollar, S$8&nbs ...
resort in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
in December 2010, where she performed a modified routine to "Winter Song", a program she self-choreographed with her sister.
She returned to Singapore a month later as a Public Diplomacy Envoy
to meet local students and to promote ice skating in the tropical country.
As of 2008, Kwan is a member of the Chinese-American organization
Committee of 100. In 2014, Kwan joined
Fox Sports 1
Fox Sports 1 (branded on-air as FS1) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 airs an array of live sporting events, including Majo ...
for its
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...
broadcast.
Skating technique
Kwan was known for her unrivaled consistency in delivering clean programs, as well as her strong skating skills and deep, quiet edges that have been described as "silent blades" that "barely whispered". She was also known for her musicality and ability to combine grace and artistry with athleticism.
Although not of the greatest height nor explosive spring, Kwan, for most of her career, included all of the triples (except for the
Axel) in her programs, including two
lutzes (the most difficult jump after the Axel). She landed the
triple toe-triple toe combination cleanly eleven times in competition, including at her 2000 and 2001 world championship victories. During the 2004–2005 season, she debuted a
triple flip-
double toe-
double loop combination.
Beginning in the 1996–1997 season, Kwan debuted a
change of edge spiral that soon became her signature move. Kwan's spiral was famed by commentators not only for its great extension and line, but also its speed, the strength and security of the edge, the deep lean and the easy smoothness of the change of edge. In the 1998–1999 season, Kwan revived a variation of the
Charlotte spiral, a move innovated by German skater
Charlotte Oelschlägel which had not been performed in decades.
Kwan's
split falling leaf was praised by fellow skaters
Dick Button
Richard Totten Button (July 18, 1929 – January 30, 2025) was an American figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion (1948, 1952) and five-time consecutive world champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-Euro ...
and
Peggy Fleming during competitions, for its effortlessness and perfect split position in the air. Kwan has done multiple split falling leaves in immediate succession (without any turns or steps in between) while maintaining a split position on both.
Another of her trademark moves is a
Y-spin done consecutively on both feet. Kwan is also one of the few skaters who can spin in both directions.
Awards and accolades
Kwan is a recipient of the prestigious
James E. Sullivan Award (2001), which is given to America's best amateur athlete; she was the first figure skater to win the award since
Dick Button
Richard Totten Button (July 18, 1929 – January 30, 2025) was an American figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion (1948, 1952) and five-time consecutive world champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-Euro ...
in 1949. In 2003, she was named the
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...
(USOC) "Sportswoman of the Year", and is the 5th figure skater in history to receive this honor. She has also been named USOC "Athlete of the Month" fourteen times, which is more than any other athlete, male or female, as well as being named "Female Figure Skating Athlete of the Year" by the USOC multiple times. She is also the recipient of the USOC's "Citizenship Through Sports Alliance Award" (2004).
Kwan is one of only two multiple winners of the "Readers' Choice Figure Skater of the Year" award given by ''Skating'' magazine, winning it an unprecedented seven times (1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001–2003). In 2003, the
United States Figure Skating Association, which publishes ''Skating'', announced that the award would be renamed the "Michelle Kwan Trophy". The USFSA stated that although Kwan may continue to skate competitively, she would no longer be eligible for the award. The only other skater to win the award multiple times,
Johnny Weir
John Garvin Weir (; born July 2, 1984) is an American television commentator and retired figure skater. He is a two-time Olympian (2006 Winter Olympics, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics), the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, 2008 World ...
, only won it twice in comparison.
* In 1999, Kwan was given the Historymakers Award by the Los Angeles
Chinese American Museum.
* In May 2000, Kwan was selected as one of ''
People
The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' magazine's 50 most beautiful people.
* In 2002, Kwan won the
Teen Choice Award
The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...
for favorite female athlete.
* In 2002, Kwan was chosen as
Cosmogirl of the year.
* In 2002 and 2003, Kwan won the
Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for favorite female athlete.
