Mikaela Shiffrin

1995–present

American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the only competitor—male or female—in the sport’s history with more than 100 World Cup wins. Born in Colorado, Shiffrin learned to ski from her parents and began racing competitively on the World Cup circuit at age 16. With her 83rd win in January 2023, she passed Lindsey Vonn as the most decorated women’s skier in World Cup history. Shiffrin has won five overall season titles and is expected to compete for Team USA at the upcoming 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina.

FULL NAME: Mikaela Shiffrin
BORN: March 13, 1995
BIRTHPLACE: Vail, Colorado
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces
HEIGHT: 5 ft., 7 in.

Mikaela was born on March 13, 1995, in Vail, Colorado. Her father, Jeffrey Shiffrin, worked as both an anesthesiologist and an associate professor at the University of Colorado, while her mother, Eileen Shiffrin, is a former ICU nurse.

Eileen and Jeff, both former competitive skiers, began teaching the sport to 3-year-old Mikaela and her older brother, Taylor Shiffrin. The latter won NCAA championships with the University of Denver ski team in 2014 and 2016.

Mikaela described herself as an introverted child, and she struggled with anxiety. She credits skiing with improving her social confidence. “When I was younger, I was much more of a shy personality,” she told the Child Mind Institute in 2018. “There was definitely a phase in my life where I didn’t want to be the center of attention at all, and I still really don’t. But I’ve grown up a lot.”

Mikaela’s parents became a vital part of her skiing career, with Eileen coaching and Jeff coordinating travel and photographing competitions. In February 2020, Jeff died unexpectedly from head injuries suffered in a fall at his home. His death devastated Mikaela, who spent some of her days in bed and considered giving up ski racing entirely. She detailed her grieving process in a 2022 essay for The Players’ Tribune. “It’s not linear. It’s not a climb up a mountain,” she wrote. “It’s more like a maze. Some days, I feel OK. Some days, it still feels as raw as when we walked into the hospital after our 10-hour flight home and saw him on the ventilator.”

Mikaela ultimately continued in the sport and has built a claim among the greatest of all time.

When Mikaela was 8, her family moved near Lyme, New Hampshire. She followed in her parents’ snow tracks and joined the Ford Sayre club ski team. Shiffrin later attended and graduated from the Burke Mountain Academy, a college preparatory school for ski racers in Vermont.

By age 14, Shiffrin dominated competitors from around the world on the slopes. In 2010, she won gold medals in the slalom and giant slalom—competitions in which skiers race through a series of downhill gates—at the Trofeo Topolino in Italy, considered the most prestigious youth skiing event. Former champions include U.S. ski star Lindsey Vonn.

At 15, the minimum age requirement, Shiffrin began competing in International Ski and Snowboard Federation-sanctioned events. In 2011, Shiffrin won the slalom title at the U.S. Alpine Championships, becoming the youngest champion in history and qualifying for the World Cup circuit.

World Cup Career and Championships

Mikaela Shiffrin made her World Cup skiing debut in 2011 at age 16.

Shiffrin was now travelling internationally for competitions, and moved to Europe with her mother, Eileen, who both coordinated her schoolwork and coached her on the slopes.

Now at the highest level of her sport, Shiffrin developed a rigorous training schedule—often booking double ski sessions to keep up with her older competitors. “I always figured that at the World Cup all the top athletes train every day on snow and getting the miles in,” Shiffrin said. “So when I made it to the World Cup, I felt I had to ski even more, as some girls have 10 years’ experience over me and I had to make up for that lost time somehow.”

All of her hard work quickly paid off. On December 20, 2012, Shiffrin won her first World Cup competition in Åre, Sweden, in the slalom. “I guess I just tried to fly,” the then-17-year-old said of her strategy. “I’m probably going to hug my mom a lot.”

The pair began celebrating frequently, as Shiffrin won two additional events in January and four overall in 2013. The run began a streak of three consecutive slalom season titles through 2015.

In March 2017, Shiffrin, then 22, secured her first overall World Cup title—encompassing the disciplines of slalom, giant slalom, super-G, and downhill—with two full races remaining. She repeated as champion in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, recording 29 individual wins in that stretch.

Wins Record and Injury

Shiffrin continued her winning ways, securing two more overall titles and drawing closer to significant records.

In January 2023, she claimed a giant slalom event in Kronplatz, Italy, for her 83rd career victory—passing Vonn for the most World Cup wins in women’s history. “As Americans, we have been able to produce incredible athletes, and I am excited to see who Mikaela will inspire to continue to push the limits of our sport. Congratulations on raising the bar for all skiers to come,” Vonn said of the record.

