Two-time Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles has accomplished more by age 23 than most people do in a lifetime. Last summer at the Paris Olympics, she won a bronze medal in the women’s floor event only to have the International Olympic Committee later strip her of the prize over a technicality. (She’s still appealing that decision.) The setback has in no way dimmed her star power: Chiles was recently featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, Nike’s Super Bowl commercial, and Time magazine’s “Women of the Year.”
It has already been a particularly busy 2025 for the UCLA student-athlete, and now she’s adding “author” to her résumé. In her memoir, I’m That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams, out March 4, Chiles details the racism she has encountered as a Black woman in a predominantly white sport and opens up about an experience she had with a childhood coach that led her to develop an eating disorder. While these ordeals have shaped her journey, she doesn’t let them define her future. Now, Chiles lives in Los Angeles with her three dogs and her friend, former UCLA gymnast Margzetta Frazier. Here’s how she gets it done.
On her morning routine:
I wake up around 6:15 and shower. I do my skin care, take my three dogs out, and let them run around on the deck while I get ready for practice. I feed them and give them water, and they run around the house while I brush my teeth and do my hair. I’m not a breakfast person, but sometimes I grab something quick like a smoothie, an orange, or apple slices. I take the dogs out one more time, then get in my car and head to practice. My drive is about 20 minutes, so I get there around 7:45 and have practice from 8 until 11.
On a typical day:
I have practice on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. We practice our routines and flip around. Sometimes we dance with our choreographer, and sometimes we play volleyball to warm up. We have weights from 11 until 11:45, whether it’s rehab, isolations for injuries, or deadlifts. Then I have school, one class every day except Friday. I have my own scooter because I’m not walking everywhere — our campus is too big. After class, I scoot back to my car and drive home. If I have interviews or have to film something, that takes up the rest of my day. But typically, I’m home after two o’clock.
On becoming a gymnast:
My sport saved my life. I had really, really bad ADHD when I was younger, and gymnastics helped me calm down. I fell in love with flipping around and doing crazy things. I always had a very spontaneous mind. At a young age, we would go camping and I’d be jumping off cliffs into the water. Did I think I was going to be somebody when I was older? 100 percent. Did I think it was going to be this way? No, not at all.
On managing stress:
I stick to myself. My couch is very comfortable. If you see me in the corner of my couch, I’m watching Netflix — Stranger Things or anime — and letting my brain wander. I taught my brain to separate my sport, my business, and my life. When I’m at the gym, I focus on the gym. When I’m with my publicist or my agent, I focus on business. And when I’m at home, I focus on my life. It’s going to be stressful because I’m a businesswoman, I’m a student-athlete. I constantly go from place to place, state to state, city to city. But I have found a way to separate my lives. Sometimes I’ll journal, sometimes I’ll draw, sometimes I’ll go on Pinterest and imagine what my wedding will look like.
On how she prioritizes herself:
I’ve been really into my skin care. I see a lot of things about glass skin, and I want my skin to look like that. Last night, I was so tired that I fell asleep for 20 minutes, woke up, and was like, No, I need to take this makeup off my face. Besides that, I make sure my mental health is okay. My daily life can be very hectic; I can have three-to-four interviews in one day or a photo shoot for a whole day. Prayer and my support system — my team, my family, and my friends — keep me grounded. They know how to get me out of a mood.
On her guilty pleasures:
I’m a snacker. I like Little Bites muffins and apple juice. I love fruit — pomegranates, pineapple, and apples — and those little cups with peaches and oranges.
On the moment she knew she’d made it professionally:
At my Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot, I was like, Wow. I made it. This is crazy. To top it off, there’s everything that’s been happening the past few months: the Super Bowl commercial, Time’s “Women of the Year.” As a kid, you have an imagination and you never know what’s going to become a reality. But it’s all coming true now.
On celebrating her wins:
I bought myself a Louis Vuitton bag after the Sports Illustrated shoot. But I’ve been on the go since the Super Bowl commercial. I celebrated by going out to eat when I filmed it. That was a crazy time. Typically, I just celebrate with friends and family or buy myself a little gift. I also take time to myself to be thankful and talk to God.
On failure:
Failing sucks, but it isn’t a bad thing. That’s what I was taught. We don’t live in a utopia. Nobody’s perfect. I’ve had times when I didn’t make an assignment for the national team, times when I didn’t make a world championship, times when things just didn’t work out. It’s okay to fail because it’s only going to uplift you to succeed in a different way.
On getting advice from Simone Biles:
“Always use your voice. Stand your ground.” That’s the best thing I learned from Simone. She told me to understand the word no and to strive for things that are greater so you can continue on your path.
On people who help her get it done:
My whole family is basically part of my team. My mom is my social-media manager. My older sister does my hair and makeup, and my middle sister, Jade, is my personal assistant. She’s the one who’s getting emails and figuring out what I have time for. She’s also a wedding and event planner, so she has to make time for that. She does an amazing job. It’s a lot being somebody’s personal assistant, especially when they’re doing so much.
On dealing with haters:
A lot of people told me I wasn’t going to become an Olympian. A lot of people told me I was the underdog. I’ve had friendships where people didn’t like the way I was living because they weren’t living like that. But at the end of the day, if you want to grow and succeed, you need to surround yourself with people who want you to succeed. I’ve had to navigate friendships with people who didn’t believe in me and prove them wrong. I like proving people wrong.
On ambition:
I’m still learning to put myself in those ambitious moments. I don’t consider myself famous. People will say otherwise, but I still feel like I have a lot to do, learn, and show before I can feel like an A-list celebrity. If it took Beyoncé 26 years to get Album of the Year, I feel like I have a lot more to accomplish.