Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired American competitive figure skater and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025.

[4] Kwan landed numerous major endorsement deals, starred in multiple TV specials and was the subject of extensive media coverage.

Figure Skating Association's top-paid skater in appearance fees and prize money,[6] as well as one of the highest paid Winter Olympic athletes in endorsements.

[15] After graduation from Rim of the World High School in 1998, Kwan attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for one year.

[17] Kwan mentioned the challenges of balancing travel and school, recounting instances when she had to take exams on campus shortly after returning from a 15-hour flight.

In 1994, Kwan finished second to Tonya Harding at the U.S. Championships, which ordinarily would have placed her on the U.S. team to the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

That place was instead given to 1993 national champion Nancy Kerrigan, who had been sidelined by an assault and battery (eventually connected to Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly) after a practice session at those championships.

Because of this (and teammate Nicole Bobek not making it out of the qualifying round), Kwan had the sole responsibility to ensure two entries for the U.S. at the 1995 World Championships by placing in the top ten.

At the 1995 U.S. Championships, Nicole Bobek won the gold medal, while Kwan again placed second after struggling with her lutz jump in both the short program and free skate.

[24] Her costume consisted of "a short-sleeved rich purple dress with rhinestone-studded flesh-colored fabric across the midriff and deep front and black necklines, ornamated with elaborate sequined floral patterns in gold and bright pastels".

[23] Kestnbaum stated, however, that she found it difficult to construct a linear narrative about the seductive Salome, but that Kwan's moves "might better represent a young woman venturing confidently into the world, encountering loss and confusion, but ultimately finding peace and triumph".

Kestnbaum insists that Kwan's increased speed, the strong debut of her triple-triple jump, and her improved poise, precision, and posture "say more than her hairstyle or makeup about her new maturity as a skater".

In the later event, she edged out defending champion Chen Lu in a very close competition in which both competitors garnered two perfect 6.0s for Presentation in the free skate.

Three weeks later, at the Champion Series Final, she again lost to Lipinski, who completed more successful jumps than Kwan in both the short program and free skate.

[citation needed] Her injury prevented her from attempting her triple toe-triple toe combination, but she completed all seven jumps in her free program earning 6.0s from eight of the nine judges.

[46] At that year's national championships, Kwan again won the title, receiving first-place ordinals from all 9 judges in both the short program and free skate.

In autumn 2003, she hired the noted technician Rafael Arutyunyan as her coach,[13] with whom she attempted to increase the technical difficulty of her programs and hone her jump technique.

However, on February 12, 2006, the United States Olympic Committee announced that Kwan had withdrawn from the Games after suffering a new groin injury in her first practice in Turin.

After graduating from the University of Denver in 2009, Kwan said "Furthering my education will bring me closer to that goal, and I don't want to wait any longer to continue the journey.

[60] She was chosen as the guest of honor to help open a new synthetic skating rink at the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore in December 2010, where she performed a modified routine to "Winter Song", a program she self-choreographed with her sister.

[61] She returned to Singapore a month later as a Public Diplomacy Envoy[62] to meet local students and to promote ice skating in the tropical country.

[65] Kwan was known for her unrivaled consistency in delivering clean programs,[66] as well as her strong skating skills and deep, quiet edges that have been described as "silent blades"[67] that "barely whispered".

[2] Kwan is one of only two multiple winners of the "Readers' Choice Figure Skater of the Year" award given by Skating magazine, winning it an unprecedented seven times (1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001–2003).

[88] Her diplomatic position as an envoy continued in the Barack Obama administration where she worked with then Vice President Joe Biden[89] and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

[110] In January 2009, Kwan was appointed a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports by George W. Bush, a role which she had continued into the Obama administration.

[111] Kwan has been a longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, taking part in "unified sports" events that bring together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities.

[112] Kwan has had many endorsement contracts throughout her career, including Aim Funds,[113] Campbell's,[114] Caress soap,[115] Chevrolet,[116] Coca-Cola,[117] Disney,[9] East West Bank,[118] Got Milk?,[119] Kraft,[120] Mattel,[121] Maxxis,[122] McDonald's,[123] Minute Maid,[117] Riedell Skates,[124] Royal Caribbean International,[125] Starbucks,[122] United Airlines,[113] Visa,[117] and Yoplait.

[126] In 2002, Kwan was named a "celebrity representative" and spokeswoman for The Walt Disney Company in a three-year deal reported to be worth $1 million a year.

[127] In September 2012, Kwan announced her engagement to Clay Pell, an American lawyer, military officer and former director for strategic planning on the National Security staff at the White House.

"[135] In May 2021, it was announced that Kwan would executive produce "Recipe for Change" for YouTube alongside LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Dennis Cheng, Jamal Henderson and Philip Byron.