Two months later, Shiffrin won another slalom—her 87th career victory—to pass Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden for the most wins of any skier, male or female. That same year, she was named to Time magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people.

Mikaela Shiffrin completes a giant slalom run in Åre, Sweden, in March 2023. She claimed her 87th career win at the World Cup event, eclipsing Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time record.

As of December 2025, Shiffrin has 105 career victories. She reached the mark despite a severe crash in Killington, Vermont, in November 2024. Shiffrin lost her balance, sliding through a pair of gates and into a containment wall. She suffered a puncture to her abdomen and “severe muscle trauma,” requiring surgery.

Shiffrin said the incident produced a “mind-body disconnect” upon her return to competition. “I’m telling myself to do certain technical moves, and it’s just not happening,” she said. “My body’s screaming at me, it’s like a fight or flight: ‘No, don’t do it. It’s risky. It’s dangerous.’”

Now healthy with her body and mind in sync, Shiffrin began the 2025–26 World Cup season in October 2025 and has her eyes set on the biggest stage in sports.

Winter Olympic Gold Medals

Shiffrin is currently in pursuit of her fourth Olympic team at the Winter Games at Milano Cortina, which begin in February 2026.

The American made her Olympic debut as an 18-year-old at the 2014 Sochi Games, winning a gold medal in her primary event, the slalom. She won two additional medals, a gold in the giant slalom and silver in the super-combined, in Pyeongchang in 2018.

Shiffrin entered the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, as a heavy favorite, but crashed and did not finish in three of her primary events. She didn’t win any medals and cited a COVID-19 diagnosis shortly before competition and the anniversary of her father’s death as obstacles she had to overcome. “The thing I liked the most about Beijing was every time I fell down, I got back up and got back in the start and kept racing, which was actually a pretty beautiful experience,” Shiffrin said.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Mikaela Shiffrin are engaged since April 2024.

Shiffrin’s fiancé is Norwegian competitive skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. The couple first confirmed their relationship in May 2021 and made their public debut later that year at the ESPY Awards. Shiffrin and Kilde announced their engagement in April 2024.

As of December 2025, Kilde, 33, has won 21 World Cup events. His primary disciplines are the super-G and downhill, and he won the 2020 overall championship. Kilde won a silver and a bronze medal for Norway at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Shiffrin has supported Kilde through his recovery from a terrifying January 2024 ski crash. He suffered a severe cut and nerve damage in his right calf, as well as two torn shoulder ligaments, and only returned to World Cup competition as recently as November 2025. “She has been a rock in this situation. She’s also been through challenges with her crashes and all that,” Kilde told TNT Sports. “She is always an inspiration to me, the way she handles things, the resilience she brings. I really admire what she does.”

In October 2025, Shiffrin launched her own podcast, What’s the Point with Mikaela Shiffrin. She will use the outlet to discuss skiing and interview athletes and prominent figures about their achievements, as well as what drives their pursuit of success.

The skier told the Associated Press she was inspired by the New Heights podcast hosted by NFL player Travis Kelce and his older brother, Jason Kelce.

Shiffrin’s dream guest is comedian and talk show host Stephen Colbert, who lost his father and two siblings in a plane crash when he was a child. “It’s a loss that I could never even imagine, but how he’s worked through that and a lot of what I’ve heard him talk about is something that I can relate to,” she explained.

Celebrity Net Worth estimates Shiffrin’s total fortune around $8 million as of December 2025. According to NBC Sports, the skier generally earns around $500,000 in prize money each season and made more than $1 million in 2023.

Shiffrin also has valuable endorsement deals with brands such as Barilla (featured on her helmet and headgear during the World Cup season), Oakley eyewear and fashion accessories, Longines, Visa, and Adidas.

In 2025, Shiffrin joined the ownership group of Denver Summit FC, a National Women’s Soccer League franchise set to debut for the 2026 season.

• We don’t really need one individual female sports star who takes over the planet. We need a lot of women doing sports really, really well, and that’s what we’re starting to truly get.
• There are so many incredible aspects of getting outdoors, being adventurous, and being in the world of winter sports, and that’s just beautiful to me. It goes beyond ski racing, but absolutely, ski racing has been one of the biggest gifts of my life.
• I have the energy and strength to train when no one else is, and you can't really substitute anything for that mileage. That's where the dominance comes from.
• Life is not a linear climb. If you feel like you’ve reached the top of a mountain, it doesn’t mean it’s all downhill from there for the rest of your life. It just means you reached that summit and it might be downhill for a bit, and then you’ll climb again.

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Tyler Piccotti

News and Culture Editor, Biography.com

Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.