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 competitive ice dancer. With partner Charlie White, she is the 2014 Olympic champion, the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time (2011, 2013) World champion, five-time Grand Prix Final champion (2009–2013), three-time Four Continents champion (2009, 2011, 2013) and six-time U.S. national champion (2009–2014). They also won a bronze medal in the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Davis and White teamed up in 1997 and they are currently the longest lasting dance team in the United States. They are the first American ice dancers to win the World title, as well as the first Americans to win the Olympic title. At the 2006 NHK Trophy, they became the first ice dancing team to earn level fours on all their elements.

In 2014, Davis won the eighteenth season of Dancing with the Stars with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Personal life

Meryl Davis was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, and raised in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, the daughter of Cheryl and Paul D. Davis. She has one younger brother, Clayton. She is of English, Irish, Scottish and German descent. Her paternal grandmother was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. Davis has difficulty seeing out of her right eye and lacks depth perception. She was diagnosed with dyslexia in the third grade and she struggled with reading until the 11th grade. In June 2005, Davis graduated from Wylie E. Groves High School.

Davis previously lived in Birmingham, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan, where she majored in cultural anthropology and also studied Italian. She was an active member of the sorority Delta Delta Delta and plays the flute. Davis joined UNICEF Kid Power as a brand ambassador in March 2016.

On July 13, 2017, Davis became engaged to former figure skater Fedor Andreev, whom she had been dating for over six years. They married in Provence, France, in June 2019.

Career

Early career

Davis began skating at age five on a local lake in the winter. Due to her vision problems, Davis often hugged the boards when she first started skating. She started out as a single skater, but began doing ice dance at age eight. She got as high as Midwestern sectionals in novice ladies before quitting singles to focus on ice dancing.

She was teamed up with Charlie White by her coach, Seth Chafetz, in 1997. In 2009, Davis said: "Charlie and I grew up 10 minutes apart from each other. Our parents are best friends. We've grown together and know each other so well."

In their first season together, Davis and White won the silver medal at the Junior Olympics in the Juvenile division. In 1999–00, they won gold at the Junior Olympics on the intermediate level. In the 2000–01 season, they qualified for the 2001 U.S. Championships, placing 6th as Novices. In 2001–02, they won the silver medal as novices and then moved up to the junior level. In the 2002–03 season, they did not win a medal at either of their two Junior Grand Prix assignments and placed 7th at the 2003 U.S. Championships in their junior debut.

Junior career

In the 2003–2004 season, Davis/White won their sectional championship and then won the junior silver medal at Nationals. This earned them a trip to the 2004 Junior Worlds, where they placed 13th.

In the 2004–2005 season, Davis/White won two bronze medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. However, White broke his ankle before Sectionals and so Davis/White were unable to qualify for the 2005 U.S. Championships. Their season ended there.

In the 2005–2006 season, Davis/White medaled at both their Junior Grand Prix events and placed second at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They won the junior national title at the 2006 U.S. Championships and then won the bronze medal at the 2006 Junior Worlds. Following that season, Davis aged out of Juniors. They lost some training time after White broke his ankle at a hockey tournament in 2006.

Senior career

This section is transcluded from Davis and White #Senior career

Davis and White

Post-competitive career

Davis and White continue to perform together in ice shows. On February 23, 2017, they confirmed that they would not return to competition.

Public life

Television

Dancing with the Stars

On March 4, 2014, Davis was announced as one of the contestants on the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. She competed against Charlie White, who was also cast to take part on the 18th season of the show. On May 20, 2014, Davis and Chmerkovskiy were declared the season's champions.

Meryl Davis - Dancing with the Stars (season 18)

Week	Dance	Music	Judges' scores			Total score	Result
1	Cha-cha-cha	"All Night" — Icona Pop	8	8	8	24	Safe
2	Swing	"Big and Bad" — Big Bad Voodoo Daddy	8	9	8	25	Safe
3	Foxtrot	"All of Me" — John Legend	10	9	10	39	Safe
4	Argentine tango	"Too Close" — Alex Clare	10	9	10	39	Safe
5	Samba	"I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)" — Louis Prima	9	9	9	36	Safe
6	Tango	"Feel So Close" — Calvin Harris	10	10	10	40	Safe
7	Salsa	"Adrenalina" — Wisin, featuring Ricky Martin & Jennifer Lopez	10	9	10	39	Safe
	Freestyle (Team dance)	"Livin' la Vida Loca — Ricky Martin	10	9	10	39
8	Rumba	"Read All About It (Pt. III)" — Emeli Sandé	9	9	10	36	Safe
	Samba (Celebrity Dance Duel)	"I Luh Ya Papi" — Jennifer Lopez, featuring French Montana	8	9	9	34
9	Jive	"Hound Dog" — Elvis Presley	10	10	10	40	Safe
	Viennese waltz	"Just a Fool" — Christina Aguilera & Blake Shelton	10	10	10	40
10	Argentine tango	"Montserrat" — Bajofondo	10	10	10	30	Winners
	Freestyle	"Latch (Acoustic)" — Sam Smith	10	10	10	30
	Foxtrot & Cha-cha-cha (Fusion)	"Glowing" — Nikki Williams	10	10	10	30

Programs

This section is transcluded from Davis and White #Programs

Davis and White

Competitive highlights

Ice dance with Charlie White

• GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
• JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
• CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
• Medals at team events are awarded for the team result only. Individual placements at team events are listed in parentheses.

