Simone Biles’ Life in Photos

Simone Biles’ Childhood

Simone Biles was born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio. At age 6, she was adopted by Ronald and Nellie Biles — her biological grandparents — alongside her younger sister Adria Biles after spending three years in foster care. The sisters’ two older siblings, Tevin and Ashley, were adopted by their great aunt.

Simone Biles and Bannon’s Gymnastix

Simone Biles was first introduced to gymnastics at 6 years old when visiting a gym called Bannon’s Gymnastix during a field trip.

“I’d never even heard of gymnastics before,” she told CNN. “I was just like, ‘Oh, I bet I could do that!’ ”

The coaches sent a letter home to Ronald and Nellie, encouraging them to sign her up for classes, which they did.

“It was history from there,” Nellie told PEOPLE in 2016. “She never missed a practice. Even if she was sick, I would tell her she should stay home, and she would say ‘No, I have to go to practice!’ ”

Here, Simone is seen smiling toward her dad in the gym that started it all in Houston in 2013.

Simone Biles and Her Parents

Nellie and Ronald Biles have been two of their daughter’s biggest supporters from day one.

“Being separated from my biological mom, being placed in foster care before I officially got adopted by my grandparents, it just set me up for a better route at life,” Simone explained during an episode of her Facebook Watch series, Simone Vs. Herself.

“I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am unless that turning point happened. I would still be Simone Biles, probably not Simone Biles that everybody else knows, the world knows,” she added. “But I also believe everything happens for a reason and I’m forever grateful for that because I definitely got a second shot at life.”

Simone Biles Hits the World Stage

Simone Biles qualified for the Women’s Junior Olympic National Championships in 2010, before competing at an elite level in 2011.

In March 2013, pictured here, Biles took part in competition at the Richard-Hartmann-Halle in Chemnitz, Germany. Later that year, she would compete in her first World Championships, where she took home two gold medals.

Simone Biles Competes at the 2013 National Championships

She was named all-around champion at the USA Gymnastics National Championships in 2013, and won silver in all four of her individual events and gold all-around. She was 16.

Simone Biles Wins Gold at the 2013 Worlds

In 2013, she also competed in Worlds in Antwerp, Belgium, alongside Olympian Kyla Ross (left), who had just brought home the gold in the 2012 games. That year, Biles became the first Black woman to win the world all-around title, per her website.

Simone Biles Competes at the 2014 Worlds

As one of the best in game, Simone Biles was back at the World Championships the following year in China where she took home four more gold medals. At the close of the competition she had a total of six World gold medals — at the time, it was more than any other American woman.

Simone Biles Makes History at the 2015 Worlds

In 2015 she again took home four gold medals during the Glasgow, Scotland-hosted competition. She became the first woman to win three consecutive all-around titles, per her website.

Simone Biles at Her First Olympics

And in 2016, Simone Biles was off to her first Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she competed alongside Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, Gabby Douglas and Madison Kocian. The team, known as the “Final Five,” won gold and Biles herself secured the top title on vault, floor and all-around, plus bronze on the balance beam.

Simone Biles on ‘Dancing with the Stars’

In 2017, following a whirlwind years of gymnastics competitions, Simone Biles took her talents to the dance floor and competed on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars with partner Sasha Farber. The pair’s time on the show was cut short, though, when they were shockingly eliminated during the season’s semi-finals.

Simone Biles Wins Big at the 2018 Worlds

In 2018, Simone Biles was back at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and yet again won four gold medals. She also won the silver for bars and the bronze on beam.

Simone Biles Competes at the 2019 Worlds

She had yet another impressive showing at the Worlds in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2019 when she took home a staggering five gold medals — her most in one year — in team, all-around, vault, beam and floor.

Simone Biles Takes Home the Gold — Again!

Per her website, Simone Biles’ impressive performance made her the first gymnast since 1958 to earn five gold medals at a single World Championships.

Simone Biles Goes to Tokyo

In 2021, Simone Biles embarked on her second Olympic journey, though it did not go quite as planned. Following some uncharacteristic errors seen during the qualifying round, she ultimately stepped away from competing in the team all-around final. She later revealed that the decision was both a product of her mental health as well as the onset of “twisties,” a phenomenon in which gymnasts lose their understanding of where they are in the air, putting them at risk of injury when they land.

“For me, I’m proud for how the girls stepped up and did what they had to do. I owe this to the girls, it has nothing to do with me. I am very proud of them,” Biles said of her teammates’ performance in the final — winning them the silver.

She would later withdraw from four of the final events though was seen cheering on her teammates from the stands. She ultimately competed in the balance beam final, pictured here, and took home bronze.

Simone Biles Gets Engaged

Off the mat, Simone Biles’ love life was reaching new heights. In 2020, she met NFL player Jonathan Owens on the dating app, Raya. The two went Instagram official in August 2020 and in February 2022 they were engaged.

“THE EASIEST YES,” Biles captioned a slideshow of photos from the moment shared to Instagram. “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.”

Simone Biles Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom

On July 7, 2022, Simone Biles was named as one of the year’s recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The honor was given not just because of her incredible athletic accomplishments but also her advocacy for athletes’ “mental health and safety, children in the foster care system and victims of sexual assault,” according to the White House.

“Medal of Freedom I’m so honored & thankful to be recognized as a recipient by President Biden for this prestigious award,” Biles wrote on Instagram at the time. “I still have no words. I’m shocked!”

Simone Biles Gets Married

In April 2023, Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens picked up their marriage license ahead of their two wedding celebrations. The pair first tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at a courthouse in Texas before traveling to Mexico for a second wedding.

“We had to get married ‘legally’ here in the U.S. since our wedding will be a destination wedding,” she explained at the time.

Simone Biles Soars at the 2023 Worlds

Not long after her big day, Simone Biles was back at it and competing at the 2023 Worlds in Antwerp, Belgium. There, she took home four more gold medals and the silver for her vault performance.

To date, she is the most decorated gymnast in World Championships history with 30 medals — 23 of which are gold.

Simone Biles Makes Historic Win

In 2024, Simone Biles secured her historic ninth national title with her husband, siblings and mom in the stands.

“I use the phrase ‘aging like fine wine,’ ” Biles said following the competition. “It’s just getting better and better. We’ll see. Hopefully we get to ride this out for the rest of the year.”

Simone Biles Is Off to Paris for Third Olympic Appearance

On June 30, 2024, Simone Biles and the four other members of Team USA women’s gymnastics (plus alternates) officially secured a spot at the 2024 Olympic games in Paris.

Hezly Rivera, Joscelyn Roberson, Suni Lee, Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Leanne Wong all held up their bouquets proudly celebrating the big moment. The accomplishment also made Biles the fourth woman ever to make three Olympic gymnastics teams.

Fans can watch the gymnastics all-around events at the 2024 Olympics on NBC and USA Network. Viewers without cable can stream the Olympic Games on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC Olympics app and the NBC app.