Gabrielle Christina Victoria Gabby" Douglas (born December 31, 1995) is an American artistic gymnast. As a member of the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won gold medals in both the individual and team all-around competitions. Douglas is the first woman of color and the first African-American gymnast in Olympic history to become the individual all-around champion, and the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics as well as being the only American All-Around Champion to win multiple gold medals, thus far. She was also a member of the gold-winning U.S. team at the 2011 World Championships. Douglas released the inspirational autobiography, Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith, which recounts of her rise to the top of the gymnastics world, the struggles she faced along the way, and her strong faith that always kept her going. The book debuted at number 4 on The New York Times Young Adult Bestseller List. Douglas was born on December 31, 1995 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to parents Timothy Douglas and Natalie Hawkins. She has three siblings. She began training in gymnastics at age six when her older sister, Arielle, convinced their mother to enroll her in gymnastics classes. In October 2002, Douglas began her gymnastics training at Gymstrada Gymnastics in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In July 2004, Gabrielle left Gymstrada and began training at Excalibur Gymnastics. At the age of eight, Douglas won the Level 4 all-around gymnastics title at the 2004 Virginia State Championships. Douglas and her teammates, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber (nicknamed the "Fierce Five"), won the team all-around gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She then won the gold medal in the individual all-around, becoming the first African-American woman, as well as the first woman of color of any nationality, to win the event. She is also the first American gymnast ever to win both the team and individual all-around gold at the same Olympics. Douglas finished eighth in uneven bars, and seventh in balance beam. She is the first all-around champion to not medal in an individual event since women's gymnastics was added to the Olympics in 1952. "
