Background and career
Candide Thovex (born 22 May 1982) is a French professional skier, filmmaker and entrepreneur. He is the older brother of snowboarder Mirabelle Thovex.
Candide Thovex was born in Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie area of France, and grew up in the village of La Clusaz. He learned to ski at the age of 2 in the Aravis region of the French Alps. He was 14 when he won his first French National Junior Championships in the mogul division.
In 1997 Thovex signed his first professional sponsorship contract with leading Australian action sports brand Quiksilver. In 2000 Thovex returned to the United States to compete in the Gravity Games in Mammoth, California, where he won the Big Air contest. He made his second visit to Chad's Gap and cleanly landed a D-spin 720 the first major rotation over a gap. He won the Big Air division, his first gold medal at a Winter X-Games in Mount Snow Vermont. His season ended when he blew out the cruciate ligaments in his left knee. In the spring of 2001, Thovex was invited to ride at Superpark 3 in Mammoth, California. Thovex stuck a 110-foot (33.5 meter) cork 540 tail grab. Thovex won the Halfpipe and Big Air contests at that year's X Games in Australia. His injury from the previous season allowed time to begin career as a filmmaker, and he created 'WW Prod'. That same year his first production company went on to release the first of 8 films under the 'Rastafaride' title. He was also voted 'Skier of the Year' by the European specialized media. In 2002 Thovex filmed with his own production company and with others. He continued competing and his contest results remained solid, dominating the Big Air events, winning two in New Zealand, one in Lebanon and another in Switzerland. He earned 2 podiums at the US Open; 2nd place in Superpipe, and 3rd place in Slopestyle.
In 2003, according to the Association of Freeskiing Professionals, "Candide Thovex and CR Johnson change the face of halfpipe skiing at Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado by going bigger than any of the snowboarders." Thovex won his second X-Games gold medal. This time it was in Superpipe, a notable achievement, as he couldn't practice at home because there weren't any superpipes in Europe at the time. Thovex celebrated by hosting the first 'Candide Invitational' at his home resort, La Clusaz. The event gathered the world's best freestylers. He also signed a sponsorship deal to develop a pro model with Salomon. This was another season that ended with injury to his cruciate ligaments, this time in his right knee. In 2004, Thovex performed the first ever '810° to rail'. He was part of Powder's Reader Poll in 2004 where he was placed 6th. In 2005, the Candide Invitational event was voted best European freestyle event by the international specialized press. That same season, Thovex inked a multi-year deal with Rossignol to become the leading ambassador for their 'Scratch' program. In 2006, Thovex helped to design and build one of the largest quarter-pipes, and set a world record with a jump of 33 feet (about 10 meters) above the coping.
In 2007, Thovex won his third gold medal at 2007 in Slopestyle, with a record score of 95/100.
Thovex won the Freeride World Tour in 2010.
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.
