Tara Lipinski

A pint-sized powerhouse, Tara Lipinski made history as a teenage figure skating icon. Born June 10, 1982 in Philadelphia, Penn., Tara Kristen Lipinski started roller skating at 3 and ice skating at 6. She won the 1994 junior-level U.S. Olympic Festival and ascended to senior-level competitions by 13. A year later, she won the 1997 U.S. and World Championships, demonstrating artistry and athleticism beyond her years, becoming the first female skater to land a triple loop/triple loop combination, which became her signature. While her rival Michelle Kwan was heavily favored to win gold at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Lipinski skated with an unstoppable confidence and effervescence, winning the long program with an electrifying program that contained seven triples, including two triple/triple combinations. Winning Olympic gold at age 15, Lipinski retired from competitive skating soon after, holding multiple records as the youngest winner in Olympic and World Championships history. Showered with honors and media attention as the ultimate Cinderella story of that year's Games, Lipinski devoted herself to philanthropy and professional exhibitions. She also starred in the made-for-TV movie "Ice Angel," and made several guest appearances on popular TV shows, including "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" and "Malcolm in the Middle." In 2006, she became the youngest-ever member of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. For the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Lipinski was teamed with Johnny Weir and Terry Gannon to call figure skating live for NBC's daytime broadcasts. Thanks to the trio's success in Sochi, NBC named them its lead figure skating broadcast team. Lipinski and Weir also provided fashion commentary for "Access Hollywood" during the 86th Annual Academy Awards. They covered fashion again for NBC during the 2014 Kentucky Derby, and in 2015 were event reporters for NBC's coverage of the Super Bowl XLIX pregame show. The two also covered the 2015 Kentucky Derby as well as the National Dog Show, and in 2016 they once again provided fashion commentary at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio. The duo then travelled to PyeongChang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, where they covered figure skating alongside Gannon. They were also chosen to co-host the closing ceremonies in PyeongChang, once again alongside Gannon.