Before Vera Wang was the most iconic wedding attire designer , she was a figure skater . She said , " I was devastated when I did not qualify for the Olympian team . I had a nervous crack-up and ended up doing a semester in Paris , where I realize I had a cacoethes for manner . "
The Olympics had turned plenty of athletes into household names. However, there’s a surprising number of actors, singers, and other celebrities who were also Olympians — or who tried really, really hard to get there.
Here are 16 celebs who competed in the Olympics or came pretty close:
1.Watching the 1996 Olympic GamesinspiredGeena Davisto take up archery, practicing five hours a day for six days a week. Within two years, she was good enough to try out for the US Olympic archery team. However, she finished 24th, coming close but not qualifying for the 2000 Olympics.
2.In 2019,Cody Simpsondecidedto get back into swimming after nearly a decade “just to do right by that kid in [him].” After failing to qualify for Australia’s national team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he moved home to train in hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Paris games. He came incredibly close during trials — only half a second behind qualifier Matthew Temple in the 100m butterfly final.
3.In 2015,Bella HadidtoldPORTERmagazine that she was training in hopes of competing on the US equestrian team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, in a 2016blog post, her mom,Yolanda Hadid, said, “Bella had to give up her lifelong dream of having a professional riding career and a shot at the Olympics due to her severe symptoms [of Lyme disease] and inability to ride.”
4.Jason Stathamcompetedin the Olympic diving trials twice — once for the 1988 Seoul games and again for the 1992 Barcelona games. However, he failed to qualify for the Great Britain team both times.
5.GOT7 memberJackson Wang— who’s the son of an Olmypic fencer and an Olympic gymnast — was prepping to represent Hong Kong as a fencer at the 2012 London Olympics when hedecidedto pursue music instead.
6.Growing up, Liam Payne was a dedicated runner with Olympic aspirations, waking up at 5 a.m. and running five miles before going to school. However, at 14, he “just missed out on a place in the England [schools] team” and decided to pursue his singing dreams instead and auditioned forThe X Factor.
7.Vera Wangbeganfigure skating when she was 8. She was “completely dedicated” to the sport and dreamed of representing the US at the Olympics, but she and her skating partner James Stuart failed to qualify for the 1968 Grenoble Olympics.
8.Jessica Springsteen, the daughter of Bruce Springsteen, was part of the US equestrian team thatwonsilver at the jumping final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
9.Harold Sakata, who famously played the villain Oddjob inGoldfinger,wonthe silver medal for weightlifting at the 1948 London Olympic. He represented the US.
10.Tyler Winklevoss, who famously co-founded the social network that became Facebook while he was a Harvard student,competedin the coxless pairs rowing event at the 2008 Bejing Olympics.
11.Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler’s twin brother and fellow ConnectU co-founder,representedthe US alongside Tyler in the coxless pairs rowing event in 2008, too.
12.Caitlyn Jennercompetedin the Olympic decathlon twice. Representing the US in 1972, she finished tenth, but in 1976, she won the gold medal.
13.Johnny Weissmuller famously played Tarzan in twelve movies across the ’30s and ’40s. Before becoming an actor, he represented the US at the 1924 Paris and 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. Hewonsix medals across two sports.
14.Hillary Wolf is most well-known for playing Megan McCallister in theHome Alonefranchise. Shecompetedfor the US in judo at two Olympic games — Atlantic in 1996 and Sydney in 2000.
15.Before following in his dad Rex Harrison’s footsteps and becoming an actor, Noel HarrisonrepresentedGreat Britain in alpine skiing at the 1952 Oslo and 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics.
16.And finally, Bob Anderson wasknownas the top sword-fighting choreographer in Hollywood. Most famously, he had an uncredited role as Darth Vader’s lightsaber battle stunt double inThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi. As a fencer, herepresentedGreat Britain at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
He portrayed Darth Vader in the famous “Luke, I am your father” scene:
Before Vera Wang was the most iconic wedding dress designer, she was a figure skater. She said, “I was devastated when I did not qualify for the Olympic team. I had a nervous breakdown and ended up doing a semester in Paris, where I realized I had a passion for fashion."
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