Meryl Davis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Meryl Davis
Meryl Davis and Charlie White at the 2013 World Championships
Personal information
Country represented	United States
Born	(1987-01-01) January 1, 1987 (age 38) Royal Oak, Michigan, United States
Home town	Plymouth, Michigan
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Began skating	1992
Retired	February 23, 2017

Meryl Davis (born January 1, 1987) is an American former ice dancer. She is famous for her amazing partnership with Charlie White. Together, they achieved many firsts for American ice dancing.

Meryl and Charlie became Olympic champions in 2014. They also won a silver medal at the 2010 Olympics. They were two-time World champions (in 2011 and 2013). They also won the Grand Prix Final five times and the Four Continents Championship three times. On top of that, they were six-time U.S. national champions. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, they also earned a bronze medal in the team event.

Davis and White started skating together in 1997. They became the longest-lasting ice dance team in the United States. They were the first American ice dancers to win both the World title and the Olympic title. In 2006, they made history at the 2006 NHK Trophy. They were the first ice dance team to get the highest level (level fours) on all their moves.

In 2014, Meryl also won the TV show Dancing with the Stars. She danced with professional partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

About Meryl Davis's Life

Meryl Davis was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. She grew up in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Her parents are Cheryl and Paul D. Davis. She has one younger brother named Clayton. Meryl's family background includes English, Irish, Scottish, and German roots. Her grandmother on her father's side was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Meryl has a vision problem in her right eye. This means she has trouble seeing how far away things are. When she was in third grade, she was diagnosed with dyslexia. This made reading difficult for her until she was in 11th grade. In June 2005, Meryl graduated from Wylie E. Groves High School.

Meryl used to live in Birmingham, Michigan. She went to the University of Michigan. There, she studied cultural anthropology and Italian. She was also part of a sorority called Delta Delta Delta. Meryl also plays the flute. In March 2016, she became a brand ambassador for UNICEF Kid Power.

On July 13, 2017, Meryl got engaged to former figure skater Fedor Andreev. They had been dating for more than six years. They got married in Provence, France, in June 2019.

Meryl's Skating Journey

Starting to Skate

Meryl began skating when she was five years old. She learned on a local lake during the winter. Because of her vision problems, Meryl often stayed close to the edge of the rink when she first started. She began as a single skater, but at age eight, she switched to ice dance. She competed in singles up to a certain level before focusing only on ice dancing.

Her coach, Seth Chafetz, paired her with Charlie White in 1997. Meryl once said that she and Charlie grew up very close to each other. Their parents were also good friends. She explained that they had grown up together and knew each other very well.

In their first season, Meryl and Charlie won a silver medal. This was at the Junior Olympics in the Juvenile division. The next year, they won gold at the Junior Olympics at the intermediate level. In the 2000–01 season, they competed at the U.S. Championships. They placed 6th as Novices. In 2001–02, they won a silver medal as novices. After that, they moved up to the junior level. In the 2002–03 season, they placed 7th at the 2003 U.S. Championships in their junior debut.

Junior Skating Years

In the 2003–2004 season, Meryl and Charlie won their sectional championship. Then, they won the junior silver medal at the U.S. Nationals. This win sent them to the 2004 Junior Worlds. There, they placed 13th.

In the 2004–2005 season, they won two bronze medals in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. However, Charlie broke his ankle before Sectionals. This meant they could not compete at the 2005 U.S. Championships. Their season ended early.

In the 2005–2006 season, Meryl and Charlie won medals at both their Junior Grand Prix events. They placed second at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They then won the junior national title at the 2006 U.S. Championships. After that, they earned a bronze medal at the 2006 Junior Worlds. After this season, Meryl was too old to compete in junior events. They also lost some training time when Charlie broke his ankle again in 2006.

Senior Skating Career

Meryl and Charlie moved up to the senior level in the 2006–2007 season. They quickly became top competitors. They won their first U.S. national title in 2009. This was the start of a six-year winning streak at the U.S. Championships.

They won their first World Championship title in 2011. They won it again in 2013. Their biggest achievement came at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. They won the gold medal in ice dancing, becoming Olympic champions. This was a historic moment for American ice dancing.

After Competing

Meryl Davis and Charlie White still perform together in ice shows. On February 23, 2017, they announced that they would not return to competitive skating.

Meryl's Public Appearances

Dancing with the Stars

On March 4, 2014, Meryl was announced as a contestant on the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Her skating partner, Charlie White, also competed on the same season. On May 20, 2014, Meryl and Maksim were named the champions of the season.

Images for kids

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  Meryl Davis and Charlie White at the 2013 World Championships

See also

In Spanish: Meryl Davis para niños