With her radiant smile and gravity-defying moves, gymnast Gabby Douglas captured the
world's attention when she made history at the 2012 London Olympic games. Though she didn't head
to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Douglas is finding ways to stay busy. Here's what she's been up to.
At 16, not many people have enough life experience to fill an autobiography.
But that was hardly a problem for teenage Gabby Douglas. Though she sometimes journaled
during her youth, she only wrote down her story in spurts. She told L.A. Watts Times,
"I had kept many diaries, but I would start one and not finish it,
and then start another one and not finish it."
After the 2012 games, she gathered her thoughts and worked with co-writer
Michelle Burford to release "Grace, Gold & Glory: My Leap of Faith,"
which recounted in full her road to the Olympics. She told Publishers Weekly,
"I hope readers will be motivated and inspired by my book, because it shows that I went through
hardship. Even though you are going through that, you can still achieve your dreams, and it doesn't
matter how much money you have or what your nationality is, if you believe 100% in yourself."
A year later, she authored a mixed media book for kids called "Raising the Bar,"
which featured photos, letters, and fun facts about the gold medalist,
plus an inside peek into her life after London.
Gabby Douglas' fame after the 2012 Olympics made her an instant cover girl and a popular
guest on TV shows. Whether she's providing commentary on sports or surprising beloved fans,
seeing Douglas shine just makes for good television. Having a compelling life story
doesn't hurt either. A few weeks shy of her 17th birthday, she appeared on "Barbara Walters' 10
Most Fascinating People," and Walters said she couldn't remember a story similar to Gabby's.
"The tiny, tiny girl with a big, big smile."
Douglas has also hit every major late-night show, from "The Tonight Show" to the "Late Show." And
she's been all over daytime TV as well, including "Today," "Good Morning America," and "The Wendy
Williams Show," where she taught Williams how to walk on a balance beam. Oprah Winfrey even got on
a beam with Douglas for an episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter" centered on the gold medalist.
But Douglas hasn't only been siloed into interviews and profiles for her amazing story.
She's a popular guest host and judge and makes regular appearances at award shows. She's been
a guest judge on "So You Think You Can Dance" and presented at the MTV Video Music Awards,
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, the ESPY Awards, and the BET Awards, just to name a few.
Before Gabby Douglas even flew home from the 2012 London Olympics,
studio executives were clamoring for her story. The Washington Post reported that filmmakers
Zev Braun and Philip Krupp were struck by her performance and the details they learned about
her life. They immediately reached out to contacts at the Lifetime network and
cold-called Douglas' agent. Both Douglas and her mother, Natalie Hawkins, were reluctant,
but eventually came on board, making the film an authorized biopic.
In 2013, Lifetime greenlit the movie, "The Gabby Douglas Story," and filming began.
Douglas and her family spent two weeks on set in Winnipeg,
where seeing their lives played out by actors was bizarre for the family. Hawkins recalled,
"Every time they said my name I was like, cringing. My kids felt the same, everybody
all the way down to Gabrielle, they all felt the same. They were like, 'This is really awkward.'"
Douglas concurred, but told USA Gymnastics that she enjoyed learning about how films were made.
The movie premiered in 2014, and according to Hawkins,
the family's seen it quite a few times. She told the Washington Post,
"Whenever we're at my dad's house, he's like 'Let's watch the movie!'
He DVRs it and watches it over and over again."
Viewers got a peek into Gabby Douglas' personal life as a young adult in 2016
when the short-lived reality series "Douglas Family Gold'' premiered on Oxygen network.
The show aimed to capture Douglas' family dynamic as she trained
for the Rio Olympics. Before the premiere, Douglas told the media,
"We want people to take away a lot of laughter and supportive family time.
Also just strong inspiration to see what it takes for you to accomplish your goal
and the hard work, sacrifice and bonding with your family.
I want people to draw that inspiration and be a fighter and go out there and keep fighting!"
The series had some lighthearted moments, showing Douglas' playful
side as a prankster with an affinity for water balloons and pies in the face.
In the third episode, Douglas got candid about her dating life, or lack thereof, joking,
"I was already in a relationship, and his name was Jim ... nastics."
Douglas said that between traveling, training, and competing, her schedule made dating impossible.
With lenses trained on her since her early Olympic days, Gabby Douglas fortunately has
a natural ease in front of the camera. Her poise in interviews and while performing suggests a
smooth transition into the next thing the gold medalist hopes to conquer: acting.
"I am ALWAYS striving for gold."
In 2017, Douglas told NBC Sports that she wanted to take acting classes, with the
ultimate goal of appearing on the big screen. Comparing acting and gymnastics, Douglas said,
"It's the same, but different. You have
to expose your vulnerability a little bit in acting classes."
Along with formal training, she's had some practice by just jumping right in.
In 2012, she guest-starred on one of her favorite television shows,
"Vampire Diaries." Her other credits include the TV movie "Love,
of Course," the show "Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn," and the film "Same Difference."
In December 2020, a spinoff of the reality competition "The Masked Singer" aired with a
focus on dancing in disguise: "The Masked Dancer." Gabby Douglas was a contestant, and no one,
not even Gabby's family, knew which fully concealed, costumed persona she performed as.
On "Today," host Al Roker asked Douglas, who competed as Cotton Candy,
how she kept her role on the show a secret from her loved ones during quarantine.
"Honestly, I love being mysterious and it was no
problem for me. I tell my family I could have been like a CIA agent."
Douglas ended up taking home the top prize,
and it required hard work to get there. She told People magazine,
"Every single number, I went home and practiced it for like another four hours. I was up at like
12:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m. practicing these numbers. Because it was so beautiful and so dynamic.
And I was like, 'I have to do every single piece justice. I have to get all these details right.'"
She even ranked winning the show up there with receiving her gold medals, saying,
"I would say it's neck and neck, to be honest."
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