Meet eccentric US figure skater Alysa Liu, who just won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics
The California-born Olympian was raised by her lawyer dad alongside 4 siblings, and just struck gold at Milano Cortina 2026
US Olympian Alysa Liu just won a gold medal in women’s figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, becoming the first to win that honour for the States in 24 years. Her triumphant long programme, performed to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park Suite”, earned a standing ovation and a total of 226.79 points.
“When I was skating, hearing the cheers, I felt so connected with this audience. I want to be out there again,” the 20-year-old said, per The Guardian.
So, what else do we know about Alysa Liu?
What’s Alysa Liu’s background?
Liu was born on August 5, 2005, in Clovis, California, but grew up in Richmond, California, with her father, Arthur, and her four siblings: Selina, Julia, Joshua and Justin. She is the eldest of the five, all of whom were born via surrogacy with the help of anonymous donor eggs, per People.
Their father is a lawyer working in the Bay Area, and his mother, Shu, who hails from China, helped him with child-rearing. Liu’s three youngest siblings – Julia, Justin and Joshua – are triplets.
“When we were little, we would all sleep in the same room [in] three bunk beds, it was so fun,” the Olympian told KCRA. Liu was home-schooled and is now studying psychology at UCLA, per Elle.