Nancy Kerrigan is a former figure skater champion and an American actor. She represented the United States in a variety of international skating competitions and garnered a number of medals and honors. Kerrigan’s enthusiasm for figure skating began at an early age. Despite their limited income, her parents encouraged her talent and arranged professional training for her. Kerrigan began to garner national attention gradually. She competed in the ‘US Figure Skating Championships in 1989 and 1990, placing fifth and fourth, respectively. As Kerrigan was striving for greater heights in her career, she was attacked. The assailant was recruited by the ex-husband of Tonya Harding’s competitor. The incident made her internationally prominent. Kerrigan recovered from her injuries and made a remarkable comeback by capturing a silver medal at the 1994 ‘Winter Olympics.’ After winning the ‘Olympic’ competition, Kerrigan departed from professional competition. She concentrated on traversing the globe with several ice skating troupes, including ‘Champions on Ice’ and ‘Broadway on Ice.’ Kerrigan has appeared on numerous television programs and in a few films. She participated in the dance reality television program ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ She practices philanthropy. The mission of the ‘Nancy Kerrigan Foundation’ is to assist the visually impaired.
Youth and Early Life
Nancy Ann Kerrigan was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts on October 13, 1969. Her father was a welder and her mother was a housewife. Michael and Mark, her older brothers, are her siblings. As a child, Kerrigan often accompanied her ice hockey-playing siblings to the rink. Kerrigan developed an interest in figure skating over time. She began figure skating training at the age of six.
At the age of nine, Kerrigan won her first competition, the Boston Open. After this achievement, her parents focused more on her education. Her father worked three jobs to pay for her education. In recompense for his daughter’s training, he worked at a number of ice rinks.
Kerrigan was a student at ‘Stoneham High School.’ She then enrolled at ‘Emmanuel College’ with a concentration in business. At that time, Kerrigan focused more on her skating practice. She awoke early in the morning in order to attend the training prior to arriving at school.
Theresa Martin trained Kerrigan until she was 16 years old. She then collaborated briefly with Denise Morrissey. She was then coached by the renowned figure-skating instructors Evy and Mary Scotvold, who coached her for the remainder of her career.
Nancy Kerrigan’s Career
In the 1987 ‘US Figure Skating Championship,’ Nancy Kerrigan finished in fourth place in junior-level competitions. She excelled at jumping but lacked in compulsory arithmetic. She made her senior début in 1988 and finished in the twelfth position. Over the next two years, Kerrigan improved her national standings, achieving fifth place in 1989 and fourth place in 1990. She remained deficient in compulsory figures, but they were eliminated from competitions in 1990.
In 1991, Kerrigan finished third at the ‘US Figure Skating Championships.’ She qualified for the ‘World Figure Skating Championships,’ at which she won the bronze medal. Gold and silver medals were also obtained by United States athletes. Tonya Harding earned the silver medal, while Kristi Yamaguchi won the gold. For the first time in the history of the ‘World Championships,’ a single nation won all three medals.
In 1992, Kerrigan enhanced her performance by placing second in the national championship. She earned the bronze medal at the 1992 ‘Winter Olympics.’ In the same year, Kerrigan also won silver at the world championship. Several companies, such as ‘Reebok’ and ‘Seiko,’ offered Kerrigan corporate sponsorship deals following his victories.
In 1993, Nancy Kerrigan won the United States figure skating championship. Former champion Yamaguchi had by then retired from professional competition. Despite achieving first place, Kerrigan’s performance throughout the year was subpar. Her position dropped to fifth place. In the same year, Kerrigan suffered three falls and botched landings in another competition.
In 1994, Kerrigan was assaulted, which had a profound impact on her career. In January 1994, Kerrigan was assaulted at the ‘US Figure Skating Championships’ in Detroit. She was struck on the right leg with a baton. Shane Stant was identified as the attacker. Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of Kerrigan’s competitor Tonya Harding, plotted the attack.
Kerrigan was compelled to withdraw from the national championship following the assault. She was chosen for the ‘Olympic team despite this setback. Kerrigan underwent intensive training. At the ‘Lillehammer Winter Olympics’ in 1994, Kerrigan performed exceptionally well and won the silver medal. Ukrainian Oksana Baiul earned the gold medal. It was a very tight contest between the two competitors. Almost immediately, a controversy arose regarding the biased decision of the German justice.
After winning the ‘Winter Olympics’ in 1994, Kerrigan retired from competitive skating. She did participate in a few events, such as the ‘Ice Wars.’ Kerrigan also participated in a number of ice performances, including ‘Champions on Ice’ and ‘Broadway on Ice.’ She also participated in the ice show adaptation of the musical ‘Footloose.’
In 1994, Kerrigan hosted an episode of the television program ‘Saturday Night Live.’ In 2005, she hosted ‘Nancy Kerrigan’s World of Skating’ on ‘The Comcast Network.’ In 2006, she appeared on the ‘Fox’ reality television series ‘Skating with Celebrities.’ Kerrigan appeared in the 2007 comedy film ‘Blades of Glory.’ It was based on ice athletes’ lives.
During the ‘Winter Olympics’ of 2010, Kerrigan served as a special correspondent for the news program Entertainment Tonight. She wrote the book ‘Artistry on Ice,’ in which she described advanced figure skating techniques. In 2017, Kerrigan appeared as a contestant on the ABC dance program “Dancing with the Stars.” She was expelled from the competition in the seventh week.
Nancy’s Personal Life
On 9 September 1995, Nancy Kerrigan married her agent, Jerry Solomon. This was their third marriage for Solomon. They are the parents of Matthew, Brian, and Nicole. Over the course of eight years, she experienced six miscarriages while attempting to conceive. Kerrigan currently resides with her family in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. Kerrigan’s father, Daniel, perished in 2010.
Her sibling Mark was accused of murdering their father, and a struggle between the two was blamed for the death. Kerrigan defended her sibling and testified that her father had heart disease. Kerrigan is a benefactor. She established the ‘Nancy Kerrigan Foundation’ to raise awareness about blindness and assist the visually impaired. The blindness of her mother is said to have inspired Kerrigan to launch the initiative.
Estimated Net Worth
The net worth of American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is $10 million. Nancy Kerrigan won two Olympic medals and was the United States Figure Skating Champion in 1993. She is arguably best known for an incident involving Tonya Harding, her rival.
Trivia
In 1994, the media filmed and broadcast Kerrigan’s assault and her instantaneous reaction to the incident. The incident gave Kerrigan the impression of a professional victim. She also received support from the common populace.
In 1994, after her ‘Olympic victory, Kerrigan encountered negative publicity. While waiting for the presentation ceremony, she made a very undiplomatic remark about the victor, Oksana Baiul. It was captured on film and broadcast by ‘CBS.’ This damaged her reputation, and the media and public quickly turned against her.
Following her ‘Olympic victory in 1994, Kerrigan took part in a ‘Walt Disney World parade. The microphone at the event captured her remark, “This is stupid. I detest it.” The media highlighted this as a criticism of the parade. Kerrigan defended her statement by claiming that everything was exaggerated. She also explained that when she made the remark, she was referring to the organizers’ insistence that she dons her silver medal during the parade.