Gabby Douglas is an American gymnast and Olympian. She is one of America’s most successful athletes in the sport, achieving gold medal status with her team at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. She performed well at the 2012 Olympics to become an all-around champion. Her net worth is reported to be at $4 million as of early 2021. How did Gabby become so wealthy? Do gymnasts make that much money or did she earn her fortune some other way? We looked into her personal and career history to learn more and here is what we discovered.
Her early years
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Gabby Douglas was born in Newport News, Virginia on December 31, 1995, to her mother and father, Timothy Douglas and Natalie Hawkins-Douglas. She was raised with her two older sisters, Joyelle and Arielle, and a brother named Johnathan. They grew up in Virginia Beach. Gabby got an early start on her career. At the tender young age of six, she and her sister talked their mom into letting them take gymnastics classes. It soon became obvious that Gabby had a natural talent for the sport. Within just two years, she emerged as a level 4 gymnastics champion earning a title at the Virginia State Championships in 2004. She continued to advance in the sport and her skills steadily improved.
Her progress as a gymnast
By the time that Gabby was fourteen, her family found a professional gymnastics coach who was known to be one of the best trainers in the world. Gabby moved to Des Moines, Iowa so she could go into full-time training with Liang Chow. She lived with a family who had a daughter in the training program while her family stayed at their home in Virginia. Although she had to be away from her loved ones, the training was intense and took up a great deal of her time. She was homeschooled since the third grade, so her studies were conducted around her gymnastics training schedule. She continued the grueling training schedule and finally got a break that would forever change her life. In 2008, she was accepted into the US Classic competition held in Houston, Texas 2008. Out of all the gymnasts there, her overall ranking was 10th. She also entered the Visa Championships held in Boston, Massachusetts. She placed 16th which didn’t allow her to continue forward to the next tier of competition, but overall she had shown that she was a contender who had a bright future in gymnastics. She had a few things she needed to work on improving. She had already made her debut in an international competition at Houston.
Ups and downs along the way
Gabby had a setback in 2009. She fractured her wrist and was not able to compete in all the events at the 2009 Visa Championship. She was limited to balance beam and performing floor exercises. She recovered and by 2010 she competed in the Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup, the CoverGirl Classic, and the Pan American Championships. According to The List, she became a part of the United States team in 2011 that competed at the World Championships as well as the City of Jesolo Trophy, held in Italy and took the gold. She continued to perform in team settings as well as solo competitions. She was the highest scoring gymnast at the AT&T American Cup held in 2012 in the women’s competition. She performed on the US team that took the gold at the Pacific Rim Championships in 2012. Gabby took the silver all around, the bronze on the floor, and the gold in uneven bars at the US National Championships, securing her spot on the US Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team. She was at her peak, placing first at the 2012 Olympic Trials for the all-around gymnastics.
Her performance at the 2012 summer Olympics
In 2012, Gabby Douglas was a member of the team who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics which were held in London, England. She competed with a team of five women who took the gold at the London Olympics. This made history because it was the first team to take the gold since 1996. Gabby Douglas became the first African-American woman to win the gold in the individual all-around event, and she also became the first American Gymnast to win both teams and all-around gold medals at a single Olympic event.
How did Gabby Douglas earn millions?
The money that Gabby earned through her Olympic career was more like in the thousands of dollars and not millions, but it did open up other doors that would help her to earn a good living. Her newfound fame brought in throngs of big brand names who were interested in signing her to endorse their products. Gabby had her choice of endorsement deals which is where she has earned the bulk of her fortune. After earning her medals, the offers began to pour in, according to Nicki Swift. She signed on with some of the biggest brands in the world including Gillette Venus, CoverGirl, Capri Sun, Nike, and Kellogg’s. These endorsement deals brought in millions of dollars in alternate income. In addition to that, Gabby became an author. She wrote her autobiography titled “Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith.” The publication was released in 2012 and it became a New York Times Young Adult bestseller. She continued writing and released a book titled “Raising the Bar,” released in 2013. Also, she starred in a Lifetime television movie titled “The Gabby Douglas Story” in 2014, and she also had her TV reality show titled “Douglas Family Gold” in 2016. Gabby Douglas earned her $4 million fortune through opportunities that arose from her prominent career as an Olympian who took several gold medals. Had it not been for her outstanding performance, the endorsements that made her rich would not have been offered.