* In 2005, Kwan traveled to Beijing to accept an award for being the "female athlete kids in China most admire" at the inaugural CCTV-Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Honors.
* In 2007, the
Women's Sports Foundation
The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit charity focused on female involvement in sports. Founded in 1974 by tennis player Billie Jean King and initially supported by Olympic athletes Donna de Varona and Suzy Chaffee ...
honored Kwan with the Billie Jean Award for her contribution to women's sports.
* In May 2009, Kwan was honored by the Los Angeles
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California in "Celebrating Chinese Americans in Sports".
* In 2010, Kwan received an honorary doctorate's degree from
Southern Vermont College and delivered the commencement speech for that year's graduation.
* In 2012, Kwan was the sole inductee for the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
She was also the sole inductee for the 2012 World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
* In 2014, Kwan was honored by Harlem Skating for her career.
* In 2017, Kwan was inducted into the California sports Hall of Fame.
Public life
Diplomatic positions
On November 9, 2006, Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...
named Michelle Kwan as a public diplomacy ambassador. In this non-salaried position, Kwan represented American values, especially to young people and sports enthusiasts, and traveled widely.
Kwan made her first overseas trip in the capacity of public diplomacy ambassador with a visit to China from January 17–25, 2007.
[Michelle Kwan makes a near flawless transition from skating to diplomacy](_blank)
, ''Napa Valley Register'', accessed May 19, 2014.
Her diplomatic position as an envoy continued in the
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
administration where she worked with then Vice President
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
and Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
.
Following her first trip to China as a public diplomacy envoy, Kwan continued her role in subsequent trips to Russia in June 2007, Argentina in March 2008, Ukraine in February 2009, South Korea in January 2010, and Singapore in January 2011.
On April 15, 2011, it was announced that Kwan would serve as an adviser to the U.S.-China Women's Leadership Exchange and Dialogue (Women-LEAD).
In December 2012, Kwan was appointed as a State Department senior adviser for public diplomacy and public affairs.
In June 2015, Kwan announced that she would support Hillary Clinton's campaign efforts by working on outreach efforts from Clinton's headquarters in Brooklyn.
United States ambassador to Belize
On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that he intended to nominate Kwan to be
United States ambassador to Belize. She was formally nominated on January 7, 2022.
[Presidential nomination no]
1662
, ''Michelle Kwan, of California, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Belize.'', 117th Congress, January 7, 2022. Accessed January 10, 2022. Hearings on her nomination were held before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...
on May 18, 2022. Her nomination was reported favorably by the committee on June 9, 2022.
She was confirmed by the Senate with a voice vote on September 29, 2022. She received her appointment on October 7 and was sworn in on October 10, 2022. She presented her credentials to
Governor-General of Belize
The governor-general of Belize is the representative of the Belizean monarch, currently King Charles III, in Belize. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister of Belize. The functions of the go ...
Dame
Froyla Tzalam on December 5, 2022. She is the first Asian American woman to hold the position. She served in that position through the Biden administration, leaving in January 2025.
Filmography
Kwan has guest-starred as herself in ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' episode "
Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass
"Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" is the eighth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2005. The episode was writte ...
" and the ''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' episode "
A Hero Sits Next Door
"A Hero Sits Next Door" is the fifth episode in the Family Guy season 1, first season of the American animated television series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States on May 2, 1999 ...
". She has also made guest appearances on ''
Arthur
Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur.
A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
'' (in the season 6 episode "The Good Sport"), ''
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...
'' and various other television series. She provided the voice of a shopkeeper in
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's direct-to-DVD sequel ''
Mulan II
''Mulan II'' is a 2004 American animated direct-to-video musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Disneytoon Studios and distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. The film was directed by Darrell Rooney and Lynne Southe ...
'', Kwan also did the voice of a fictionalized version of herself called Michelle Kwanzleberry in the series finale of ''
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
''Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!'' is an American animated children's educational television series created by Bob Boyle for Nickelodeon. The series was produced by Bolder Media (a joint venture of Frederator Studios and the Mixed Media Group) and Star ...
