Michelle Kwan

KWAN Michelle (Zhen J)

 

Michelle Kwan

Figure Skater

Michelle Kwan was born the youngest of three children in Torrance, California (1980). She began skating when she was five years old. Her immigrant parents from Hong Kong had to seek financial help to keep up with Kwan's skating lessons. She eventually won two Winter Olympic medals, a silver in 1998 and a bronze in 2002, in addition to many other medals. Kwan graduated with BA and MA degrees in international relations. In 2012, Kwan was the sole inductee for both the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

(Portrait by Jia Min Zhen, SFSU 2014)