Who Is Eileen Gu?
Freestyle skier Eileen Gu, 18, has gotten a lot of attention going into the Winter Olympics. Today, she advanced to the Big Air finals at her first qualifying competition to a roaring crowd.
She was born and raised in San Francisco and decided in 2019 to compete for China, citing her heritage, according to The New York Times. In China, Eileen is known as Gu Ailing and works as a supermodel along with being a champion skier. She also speaks fluent Mandarin.
Meet Eileen’s Parents
Eileen’s mom, Yan, emigrated from China about 30 years ago and raised Eileen as a single parent, according to the Times. Yan used to be a ski instructor at a resort near Lake Tahoe and usually travels with her daughter.
Yan studied biochemistry and molecular biology at Auburn University and molecular genetics at Rockefeller University, per Forbes. She’s also worked in investment banking at companies in New York and California, and has worked as a private investor and expert in China for Fusion Investment.
Her father is a mystery. The Timesmentioned that he’s American and graduated from Harvard, but there’s no public record of him and she doesn’t talk publicly about him.
Conclusion
Eileen was raised in San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood, according to the NYT. She shares a home with her mother and maternal grandmother Feng Guozhen. Her bedroom had a view of the Golden Gate bridge.
Her grandmother often co-stars in Eileen’s social media posts and short documentaries directed toward Chinese audiences, per the Times.
