Lipinski Tara life and biography

Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American figure skater. At the age of 15, she won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and remains the youngest individual gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games.

Named for the plantation in her mother's favorite movie, "Gone With the Wind".

Though she was born in Philadelphia, her family's residence was in Sewell, New Jersey until Tara was 9 (1991). Then her father's job relocated the family to Sugarland, Texas. This move was detrimental to Tara's skating career, as the area lacked the training facilities she needed to continue to progress. In 1993, Tara and her mother made the decision to split the family and return to Delaware,… More where Tara had previously commuted to take skating lessons while the Lipinskis were living in New Jersey. In 1995, Tara switched skating clubs again, and she and her mother moved to Michigan.

Tara's first encounter with roller-skating came in 1985, at age 3. She also took dance and participated in her roller skating club's roller hockey team as the only girl on the squad! Tara finished second at the 1990 Primary National Roller Skating Championships, and 1991 won both the Regional and National Championships. Her roller skating efforts earned her over 50 trophies, plaques, and medals until she quit to focus solely on figure skating.

Tara began figure skating at age six. Her first competition was the 1990 regionals, and she finished second. In 1994, Tara competed in the Novice National Championships and finished second. At the Olympic Festival that year, Tara won the gold medal and became the youngest Olympic Festival champion in any sport, at 12 years and 3 weeks old. She also finished first at the Jr. Blue Swords Cup (Germany) and fourth at the Jr. World Championships (Hungary).

In 1995, Tara finished second at the Jr. U.S. Championships. Her first senior competition, the Obersdorf (Germany) Grand Prix, resulted in a fourth-place finish. She finished second at the Junior World Selection Competition, and fifth at the Jr. World Championships (Australia).

In 1996, Tara finished third at U.S. Senior Championships and 15th at the Sr. World Championships (Alberta, Canada). Other international medal wins in 1996 include Skate Canada, Trophee Lalique (France), and Nations Cup (Germany).

In 1997, Tara Lipinski became the youngest women to win the U.S. and World Championships (Switzerland). She also finished second at Skate America and first at the Champion Series Final ( the latter title was another "youngest-ever" win).

1998 was Tara's crowning year. She beat heavily favored teammate Michelle Kwan to win the gold medal at the Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Winning at age 15, she replaced Sonia Henie as the youngest women's figure skating Olympic champion.

Following the Olympics, an illness and her personal prompted her to retire from amateur skating and become a professional. Tara toured with Stars on Ice as a permanent cast member from 1999 through 2002, with occasional appearances in following years after aggravating an injured hip.

Tara's celebrity status as a figure skating champion has opened the door to an acting career. Her credits include guest spots on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Early Edition, Still Standing, and Are You Afraid of the Dark; recurring roles on Young and the Restless and Seventh Heaven; and lead or supporting roles as a speaking voice on the cartoon Generation Jets and the TV movie Ice Angel.

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