The Evolution of Simone Biles

Simone Biles was born on March 14, 1997 in Columbus, Ohio. At age three, she and her three siblings were placed in foster care due to her biological mother’s battles with substance abuse. Biles and her younger sister Adria were eventually adopted by their grandfather Ron and grandmother Nellie, while their older siblings, Ashley and Tevin were adopted by their aunt. Biles credits her parents’ support with helping her become the amazing athlete she is today.

“Appreciation post for my sweet parents. Thanks for making sacrifices since day 1 so I can live out my dream. But most importantly thanks for always being there for me through all the highs and lows,” she captioned a post on Instagram in June 2021.

Young Simone was introduced to gymnastics at age 6 on a school field trip to gym. A coach encouraged her parents to sign her up for classes and she hasn’t slowed down since.

Although she was too young to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, Biles’ star power exploded in 2013, when the then-16-year-old won both U.S. and World Championship all-around titles. That same year, Biles had her first floor exercise move named after her – a double back layout with a half twist.

By 2016, Biles was ready for Rio, where she competed in her first Olympic Games. She did not disappoint, bringing home gold medals in the all-around, team, vault, and floor exercise competitions. Biles also won a bronze medal on the balance beam.

Without a doubt, Simone Biles’ story of how she became the best in her field is incredibly inspiring. In 2016, she opened up about how she overcame the challenges of her childhood to become a world-class athlete in her autobiography, “Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance.”

In 2017, Biles took her talent to ABC’s hit “Dancing With the Stars,” where she showed off her dance moves with her professional partner Sasha Farber. Unfortunately, Biles didn’t bring home the mirrorball trophy. She and Farber finished in fourth place after being voted off the show one week before the finals.

In 2020, Biles represented Team USA at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. But a mental block known in the sport as “the twisties” left Biles unable to keep track of where her body was in the air as she performed and led to her decision to ultimately pull out of several competitions after the first round in the best interest of the team and her mental health.

Although she didn’t compete, Biles was there to cheer her team on to win a silver medal in the team competition – and they felt the love.

“This medal is definitely for (Simone),” said teammate Jordan Chiles at the time. “If it wasn’t if it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t be here where we are right now. We wouldn’t be a silver medalist because of who she is as a person.”

Simone joined a group of athletes who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2021 about the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Larry Nassar. The athletes argued that USA Gymnastics failed to protect the athletes from Nassar. “I don’t want another young gymnast, or Olympic athlete, or any individual to experience the horror that I and hundreds of others have endured before, during and continuing to this day in the wake of the Larry Nassar abuse,” she said at the time.

Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Biles’ courage during the 2020 Olympic Games did not go unnoticed. In 2021, she was named Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year. The magazine recognized her for her achievements in her sport as well as normalizing the conversation around mental health.

“Biles alone won’t change mental-health inequities or force a society that has long paid lip service to the importance of mental health to do more. But she made it that much harder to look away,” they wrote.

In 2022, President Joe Biden presented Biles with the Presidential Medal of Freedom – our country’s highest civilian honor – for being a tireless advocate for mental health, foster care children and sexual assault victims. The then 25-year-old made history, becoming the youngest person to receive the honor.

Biles found love with NFL football player Jonathan Owens in 2020. The couple, who met online, made their relationship Instagram official in August 2020. Although the athlete’s schedules made it difficult to date, their love remained strong, and in February 2022, the pair got engaged.

“THE EASIEST YES,” Biles captioned her February 15 Instagram post announcing the news. “I can’t wait to spend forever & ever with you, you’re everything I dreamed of and more! let’s get married FIANCÉ 💍🥺🥲🤎 @jowens_3.”

Biles and Owens exchanged vows in April 2023 at a Houston courthouse before their destination wedding in Cabo on May 6, 2023. But since the couple has been married, they’ve had to defend their relationship against those who’ve joked and called out Owens for admitting in an interview he didn’t know who Biles was before they got involved, thinking he was the catch of their coupling.

“I’m going to quickly address this, the joke was never a joke! Y’all are blatantly being disrespectful to my relationship & my husband,” she said in a since-expired Instagram story post in May 2024.