Biography

She was the first American woman to land a triple Axel in competition, a feat she achieved at the 1991 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where she also won the gold medal.

American former figure skater.

She dropped out of David Douglas High School during her sophomore year in order to focus on her skating career. She did eventually earned a General Educational Development Certificate in 1988.

She is the daughter of Lavona Faye (Brown) and Albert Gordon Harding. Her father was from Oregon. Her mother was from Oklahoma. Her paternal grandfather was born in New Brunswick, Canada; her roots include English, Scottish, Irish, and German.

Was portrayed by Margot Robbie in the movie I, Tonya (2017).

It's an image that the media has given me as a bad girl, and the only reason they gave me that image is just because of the few things that have gone wrong in my life, and also because I grew up living in a trailer. I moved around 13 different times before I was in fifth grade, not having money, not having a lot of friends. My biological mother made my clothes or bought my clothes from Salvation Army or Goodwill. And so, you know, that's where the bad girl image came from.