Ricky Barnes Biography (1981-)

Athlete. Born Richard Kyle Barnes on February 6, 1981, in Stockton, California. His father, Bruce Barnes, was a former punter who played for UCLA, and later with the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After leaving football, he became a foodbroker. His mother, Cathy, is an educator. His parents met at UCLA. His brother Andy also took…

Tom Brady Biography (1977-)

Athlete, professional football player. Born on August 3, 1977, in San Mateo, California. The quarterback of the New England Patriots, Tom Brady is considered one of the leading players in the National Football League (NFL) today. As a teenager, he excelled at both football and baseball at Junipero Serra High School. After graduating in 1995, Brady passed up a…

Laird Hamilton Biography (1964-)

Athlete, surfer, model, television host.  Born on March 2, 1964, in San Francisco, California. One of today’s best known big wave surfers, Laird Hamilton made an unusual entrance into the world. He was born underwater in an experimental tank called a “bathysphere.” He grew up in Hawaii, learning to surf at an early age. Even as a child Hamilton…

Michael Vick Biography (1980-)

Athlete. Michael Dwayne Vick was born on June 26, 1980, in Newport News, Virginia. The second of four children born to unmarried teenaged parents, Brenda Vick and Michael Boddie, Vick grew up in a tough area of his hometown, a place dominated by drugs and gang activity.

Despite their surroundings, Brenda and Michael, who eventually married, ran a stable household….

Dallas Friday Biography (1986-)

Athlete, professional wakeboarder. Born on September 6, 1986, in Orlando, Florida. Friday started out as a gymnast but tired of competing around the age of 12. After her older brother showed her basics, she quickly mastered the sport of wakeboarding-a combination of water skiing and surfing.

When she was 14, she competed in the 2000 X Games, winning a silver…

Kim Clijsters Biography (1983-)

Athlete. Born Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters on June 8, 1983 in Bilzen, Limburg, Belgium. Clijsters was born into an athletic family; her father, Lei, was an international soccer player and mother Els was a Belgian gymnastics champion. Clijsters chose the sport of tennis at an early age and, by the time she was six, she began competing in the…

Maritza Correia Biography (1981-)

Olympic swimmer, athlete. Born December 23, 1981, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The first African American woman to make the U.S. Olympic Swim Team, Maritza Correia had been an inspiration to many in the world of competitive sports. She grew up in Florida with her parents and two older brothers. Athletics runs in the family. From Guyana, her parents…

Apolo Anton Ohno Biography (1982-)

Athlete, Olympic speedskater. Born on May 22, 1982, in Seattle, Washington. Already an experienced swimmer and in-line skater, Apolo Anton Ohno was inspired to take up speedskating after watching the 1994 Winter Olympics with his father Yuki. He quickly emerged as a leading short-track skater.

When Ohno was only fourteen, he trained with Pat Wentland, the then U.S….

Picabo Street Biography (1971-)

Athlete, Olympic skier. Born on April 3, 1971, in Triumph, Idaho. Once one of the leading downhill skiers in the world, Picabo Street won several Olympic medals and championships during her career. She was known as simply “Baby Girl” for the first few years of her life and later ended up with the name Picabo, which is pronounced “peek-a-boo.”…

Phil Mickelson Biography (1970-)

Athlete. Born Philip Alfred Mickelson on June 16, 1970, in San Diego, California. Mickelson’s career in golf began around the time he could walk; his parents Phil and Mary tell the story of a young Phil running away from home at the age of 3, telling neighbors he was going to the golf course.

Mickelson began an amateur golfing career…

Vanilla Ice Biography (1967-)

Rapper, singer, songwriter, athlete, and actor. Born Robert Van Winkle on October 31, 1967 (some sources say 1968), in Miami, Florida. During his meteoric rise to fame in the early 1990s, Vanilla Ice became the first white rapper to top the pop singles chart with his hit, “Ice Ice Baby.” He quickly fell from favor, however, and has spent…