'' In 2005, she and fellow figure skater
Brian Boitano appeared as announcers in the film ''
Ice Princess''.
In 1998, Kwan struck a deal with
Walt Disney Television that led to her starring in 3 prime-time skating specials on
ABC: ''Reflections on Ice'' in 1998 (an ice skating adaptation of the Disney film ''
Mulan
Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...
'', based on the Chinese legend of
Hua Mulan), ''Michelle Kwan Skates to Disney's Greatest Hits'' in 1999 and ''Princess on Ice'' in 2001, with the last special featuring performances by the boy band
O-Town and the country music vocal group
SHeDAISY. She also appeared in various other televised skating specials throughout her career.
In 1999, she appeared in the ''
Michelle Kwan Figure Skating'' computer game (released by Electronic Arts).
[EA signs Michelle Kwan]
, ''Gamespot'', accessed May 19, 2014.
Other activities
Scholastic published an autobiography by Kwan in 1998, titled ''Heart of a Champion'', which is now in its sixth printing.
In 1999, Kwan signed with
Disney Publishing Worldwide
Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Experiences, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints include Disney Edition ...
for an 8-book deal which included an inspirational book for children titled, ''The Winning Attitude: What it Takes to be a Champion'', as well as a series of fictional skating books inspired by Kwan and written by Nola Thacker called "Michelle Kwan presents Skating Dreams".
In 2005, Kwan's family opened the EastWest Ice Palace in
Artesia, California
Artesia ( Spanish for " artesian aquifer") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California. Artesia was incorporated on May 29, 1959, and is one of Los Angeles County's Gateway Cities. The city has a 2020 census population of 16,395. A ...
. The ice rink houses many of her skating medals and memorabilia.
In January 2009, Kwan was appointed a member of the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
The President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN) is a Federal Advisory Committee Act, federal advisory committee that aims to promote "programs and initiatives that motivate people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to le ...
by
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, a role which she had continued into the Obama administration.
Kwan has been a longtime supporter of the
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...
, taking part in "unified sports" events that bring together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities. In 2011, she was added to the board of directors for the Special Olympics.
Endorsements
Kwan has had many endorsement contracts throughout her career, including Aim Funds,
[Kwan seeks fourth world crown-CBC]
, mentions endorsements for Aim Funds, Chevrolet, Disney, Yoplait, Caress, Campbell's and United Airlines, accessed May 19, 2014. Campbell's
The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campb ...
, Caress soap,
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
,
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
,
["Even with no Gold Medal, Michelle Kwan is golden to advertisers"](_blank)
''New York Times'', accessed May 19, 2014. Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
,
East West Bank
East West Bank is an American bank that is the primary subsidiary of East West Bancorp. It is the largest publicly traded bank headquartered in Southern California. The company has been ranked the #1 performing U.S. bank with more than $10 billi ...
,
Got Milk?,
Kraft
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...
,
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...
,
Maxxis,
["Goodbye Girl"](_blank)
''Chicago Tribune'', accessed May 19, 2014 McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
,
Minute Maid
Minute Maid is an American brand of drink, beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but which now extends to soft drinks of different kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid is sold under the Cappy (juice), Cappy brand in Central E ...
,
Riedell Skates,
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International (RCI), formerly Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line founded in 1968 in Norway and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997.
Based in Miami, Florida, it is the l ...
,
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...
,
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
,
Visa,
and
Yoplait
Yoplait ( , ) is a French dessert company and the world's largest franchise brand of yogurt.
It is fully owned by the French dairy cooperative Sodiaal since 2021. In North America, the Canadian subsidiary was taken over by Sodiaal in 2025. Th ...
.
Kwan's multi-year deal with Chevrolet (starting in 2000) was estimated to be worth over $1 million.