Competition placements at senior level 

Season	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14
Winter Olympics				2nd				1st
Winter Olympics (Team event)								3rd
World Championships	7th	6th	4th	2nd	1st	2nd	1st
Four Continents Championships	4th	2nd	1st		1st	2nd	1st
Grand Prix Final			3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
U.S. Championships	3rd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
World Team Trophy						2nd (1st)
GP NHK Trophy	4th			1st	1st		1st	1st
GP Rostelecom Cup			3rd	1st		1st
GP Skate America		4th			1st	1st	1st	1st
GP Skate Canada	4th		1st
GP Trophée Éric Bompard		3rd
Nebelhorn Trophy				1st
U.S. Classic								1st

Competition placements at junior level 

Season	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06
World Junior Championships		13th		3rd
Junior Grand Prix Final				2nd
U.S. Championships	7th	2nd		1st
JGP Andorra				2nd
JGP Bulgaria				1st
JGP Czech Republic		4th
JGP Germany	8th
JGP Japan		4th
JGP Romania			3rd
JGP Serbia	6th		3rd

Detailed results

Ice dance with Charlie White

ISU personal bests in the +3/-3 GOE system (from 2010–11) 

Segment	Type	Score	Event
Total	TSS	195.52	2014 Winter Olympics
Short dance	TSS	78.89	2014 Winter Olympics
	TES	39.72	2014 Winter Olympics
	PCS	39.17	2014 Winter Olympics
Free dance	TSS	116.63	2014 Winter Olympics
	TES	57.50	2014 Winter Olympics
	PCS	59.13	2014 Winter Olympics

• Small medals for the short program and free skating are only awarded at ISU Championships.
• Medals at team events are awarded for the team result only. Individual placements at team events are listed in parentheses.

Senior level

Results in the 2006–07 season 

Date	Event	CD		OD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Nov 3–5, 2006	2006 Skate Canada International	8	25.53	3	52.30	4	84.83	4	162.66
Dec 1–3, 2006	2006 NHK Trophy	4	29.98	4	52.86	4	86.65	4	169.49
Jan 21–28, 2007	2007 U.S. Championships	2	36.18	4	54.72	3	93.21	3	184.11
Feb 7–10, 2007	2007 Four Continents Championships	3	33.68	4	54.66	5	91.35	4	179.69
Mar 20–25, 2007	2007 World Championships	10	31.15	8	55.82	7	92.17	7	179.14

Results in the 2007–08 season 

Date	Event	CD		OD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 26–28, 2007	2007 Skate America	5	30.16	4	52.84	4	85.79	4	168.79
Nov 15–18, 2007	2007 Trophée Éric Bompard	4	31.74	3	55.25	3	89.22	3	176.21
Jan 20–27, 2008	2008 U.S. Championships	2	40.59	2	62.69	2	103.54	2	206.82
Feb 11–17, 2008	2008 Four Continents Championships	2	37.36	2	61.93	2	100.16	2	199.45
Mar 16–23, 2008	2008 World Championships	7	34.80	7	60.36	6	96.03	6	191.19

Results in the 2008–09 season 

Date	Event	CD		OD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2008	2008 Skate Canada International	1	34.29	1	56.36	1	88.24	1	178.89
Nov 20–23, 2008	2008 Cup of Russia	3	35.77	8	43.68	2	91.16	3	170.61
Dec 10–14, 2008	2008–09 Grand Prix Final	N/A	N/A	5	55.89	3	92.15	3	148.04
Jan 18–25, 2009	2009 U.S. Championships	1	39.93	1	61.93	1	99.82	1	201.68
Feb 2–8, 2009	2009 Four Continents Championships	2	35.23	2	60.42	1	96.74	1	192.39
Mar 24–28, 2009	2009 World Championships	4	37.73	3	62.60	3	100.03	4	200.36

Results in the 2009–10 season 

Date	Event	CD		OD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 23–26, 2009	Nebelhorn Trophy	1	37.62	1	62.08	1	100.76	1	200.46
Oct 22–25, 2009	2009 Rostelecom Cup	1	37.87	1	62.21	1	101.02	1	201.10
Nov 5–8, 2009	2009 NHK Trophy	1	38.09	1	63.09	1	100.79	1	201.97
Dec 3–6, 2009	2009–10 Grand Prix Final	N/A	N/A	1	65.80	2	103.64	1	169.44
Jan 14–24, 2010	2010 U.S. Championships	1	45.42	1	68.11	1	108.76	1	222.29
Feb 14–27, 2010	2010 Winter Olympics	3	41.47	2	67.08	2	107.19	2	215.74
Mar 22–28, 2010	2010 World Championships	2	43.25	2	69.29	1	110.49	2	223.03

