Kristi Yamaguchi

Background

Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi was born in Hayward, California, on July 12, 1971. She is a former American figure skater, an author, and a T.V. personality. Her ancestry is Japanese and American. Jim Yamaguchi, her father, was a dentist, and Carole Yamaguchi, her mother, was a medical secretary. Her other two siblings were brought up in Fremont, California. She had aspired to be a figure skater since she was four years old when she saw Dorothy Hamill win a gold medal in figure skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics. To keep up with her training schedules, she initially entered homeschooling. Later, she completed her high school education at Mission San Jose High School. She then went on to the University of Alberta to study psychology. Yamaguchi has club feet, so skating training began as physical therapy but quickly evolved into a passion.

She first wowed the public when she won the U.S. junior championship at 15 in 1986. She won another junior-level championship in 1988 with Rudy Galindo, who was her partner until 1990 before they both decided to pursue single figure skating careers. She came to Alberta in 1991 to pursue her solo career and briefly coached alongside Christy Ness. She won world championships and made headlines when she became a professional skater. The following year, in 1992, she won a gold medal in the Winter Olympics in France, resulting in widespread media coverage. In 1993, Yamaguchi collaborated with the California Raisins on a workout video titled “Hip to be Fit: The California Raisins and Kristi Yamaguchi.” Yamaguchi has also appeared in several television skating specials, including the 1995 Disney feature “Aladdin on Ice,” where she played Princess Jasmine. She was also seen in television shows such as “Everybody Loves Raymond” (1996). In 1996, Yamaguchi established the Always Dream Foundation for Children. The foundation’s mission is to fund after-school programs, computers, back-to-school clothes, and summer camps for disabled children.

Yamaguchi hosted the W.E. T.V. series “Skating’s Next Star” in 2006, which was created and produced by Major League Figure Skating. During the 2006 Winter Olympics, Yamaguchi worked as a local figure skating commentator for San Jose T.V. station K.N.T.V. Yamaguchi defeated finalist couple Jason Taylor and Edyta Liwiska on May 20, 2008, to win the sixth season of A.B.C.’s reality show “Dancing with the Stars.” She was partnered with Mark Ballas. Yamaguchi made a cameo appearance in the 16th season finale, dancing with Dorothy Hamill. She received the Sonja Henie Award from the Professional Skaters Association. Yamaguchi worked for N.B.C.’s Universal Sports Network as a daily Olympics skating television analyst in 2010. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, she served as a special correspondent for “The Today Show.”

She is also a published author, having written three successful children’s books. In 2011, she received the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award for “Dream Big, Little Pig!” a children’s book she co-wrote with illustrator Tim Bowers, with a percentage of the revenues going to the Always Dream Foundation. In early 2012, Yamaguchi developed a women’s activewear brand focusing on utility, comfort, and style to inspire women to look and feel their best. The lifestyle brand is called Tsu.ya by Kristi Yamaguchi.

She married Bret Hedican, a professional hockey player she met at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Keara Kiyomi and Emma Yoshiko are their two daughters.