Birthday : 7-12-1971

Birthplace : Hayward, California

Birth Name : Kristi Tsuya Yamaguchi

Recent Role : Herself on Live with Regis and Kelly

Gender : Female

Kristi Yamaguchi, 1992 Olympic Champion, is an American skater. She won World Figure Skating Championship in 1991 and 1992 consecutively. In 1992, she also won US figure Skating Championship. In 1988, she won a junior world title as a Pairs Skater and two national tiles in 1989 and 1990. She appeared in ‘Dancing with the Stars’ season 6 and paired with Mark Ballas. In the season finale, they defeated Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska so were crowned the winners. After watching her rocking performance, judges commented that she was the most consistent competitor in any season of the show and she has the highest scores of any participant in the show.

She was born to Jim Yamaguchi and Carole Doi who’re dentist and medical secretary respectively. Her mother was born during World War II. She has two siblings, Brett and Lori and they all grew up in Fremont, California. She joined Mission San Jose High School and later transferred to Willow Glen High School.

She married Bret Hedican, a professional hockey player. In 1996, she formed a foundation named ‘Always Dream Foundation’ for children. She’s also the author of ‘Always Dream’, ‘Pure Gold’ and ‘Figure Skating for Dummies’. In 1993, she made a video called ‘Hip to be Fit: The California Raisins and Kristi Yamaguchi’.

She has appeared in PBS series ‘Freedom: A History of Us’. Her other credits include: ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’, ‘D2: The Mighty Ducks’, ‘Frosted Pink’ and a Disney channel movie ‘Go Figure’. In 2008, she got the Inspiration Award at the Asian Excellence Award. She received the 2008 ‘Sonja Henie Award’ two days after winning the ‘Dancing With the Stars’. She’s a member of US Olympic Committee Olympic hall of Fame, World Skating Hall of Fame and US Figure Skating Hall of Fame.