[Kwan still a good skate with advertisers, despite odd year](_blank)
, Sportsbusinessdaily.com, accessed May 19, 2014. The Chevrolet/Michelle Kwan R.E.W.A.R.D.S. Scholarship program was established by the Chevrolet Motor Division of
General Motors
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
in cooperation with Kwan.
In 2002, Kwan was named a "celebrity representative" and spokeswoman for
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
in a three-year deal reported to be worth $1 million a year.
["Good as Gold"](_blank)
''Los Angeles Times'', accessed May 19, 2014. This deal was renewed and expanded in 2006.
Personal life
In September 2012, Kwan announced her engagement to
Clay Pell
Herbert Claiborne Pell IV (born November 17, 1981) is an American lawyer, military officer, and politician. He is a commander and judge advocate in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, and served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Interna ...
, an American lawyer, military officer and former director for strategic planning on the
National Security
National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...
staff at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. In February 2014, he declared his candidacy for
Governor of Rhode Island. He was unsuccessful in his bid. Pell is the grandson of the late Rhode Island Senator
Claiborne Pell
Claiborne de Borda Pell (November 22, 1918 – January 1, 2009) was an American politician and writer who served as a U.S. Senator from Rhode Island for six terms from 1961 to 1997. He was the sponsor of the 1972 bill that reformed the Basic ...
. The couple, who met in April 2011,
were married on January 19, 2013, in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
.
Vera Wang designed Kwan's wedding gown.
After four years of marriage, Pell filed for divorce from Kwan in March 2017 citing irreconcilable differences.
On January 5, 2022, Kwan announced the birth of her first child, a daughter.
Political views and activism
Kwan worked as a surrogate to Hillary Clinton's
2016 presidential campaign as an outreach coordinator. When asked why she decided to join the campaign she explained, "There was no way that I could sit on the sidelines."
She added that, for her, supporting Clinton was a no-brainer, given her family's own immigrant history. "Every day I'm reminded about my personal story, about what's at stake in these elections. I think of my parents, and as I look around the room, we probably share similar stories, of how our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents might have immigrated to the U.S. It's so the next generation of Americans have the ability to dream that dream."
In May 2021, it was announced that Kwan would executive produce "Recipe for Change" for
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
alongside
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...
,
Maverick Carter,
Dennis Cheng, Jamal Henderson and Philip Byron. The special, set to air June 16, 2021 and produced by the
SpringHill Company, brings together Asian American celebrities, chefs, activists, and creators to celebrate
Asian and Pacific Islanders culture and discuss the recent and historic acts of hate and violence against the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders community. "Recipe for Change" was nominated for "Outstanding Daytime Special" at the
49th Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Awards.
Programs
Competitive highlights
Major events for Olympic-eligible skaters include the
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...
, the
Olympic Winter Games
The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...
, the
ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating (known as ISU Champions Series from 1995 to 1997) is a series of senior international figure skating competitions organized by the International Skating Union. The invitational series was inaugurated in 1995, in ...
, and for American skaters, the
U.S. Championships. Kwan's record in these events is listed by season in the tables below
Competitive outings
Notes
References
Works cited
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
U.S. State Department biographyKwan's ''Salome'' free skate,1995/1996 Grand Prix Finals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwan, Michelle
1980 births
Living people
20th-century American sportswomen
21st-century American diplomats
21st-century American sportswomen
Ambassadors of the United States to Belize
American athlete-politicians
American female single skaters
American sportspeople of Hong Kong descent
American sportswomen of Chinese descent
American women ambassadors
Biden administration personnel
Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games
Diplomats from Los Angeles
Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters from Los Angeles
Figure skating commentators
Goodwill Games medalists in figure skating
James E. Sullivan Award recipients
Josef Korbel School of International Studies people
Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Members of the Committee of 100
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in figure skating
Olympic medalists in figure skating
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in figure skating
Philanthropists from California
Season-end world number one figure skaters
Special Olympics
Sportspeople from Torrance, California
The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni
World Figure Skating Championships medalists
World Junior Figure Skating Championships medalists