Results in the 2010–11 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 22–24, 2010	2010 NHK Trophy	1	66.97	1	98.24	1	165.21
Nov 12–14, 2010	2010 Skate America	1	63.62	1	93.06	1	156.68
Dec 9–12, 2010	2010–11 Grand Prix Final	1	68.64	1	102.94	1	171.58
Jan 22–30, 2011	2011 U.S. Championships	1	76.04	1	109.44	1	185.48
Feb 15–20, 2011	2011 Four Continents Championships	2	69.01	1	103.02	1	172.03
Apr 24 – May 1, 2011	2011 World Championships	2	73.76	1	111.51	1	185.27

Results in the 2011–12 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 21–23, 2011	2011 Skate America	1	70.33	1	107.74	1	178.07
Nov 25–27, 2011	2011 Rostelecom Cup	1	69.94	1	109.12	1	179.06
Dec 8–11, 2011	2011–12 Grand Prix Final	1	76.17	2	112.38	1	188.55
Jan 22–29, 2012	2012 U.S. Championships	1	76.89	1	114.65	1	191.54
Feb 7–12, 2012	2012 Four Continents Championships	1	72.15	2	107.25	2	179.40
Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2012	2012 World Championships	2	70.98	2	107.64	2	178.62
Apr 19–22, 2012	2012 World Team Trophy	1	72.18	1	111.18	2 (1)	183.36

Results in the 2012–13 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 19–21, 2012	2012 Skate America	1	71.39	1	104.98	1	176.28
Nov 23–25, 2012	2012 NHK Trophy	1	69.86	1	108.62	1	178.48
Dec 6–9, 2012	2012–13 Grand Prix Final	1	73.20	1	110.19	1	183.39
Jan 19–27, 2013	2013 U.S. Championships	1	79.02	1	118.42	1	197.44
Feb 8–11, 2013	2013 Four Continents Championships	2	74.68	1	112.68	1	187.36
Mar 11–17, 2013	2013 World Championships	1	77.12	1	112.44	1	189.56

Results in the 2013–14 season 

Date	Event	SD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 11–15, 2013	2013 U.S International Classic	1	73.67	1	110.02	1	183.69
Oct 18–20, 2013	2013 Skate America	1	75.70	1	112.53	1	188.23
Nov 8–10, 2013	2013 NHK Trophy	1	73.70	1	112.95	1	186.65
Dec 5–8, 2013	2013–14 Grand Prix Final	1	77.66	1	113.69	1	191.35
Jan 5–12, 2014	2014 U.S. Championships	1	80.69	1	119.50	1	200.19
Feb 6–9, 2014	2014 Winter Olympics (Team event)	1	75.98	1	114.34	3	N/A
Feb 6–22, 2014	2014 Winter Olympics	1	78.89	1	116.63	1	195.52

Junior level

Results in the 2002–03 season 

Date	Event	CD		OD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 12–15, 2002	2002 JGP Serbia	8	3.2	6	3.6	6	6.0	6	12.8
Oct 9–12, 2002	2002 JGP Germany	10	N/A	8	N/A	7	N/A	8	15.8
Jan 12–19, 2003	2003 U.S. Championships (Junior)	7	N/A	7	N/A	6	N/A	7	12.8

Results in the 2003–04 season 

Date	Event	CD		OD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Oct 2–5, 2003	2003 JGP Czech Republic	4	N/A	4	N/A	4	N/A	4	8.0
Oct 16–19, 2003	2003 JGP Japan	3	N/A	4	N/A	4	N/A	4	7.6
Jan 3–11, 2004	2004 U.S. Championships (Junior)	2	N/A	2	N/A	2	N/A	2	4.0
Feb 29 – Mar 7, 2004	2004 World Junior Championships	6	N/A	13	N/A	12	N/A	13	22.2

Results in the 2004–05 season 

Date	Event	CD		OD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 22–25, 2004	2004 JGP Serbia	3	34.32	3	52.05	3	78.20	3	164.57
Oct 12–17, 2004	2004 JGP Romania	3	34.40	2	52.12	3	75.68	3	162.20

Results in the 2005–06 season 

Date	Event	CD		OD		FD		Total
		P	Score	P	Score	P	Score	P	Score
Sep 7–11, 2005	2005 JGP Andorra	2	33.25	2	55.34	2	82.62	2	171.21
Sep 29 – Oct 2, 2005	2005 JGP Bulgaria	2	33.50	1	52.25	1	78.90	1	164.65
Nov 24–27, 2005	2005–06 Junior Grand Prix Final	3	31.94	2	50.90	2	78.01	2	160.85
Jan 7–15, 2006	2006 U.S. Championships (Junior)	1	35.35	1	58.06	1	85.45	1	178.86
Mar 6–12, 2006	2006 World Junior Championships	3	33.31	4	52.74	2	81.15	3	167.20

See also

In Spanish: Meryl Davis para niños