Background and career
Adam Richard Rippon (born November 11, 1989) is a retired American competitive figure skater and media personality. He is the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2010 Four Continents Champion, and 2016 U.S. National Champion. Rippon competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he finished 10th. At the junior level, Rippon is a two-time Junior World Champion (2008, 2009), the 2007–2008 Junior Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2008 U.S. junior national champion. In 2018, Rippon became the first openly gay U.S. athlete to qualify for the Winter Olympics and the first openly gay U.S. athlete to win a medal at the Winter Games. Later that year, Rippon won season 26 of Dancing with the Stars with professional dancer Jenna Johnson. He guest-hosted RuPaul's Drag Race season 11 in 2019 ("The Draglympics"), starred in MTV's comedy series Messyness in 2021, and was the winner of the 2023 reality competition series Stars on Mars on Fox. Rippon joined NBC for the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, providing broadcast analysis alongside fellow figure skater and former training mate Ashley Wagner. Rippon was named to the 2018 edition of Time Magazine's annual Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people. He released his memoir, Beautiful on the Outside, in October 2019.
Adam Rippon was born on November 11, 1989, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first child in his family of six children. His parents divorced in 2004. He attended a Catholic elementary school, Our Lady of Peace.
Rippon started to skate when he was ten years old; his mother skated and brought him along to the rink. He was coached by Yelena Sergeeva from 2000 to 2007. In the 2004–05 season, Rippon won the silver medal at the Novice level at the 2005 U.S. Championships. After nationals, he was assigned a spring international assignment, the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia 2005, and competed in the junior division, finishing first and winning the gold medal. In the 2005–06 season, he debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. He competed at the 2005–06 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Croatia and placed 6th. At the 2006 U.S. Championships, he finished 11th at the junior level. In the 2006–2007 season, Rippon did not compete on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. He placed 6th on the junior level at the 2007 U.S. Championships. Following the event, he left Sergeeva and began working with Nikolai Morozov in February 2007 at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey.
In the 2007–08 season, Rippon competed on the 2007–2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. At his first event, the Harghita Cup in Miercurea Ciuc, Romania, he won the gold medal. He then won the silver medal at the Sofia Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria. These two medals qualified him for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. At that event, Rippon won the gold medal, and became the first man to break 200 points at a Junior level competition.
He went on to the 2008 U.S. Championships, where he won the Junior title. The Professional Skaters Association recognized Rippon as having the best men's free skate at the National Championships and was awarded the EDI Award. He earned a trip to the 2008 Junior Worlds, where he won the gold medal after finishing first in both segments.
Rippon moved up to the senior level in the 2008–2009 season. In the Grand Prix season he was assigned to compete at the 2008 Skate America where he placed eighth and the 2008 Cup of Russia where he placed third in the short program and fifth overall. In late November 2008, Rippon left Morozov. In December 2008, he moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to begin training with Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club. Rippon officially announced his coaching change on January 2, 2009. At the 2009 U.S. Championships, his senior-level national debut, he placed seventh. He was named to the team for the 2009 Junior World Championships. At Junior Worlds, in his two programs, he landed a total of three 3A jumps, one in combination with a 2T. He won the competition, scoring 222.00 points and becoming the first single skater to win two World Junior titles.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
